Mission Forge

Five insider tips to negotiate a commercial lease. Number one understand the needs of the owner. Many times perspective tenants don't understand that the value of the lease directly impacts the value of the building. Number two the length of the lease is critical to the owner, and longer is better. This gives you the ability to negotiate in the earlier phases of the lease which leads to number three annual increases in rent. You can use the lease duration to increase later and take your breaks earlier on. Step 4 build out and repairs are generally not something an owner wants to take on so plan to complete these repairs on your own. Repairs specific to your business would not create a negotiation point however repairs generally improving the property could be another source of negotiating with the property owner. Number five repairs during the lease should be expected to be the responsibility of the tenant especially when they are smaller. Owners would likely be expected to pay large repairs. Make sure this is spelled out in your lease terms. Pay attention to your ability to bring traffic that could positively impact your neighbors. be proactive in offering to cross-promote other businesses. Keep in mind the owner of the building wants everyone to be successful. In a successful climate he can minimize or she can minimize vacancy and maximize the value of the building through higher lease rates.

A shift towards something already in place

Commercial real estate has operated this way for a long time.

Commercial listings generally do not offer compensation to cooperating brokers of buyers.

It does not mean that buyer representatives are not paid.  It means that buyers must ask the listing broker if there is any cooperative compensation available.  

In the event the answer is no, then the agent must consult with the buyer and refer to the exclusive right to represent form.

Clear differences exist between commercial and residential.  Immediacy is generally not present in commercial as it is common in residential.  Rapid moving residential markets can be impeaded or slowed by this added layer of discussion (assuming the offer to compensate is withdrawn from the MLS.  Now the process has an extra layer of discussion which could retard the process and flow when time is of the essence.

  In addition, residential buyers have financing concerns that play into compensation that are not there in the commercial world.  For instance, buyers with VA loans are not able to make payments to the agent or to a vendor for repair.  That could be very harmful to some of our most important buyers.  It is potentially a dramatic erosion of one of their signature benefits.

Often times consumers will call the sign in commercial real estate and proceed with no buyer agent. In some cases they may ask the listing firm for dual representation and other times they may proceed unrepresented.  Residential real estate has methodically and purposefully moved away from this and comfortably gotten to a situation where buyer agency is clear and defined and common, while seller agency remains intact.  Both sides have agency and compensation did not increase.

  One really questions the benefits to the residential process that will result from the decoupling of advertising compensation in the MLS.  The theory on the ground is that since compensation is still permitted from the seller to the buyer’s agent that it will still take place largely as normal and hopefully with more transparency than before.

  The fear is that our most prized and vulnerable buyers will be sidelined, and may resort to calling the sign, perhaps out of desperation and frustration and perhaps in the hopes of trading representation for perceived savings to make a deal work.  The ramifications of thousands of unrepresented buyers who are financially sensitive could be devastating if they don’t have capacity to negotiate repairs, oversee important disclosures, review documents, navigate extensions, deadlines, review repairs and verify payments to vendors.  It really could be lambs to the slaughter in some cases---sadly out of needless desperation caused by the DOJ.

To be elected, a representative must be at least 25 years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years and an inhabitant of the state he or she represents.

The Constitution sets three qualifications for service in the U.S. Senate: age (at least thirty years of age); U.S. citizenship (at least nine years); and residency in the state a senator represents at time of election.

Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are considered for reelection every even year. Senators however, serve six-year terms and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years so that only about 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection during any election.

Congressional districts are the 435 areas from which members are elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

There are 100 Senate seats, 2 for each state.

The compensation for most Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico is $174,000. These levels have remained unchanged since 2009. 

Term limits at the federal level are restricted to the executive branch and some agencies. Judicial appointments at the federal level are made for life and are not subject to election or to term limits. The U.S. Congress remains (since the Thornton decision of 1995) without electoral limits.

My suggestion for reasonable term limits would be to attract more people to serve, remove incentives for a life in politics, roll implementation in the House to mirror the Senate. This will preserve institutional knowledge which is critical.

To attract a higher quantitiy of everyday Americans to do the unthinkable

run for congress

leave their family

leave their business

I suggest increasing the pay to something very substantial, such as $$350,000 per year.

In addition, there would be heavy incentives and benefits to protect juobs and business during service so the Congressperson could return home to what they left.

Senators would be limited to 2 terms and Representatives to 6 terms.

You are an independent contractor if you practice real estate. How much freedom do you have to direct your business the way you want to direct it? Do you have the ability to direct your business the way you know it needs to operate or is it inconsistent with the policies of your brokerage? Have you ever thought of leaving your brokerage but worry about the terms and penalties associated with relocating? I'd appreciate the opportunity to hear about your business and share everything I know about our brokerage with you. To arrange a consultation please email me at [email protected].

Wendy's really made a splash when they announced a new pricing model which was compared to, probably improperly, Uber's surge pricing model. The leaders of Wendy's restaurant have clarified that it's called dynamic pricing and it's not the same as surge pricing. It's a very interesting idea and I wonder if you've thought about it in your real estate business for your commission structure.

 R454B refrigerant has been designated as a replacement for R410A.   This change is coming over the next year for Virginia and you need to be aware of it as you repair and replace your systems.  Be wary of deals, as you may be purchasing good quality equipment that is being phased out. Also be on the look out for May-December split HVAC systems that are being married together.  Those may be problematic for you.

Tinkering with your business is a key component to adjusting to the needs of the marketplace.  If you dial into the needs of the customer you will spot areas your business can adjust to improve the experience and be more productive.  When we think of Chic Fila today, we think of efficient high volume drive through experiences.  Did you know that the drive through was a modification to the business plan that many executives did not agree with?  Credit goes to Uncommon Influence founder Keving Harrison for this message.  You can find more at his website uncommoninfluence.com.

Wood versus Vinyl fencing:  which is cheaper, which is easier to maintain, repair, replace?  I have a few insights that are of value to pass along.  I would like to know your experiences, so please share.

NAR President, resigned and reported to authorities that someone was trying to blackmail her to compromise her position at NAR.  The former president of the National Association of Realtors should be applauded for her courage in standing up to the criminal bad actors.
I want to know what they wanted her to do.
I want to know who wanted her to do it.
I want to know who else was compromised and what directions they carried out to save themselves embarrassment.
I want to know what other organizations are compromised.

Cheers! We are turning 26! RE/MAX Capital has grown beyond Williamsburg to include offices in Yorktown and Hayes. Our agent-focused model is the bedrock of our office. We have a positive culture where supportive staff engage with our professional Realtors to foster their business. Bobby Jankovic invites you to share your business goals with him and learn about affiliating with his full service brokerage.