CRE 101: Representation Matters

Welcome to our new blog series, CRE 101, where we make commercial real estate more approachable, transparent, and easier to understand. We thought we’d begin at the beginning by discussing what we do as a brokerage firm. We’ll start with our work representing tenants and buyers.

A tenant representative (tenant rep) works exclusively on behalf of the tenant to secure the best possible deal for the company, organization, or individual signing the lease. Tenant reps advocate for the tenant and are typically compensated through a commission paid by the landlord. This means a tenant can usually access our representation and expertise without incurring costs. 

At Level CRE, we employ an asset-specific approach, understanding that the focus and priorities of a retail tenant are different (sometimes vastly!) from an office or restaurant tenant. Likewise, a brand-new business leasing their first space differs from an established organization looking to expand.

Like a tenant rep, a buyer’s broker works exclusively for a buyer purchasing a property and is compensated by a commission most typically paid by the seller upon the property closing. Our approach is asset-specific and deal-specific, with much depending on what type of buyer we are working with - a developer, 1031 exchange buyer, value-add investor, or owner-operator. 

The roles of tenant representative and buyer’s broker have a lot of crossover, with some key differences. The table below summarizes the roles of a commercial real estate professional in each process. 

A commercial lease is a long-term commitment with serious financial and legal consequences, while commercial property acquisitions are complex and capital intensive. Representation matters!

Check back next month for another installment of CRE 101. If you have questions regarding our tenant rep and buyer’s broker work, or if there are specific topics you would like us to cover in this series, let us know!