Business Facilities - April 2008 - (Page 44)

REAL ESTATE TRENDS By Michael DeJohn, Principal, MDJ Owners Representatives LLC When undertaking an expansion or relocation project, where you decide to locate and the facility you choose to locate in will have a tremendous impact on your company’s bottom line. With that in mind, finding the right commercial real estate broker for your next project is critical to your company’s success. F inding the right real estate option for your company’s expansion/relocation project is a hefty task. Just as important is finding the right commercial real estate broker to help your company successfully execute this massive undertaking. Hiring a broker can seem like a daunting task, especially if it’s your first time. However, if you head into the situation armed with the right information, it can be a much smoother process. In order to Mike DeJohn has over 25 years of real estate and construction industry experience, including as a registered architect, a corporate real estate executive, and an owners’ representative, for a wide variety of base building and interiors transactions and capital projects. MDJ Owners Representatives provides project management consulting services for new building and interior renovation projects for commercial office, institutional and non-profit, medical, retail and residential, and hospitality projects. For more information, e-mail Mike at mdejohn@mdjownersreps.com. get expert insight into how to choose a broker, I turned to the brokerage community for advice. The brokers surveyed for this article come from a variety of real estate companies, from local boutique agencies to larger firms with global reach. The survey shows that there are several things to consider when choosing a broker. Whether it’s your first or fiftieth time, you should keep this information in mind before you make a decision. INTEGRITY • The broker should be willing to give you advice that could cost her or him commission dollars (e.g., waiting instead of making a deal, shortening the transaction term, etc.). Ask for past examples of this. • She or he should also be willing to raise business deal terms and/or technical issues during the lease negotiation process that the client and attorney might have missed, even if these points could possibly jeopardize the deal. • She or he should divulge any personal or professional financial interest in any buildings under consideration, even if the broker’s firm is just the leasing broker for the building. Any financial incentives the broker would receive by recommending consultants, contractors, or vendors for a subsequent construction project resulting from the transaction should also be disclosed. MARKET KNOWLEDGE • How well does the broker know the local market and its players, market trends, and tenants she or he has done business with? • Will the broker team up with a local broker for transactions in other cities, even if the right broker for the assignment is a competitor? • How extensive is the brokerage firm’s database of comparable deals and other research? Does the firm have a proprietary in-house database and their own research staff, or does the firm rely on the same market information as every other firm? EXPERTISE • What is the broker’s experience with similar property types (office, 44 APRIL 2008

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Business Facilities - April 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Ohio Businesses On the Move Corporate Moves: Nebraska If You Build It, They Will Come A Tale of Two Industries Economic Transformation In the Islands Diversity: A New York State of Mind Growing in the Sun Key Kansas Industries Get a Boost How To Choose the Right Commercial Real Estate Broker Missouri Downtowns Dare to Dream Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - April 2008

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