CREGT isn’t a law firm, but as a Tucson commercial real estate broker and tenant representative, we know how to bring the most value to you in your lease contract.
You might think that law firms could effectively protect themselves from an unfavorable lease. Sadly, this is not always the case.
In our experience, legal expertise isn’t enough to protect a law firm – or any tenant – from signing a problem lease. We at Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson (CREGT) have seen this shocking lease term proposal for national law firms: The tenant must continue paying rent even if the offices become unusable – and only the landlord has termination rights!
It makes sense even for law firms to engage the services of a tenant representative. After all, it isn’t a lawyer’s business to
- know whether a landlord is offering fewer base building services than what other tenants are getting
- analyze the economics of a building’s HVAC system
- examine a landlord’s general ledger, invoice files or vendor contracts to see how the accounting system might do an end-run around “standard” lease terms.
As tenant representatives, the services we provide are more extensive than a traditional brokerage firm, whose main clients are landlords. We can give you, the tenant, more value for the same price.
It also assures you of a better transaction because each service is integrated with every other, and each is linked to your objectives.
Here’s a rundown of what we do as best industry practices.
Space Programming
After we understand your strategic objectives, we prepare a preliminary space program that covers in-depth
- office areas
- workstations
- conference rooms
- special use areas
- circulation needs
- electrical, HVAC and other infrastructure needs
- plans for growth and contraction.
The time we invest before we even start looking for space means that when we go to the marketplace, we understand what will really serve your needs.
Our groundwork reduces the time you spend looking at sites and reduces architectural fees. This is included without additional charge to our basic fee.
Analytical Site Searches
Because we do not represent landlords, our site searches are unbiased. We show you everything in the market and tell you about flaws as well as advantages of each site.
Or searches are comprehensive. For a typical assignment we may assess more than 50 sites and physically inspect 10, 15 or more to determine how well individual units, building infrastructure and common areas meet your needs.
From these surveys and previews, we may select a short list of six spaces to show you. The spaces you visit will be well-qualified compared to the more general computer-based search conducted by many brokers.
Financial Analysis and Financial Negotiations
Once we’ve contacted potential landlords about your interest and we receive their counter offers, we prepare “full-disclosure” financial analyses.
Each analysis is modeled for each building under consideration. We analyze
- total life-cycle lease costs based on actual historical costs at the building
- costs particular to your situation, such as above-standard utilities and security costs or similar needs
- your cash-flow needs for budget purposes.
This allows you to effectively compare transactions with very different economic terms, and provides the basis for informed negotiations. These services are included in our basic fee.
Lease Negotiations
We assist you in line-by-line lease negotiations to assure that the resulting documents have the terms are in the document you will live with. Certainly, your in-house real estate team has substantial expertise in the legal points of lease negotiations, but most lawyers still lack the kind of business experience that CREGT brings to the table.
In every substantial lease, there are usually a dozen key non-rent financial and operational items that can cost you far more than rent. We negotiate these business points, integrate them with the legal points and maximize value for you.
As appropriate, we integrate the expertise of architects, engineers and contractors into lease negotiations. We can significantly reduce your legal-fee costs. Even if you rely on inside expertise, we can help you save by limiting the time attorneys must spend on the lease. CREGT’s lease negotiation services are included in our basic fee.
RFP to Obtain Architectural Services
Building out space requires the services of a knowledgeable architect/mechanical engineering team (MEP). It must work effectively together. It must creatively design the look you want and skillfully manage the construction site.
We
- identify qualified architects and associated MEP firms
- prepare a written request for proposals
- conduct a pre-interview strategy session with you
- host a structured interview session
- negotiate an architectural services agreement.
CREGT does not charge an additional fee for this service and we receive no referral or other fees from architects participating in the RFP process. We have many reputable contacts and a reputation for professionalism in this process.
The result? We’ve seen firms so eager to be included on our bid lists that they stretch to provide extra services. This directly benefits you during the life of the construction process.
RFP to Obtain General Contractors’ Services
Another critical strategy to controlling build-out costs and achieving a desirable result is the intelligent selection of a general contractor.
We
- identify qualified general contractors
- prepare a written request for proposals
- conduct a pre-interview strategy session with you
- host a structured interview session
- negotiate a construction services agreement.
We often recommend a collaborative process between the contractor and project owner that provides you with valuable consulting and value-engineering services.
This can reduce total job costs and often shortens the project schedule.
Consultation After Lease Execution
Traditional brokers generally earn their fee when a lease is signed, so most stop their involvement well before a lease is signed.
Tenant representatives like CREGT keep stay by your side after you sign the lease to help assure that you receive maximum value.
During the build-out phase, we will assist you in
- managing your selected architect and general contractor
- reviewing changes orders
- resolving fee disputes
- resolving similar issues with ownership that may arise.
Share your experiences on working with Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson.