Technology, Real Estate, Quotes and X-Rays?
“I read my own X-rays”
A fellow sales person and I were discussing some of our come backs to professionals who say they handle the service we are pitching. Quick one liners intended to make the person second guess their position and hopefully give us a meeting. One that stuck out was a rebuttal to doctors, especially tricky group to get meetings with. When asked if they use a service provider for let’s say finance, the doctor will say I handle it myself, the comeback was “that’s funny, I read my own X-Rays.”
With technology finally catching up to Commercial Real Estate, tenants more than ever are deciding to “Read their own X-Rays” when it comes to finding their new office or negotiating the lease on their existing office. The modern office tenant has access to information once only kept between the four walls of a commercial real estate office. Sites like CompStak, Arogafy, and bait and switch organizations like thesquarefoot, 42floors, FindNYCoffice etc. have given companies a sense of independence when it comes to their office needs. Information is traded more freely but analyzing the information is a key point people seem to be overlooking. The problem is that googling "broken bone" does not qualify you to read your own X-Rays.
Tenants are going online to find office space and set up an appointment to tour with just a few clicks. What the modern tenant doesn’t know is what they are losing by doing so. While technology has made the process more accessible, there are several reasons buyers will always need an experienced CRE broker.
“The devil is in the detail”
A former senior broker used to say this to me constantly. It rings true now more than ever with CRE.
Pictures, virtual tours, comment sections, data, comps and more are available to most tenants on the web. What is not available is the in-depth knowledge of landlords, their habits (good and bad), the management companies, construction nearby and the small details that ultimately can make you regret a 5 year commitment before you move in. Believe it or not, CRE brokers, do commercial real estate every day, we work with the landlords, have heard the horror stories, know why a building is trading at $80.00 PSF and the building next door is $58.00 PSF. We know the details you can’t find on the internet, these details will have a tremendous impact on you and your employees’ happiness.
PS> Have you ever moved into an apartment with awful water pressure? Those who have will know the importance of the details.
“A man representing himself has a fool for a client”
I’ve used this one before, I know, just a personal favorite. Those who have gone to court for a traffic ticket with and without an attorney know that some negotiations yield more positive results with a third party involved. Those who have been divorced know sometimes emotions get involved and you need a third party to keep everyone level. You hire an attorney to give advice and provide a service better than you can perform yourself. If you wouldn’t go to court without an attorney why would you negotiate your own lease? CRE brokers are paid by the landlord, we are in a service business. Referrals are a major way we keep our pipelines full, most brokers will do the right thing to keep a client for life. It’s just good business. Many provisions of a lease are tricky, it’s good to have THE RIGHT BROKER in your corner to protect you from what can happen if you don’t.
“And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you”/ “If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur”
The first quote comes from the infamous George Parker, a legendary conman who sold the rights to the Brooklyn Bridge to anyone who would buy. Many people were recorded building tolls on the bridge as they thought they had the ownership rights…Yikes
I mentioned the Bait and Switch organizations earlier. This all ties into finding the right professional.
Many companies are using the internet to draw you in to believe you are just getting a list of available spaces within your specs for free. They claim to be salaried professionals who won’t up sell or tech/finance/hedge fund experts. Next thing you know you are on tour with someone you have never met, seeing office space and essentially trusting a stranger with a laptop and a website to help you with a major business decision. There are a handful of qualified pros who have these sites but the vast majority are not. Buyer Beware.
Commercial Real Estate has a 90% attrition rate, only the strong survive. If you are using a professional who has been in the business for 5+ years at a top 10 firm, you are most likely going to get someone who knows what they are doing and works for someone who REALLY knows what they are doing. Real Estate is the second biggest expense next to employees, do not leave this decision up to an amateur. Let a professional come in and pitch their services, show you their resume, client testimonials etc, any qualified professional will have all of the above. Colliers, CBRE, JLL, NGKF, Studley and C&W are global organizations with qualified professionals. Don’t get conned into using an amateur.