Choosing a Commercial Real Estate Agent

Choosing the right commercial real estate agent is an important step that is often overlooked by both business and property owners. There are 5 pieces of crieteria to consider when selecting a commercial real estate broker to represent the needs of you and your business:

(1) Area of Expertise: Is your requirement specific to a certain product type i.e. industrial, retail, office? Perhaps certain uses like produce, trucking, food, or call-center to name a few? Is your requirement specific to a market/location? If yes, you need to select a broker that is an expert in these areas that define your space requirement.

(2)Years of Experience:Typically, we all learn from our mistakes. Commercial real estate transactions can be multi-million dollar deals and can have a major impact on your business. When purchasing commercial real estate property it is not the age of your commecial real estate agent that matters but how long he or she has been in the business. Make sure,when choosing a commercial real estate agent, that you ask about his or her most challenging deals and how he or she overcame the obstacles within that deal.

(3) Active Real Estate License: Although it seems as if this is common sense but it is suprising how many real estate agents can let their real estate license go inactive, become expired or even get suspended. Always be careful who you decide to work with and make sure to confirm that they have a current active license. Each state has their own regulator department, for Kentucky go to http://krec.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx and click on the KREC Database button to search by licensee.

(4) Designations: There are a number of real estate designations available to real estate agents that require continuing education and/or a certain volume of transactions. Some of these include Society of Industrial Office Realtors (SIOR), Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and Certified Property Manager (CPM). Find an agent that cares enough to take the time to advance his/her knowledge in their respective field.

(5) Interview the Agent: Ask your commercial real estate agent to describe the process from start to finish. Have he or she inform you about the site selection process, the negotiating of terms process, the process of obtaining a certificate of occupancy and the process of overseeing any improvement work in securing the new location. An experienced commercial real estate agent will be able to describe the process in great detail and if he or she cannot it would be in your best interest to hire someone else.

Learn more about purchasing kcommercial real estate. Stop by the Grisanti Group’s site where you can find out all about choosing the best commercial real estate agent and what the Grisanti Group can do for you.

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