Confessions of a Recovering Landlord

I saw a headline this week that the DFW office market is trending up.  Again?  We just had this conversation a few weeks ago.  How is it different this time?  The article was from D Magazine's CRE edition written by J. J. Leonard and he did a good job of slicing and dicing the data to reach that conclusion.  I'm not sure, however, the numbers from CoStar would agree. &nbsp...

No one ever got fired for buying IBM.  That was the saying to justify buying PCs from IBM in the late 1980s.  What does this have to do with negotiating office and warehouse leases?  People that work for large corporations who make decisions about what consultant to hire or product to buy for sure thinks about the perceived risk of hiring or buying the wrong one.  If it goes ba...

It's time for another list of predictions that we can tear apart.  Today, the top 10 commercial real estate predictions for 2021-even though we're half-way through the year!  Let's see just how accurate these really have been so far. I love tearing into these crystal ball projections to see what I agree with or not.  A law firm in California, Allen Matkins, conducts an annual foreca...

One of the most desired characteristics in today's leasing world is flexibility.  In today's podcast we discuss why flexibility is so important and why landlords charge extra for it. Some companies are growing rapidly while others are shrinking-this is what makes flexibility in their leases so appealing.  Companies have plans and may be waiting on that one big contract to be signed when,...

I love the idea of touring buildings virtually - it can narrow the list quickly and people from all over the world can be a part of it!  I recently read a BisNow article that cast doubts about whether virtual touring would still be necessary after Covid.  They said it will be a mixed bag.  The people they interviewed making the technology for virtual tours think it's here to stay, o...

10 reasons why you should relocate your business to DFW?  Seriously??  I'm limited to 10?  Come be our neighbors...you'll like it! Let's dive right in: Central Time Zone - with the advent of constant shipping/traveling/gotta be there now being centrally located in the country is highly desirable.   Distribution of good is faster and cheaper and travel is more convenient. D...

You've heard a ton of talk, including on this podcast, about WFH, returning to work or a hybrid of the two.  But before you use the great reset of 2020 as the excuse to pull the trigger on shedding some overhead costs (think office space), there are 8 things you might want to consider first. OK, first things first, we are going back to the office, correct?  For the most part, I think yes...

Just read a jobs report in the NYT and the headline made me feel good and then the article left me confused.  So, here's the headline:   U.S. Jobs Report for June Shows a Gain of 850,000, Better Than Expected.  That's great news, right?  But, as I've heard before.....read on.  While they do state that 850,000 more people were hired, it also states unemployment rose to 5.9%...

Last week I saw a headline that said "The DFW Office Market Rebound is Underway".  The article was a Cushman & Wakefield second quarter report and in it one of their tenant rep brokers was quoted as saying, "While absorption numbers were negative for the second quarter, the DFW office market rebound is underway, and activity has picked up significantly in the last 30 days".  The arti...

Have you been to a grocery store in the last year and seen a store employee rushing around looking at a list and filling a basket?  That's e-commerce in a brick-and-mortar store.   So, let's define e-commerce.  Most people think they know, but never really stop to define it.  It's really nothing more than ordering something on the internet and having it delivered to your home,...

Red flags.  They are everywhere in life.  An email shows up with a suspicious link.  A call comes in trying to sell you a car warranty (do they know I drive a 10-year old car with 110,000 miles on it?).  On today's episode Bob and Jan discuss red flags when it comes to your commercial real estate lease and what to do about them. Today's topic aligns closely with a podcast we ha...

Is the return to the office happening faster than expected?  If so, what's the impact on landlords, tenants and investors?  On today's podcast Bob and Jan peer into the crystal ball one more time! It seems that most return to the office announcements were expected to take place either July 1 or after Labor Day.  But some people say it's happening faster than expected with many compa...

When you sign a lease you focus on what the condition of the space will be when you move in because you want it to reflect the image of the company and be a great place for employees and customers.  But few people consider what the space will look like at the end of the lease after they move out.  Failure to address that may create major headaches in the future.  What do most leases...

Avogroup had a good article the other day regarding two ways to protect yourself on operating expense pass throughs from your landlord.  On today's podcast, we dive deep! Let's start with a definition:  what are operating expenses?  They are the monies required to run a commercial building.  They can include, common area maintenance, security, electricity, taxes, insurance, etc...

We get the privilege of introducing our dear friend, Nick McCalmont-Woods, with McCalmont-Woods Real Estate in London, to the podcast today.  Nick describes how CRE is conducted 'across the pond' and has great stories to tell.  Like how he met us for the first time!  And our all-time favorite story of how MAGA is missing one letter.... Lease structure in the UK is totally different...

Just how do Landlords and Tenants ever agree on tenant finish out?  Who pays for what?  Can the tenant do anything they want in the space?  What happens if the project doesn't finish on time? First, TIs stand for Tenant Improvements - it just means the improvements needed in a space to make it suitable for a tenant to conduct its business.  Occasionally, small tenant or those i...

It is published that 80% of companies stay in the same place and extend their lease when their lease expires.  Why is that?  The main reason is that it's the path of least resistance-it's easier and causes virtually no disruption to the business.  Today we have 8 tips for helping people decide whether to stay and extend their lease or move: Start with the corporate goals and objecti...

How much of your office do you actually use?  And I don't mean now but before Covid.  A recent study suggests that office occupancy may not have been used to the extent previously thought.  This study, by VergeSense, found that office spaces were greatly underutilized before Covid.  And not just a little bit.  We're talking only 30% utilized.  As a caveat, VergeSense'...

A few weeks ago, we discussed 7 questions you should ask before hiring a broker.  That was episode 45.  Today on episode 49 we'll discuss 8 more questions that you should ask before hiring a tenant rep broker. Current state of the market. Is it better to extend my lease, in the same building, or move? What should I expect for free rent and a tenant improvements allowance? How long a leas...

Covid kicking it down the road is a weird title, but, it's a great concept.  On today's podcast we'll discuss what it is and just how that panned out for one specific REATA client now that the year is expiring.   Last year we recommended to several REATA clients that they extend their leases for only 12 months.  We did this because demand for office space had not only evaporated, bu...

We joined ATR 5 years ago and it has been a hit - for us and with our clients!  Listen to today's podcast to learn all the ins and outs of being global. ATR = Alliance of Tenant Representatives www.alltenrep.com All independent brokerages with no conflicts of interest - no one represents landlords Increased knowledge Increased market knowledge Ability to help our clients grow and expand beyon...

Bob got to tour VariSpaces yesterday and came back to the office with a wealth of knowledge.  From humble beginnings of a retrofit standup desktop to all their current offerings, Vari is a model to be studied and enjoyed! Fully adjustable desks Chairs Lighting Phone booths Monitor stands Couches Other office furniture Movable walls Spaces for lease

How well do you really know someone before you hire them?  Or better yet, how well should you know them?  What questions should you ask before hiring a tenant rep broker?  Today we'll give you 7 questions you must ask and we'll answer these questions for REATA as well. How long have you been in the commercial real estate business? Are you a tenant rep exclusively?  What about t...

Most of the time we talk about how to negotiate better office leases on this podcast.  But today, we're going to talk about the Supply Chain - how its reliability became invaluable during Covid-19 and how its weaknesses showed up in a recent winter storm in Texas and how that affected industrial real estate.  When you could no longer go to Wal-Mart, Jeff (Mr. Bezos to you) could bring it...

You've probably heard that folks are leaving the big city downtown and moving to the burbs.  With so much good about downtown, public transportation with light rail, restaurants, shopping, hotels, live/work/play, performing arts, museums, parks etc why would anyone want to leave downtown?? While it is the right place to be for many companies, the suburbs may be the better choice for others. &...