Many corporate executives feel comfortable doing business with the biggest real estate brokerage firms which are invariably landlord brokers.  They're the biggest because landlords do real estate deals everyday, whereas a tenant might do, say, a headquarters deal only once every five or 10 years.  While corporate executives recognize landlord brokers face a conflict of interest when they claim to serve both landlords and tenants at the same time, these executives assume they’re adequately protected by their in-house real estate staff or their corporate attorneys.

     So it might come as a surprise to see how an increasing number of corporate executives have concluded they do need a real estate brokerage firm which serves tenants exclusively, provides an independent assessment of space options and has a track record aggressively negotiating to cut occupancy costs and protect tenant interests.

     "We thought we had a great relationship with our landlord, both business and personal,” reported the Chief Financial Officer of ICD Group International.  “In spite of this relationship, we were billed significant overcharges.  In addition, the landlord stonewalled us when we questioned their billings.”

     This view was underscored by the Executive Vice President of Medialink: “Like many executives facing the daunting task of relocation, my first instinct for commercial real estate guidance was to hire “the biggest.”  It’s our good fortune that the first instinct is not the basis for optimal decision-making.”

     These executives, like many, reject the common perception that it takes a landlord broker to know all the available spaces on the market.  Tenant representatives know about all the spaces that landlord brokers know about, because it’s in a landlord’s self-interest to have everybody know.  Why in the world would a landlord want to keep any vacant space secret and pay the mortgage cost on it without getting income?  The President of Clairvest Corporation wrote CTRR: “Your team was responsive, persistent and thorough.  Your site searches were comprehensive.  We saw everything out there.”

     At every step of a real estate deal, there are traps which can cost tenants plenty.  The First District Dental Society (New York County) reported, “You combed through the lease, identifying problems that counsel just couldn’t know about, and saved us real money.”  The Executive Director of The New York County Medical Society wrote, “To help us get rid of our current space, CTRR marketed the space effectively and brought us several qualified offers.  You negotiated details of the sublease document with one very well-qualified prospective sub-tenant.  Simultaneously, you handled negotiations with building ownership that after overcoming several deal breaking hurdles, resulted in a buyout we preferred to taking on the role of a sublandlord.  Building ownership resisted our efforts to dispose of the space, but we were able to proceed because CTRR had negotiated several strong sublease rights for us.  Total savings for the Society for this successful disposition will exceed $1 million.  To help the Society find suitable new space in mid-town, CTRR searched the market broadly and negotiated aggressively.  We now occupy a full floor at a Grand Central location; you secured ample free rent, more cash than we need to complete our build-out, and numerous long-term protections for the Society in a rising market.”

     The President of Wall Street Concepts had this to say about CTRR: “Your choices of possible locations and the comparative analysis of each served as a strong basis for the decision process.  Your persistence in negotiations was essential – through multiple offers, financial analysis and then negotiation on round after round of lease drafts.  Particularly when building owners pressured us to ‘take it or leave it,’ the alternatives CTRR had helped us to develop were essential in enabling us to pursue negotiations in a way that maximized value.  I am certain that the combination of expertise – including legal expertise – that your team brings to the table, may be CTRR’s secret weapon.  You gave us well-honed advice that our counterparties did not expect.  This was another factor in helping us to secure a lease we are very satisfied with.”

     Cadbury Beverages told CTRR: “You brought an extraordinary combination of skills and experience to the negotiation table and our position was superbly supported by facts and data.  As a result, Cadbury Schweppes will benefit from over $2 million of savings over the original lease renewal terms and $300,000 in landlord paid facility improvements.  Additionally, we secured many favorable changes to lease language, which will afford a superior level of tenant protection.”

     The CNN Vice President for Real Estate wrote CTRR, “I want to thank you for putting $184,000 on our bottom line.  This is found money for CNN.”  The parent company’s Vice President for Planning and Development added: “You’ve gone against the biggest landlord agents in New York on our behalf, and over several transactions saved millions for Turner Broadcasting System.”

      There can be unexpected benefits of working with CTRR, too.  An AT&T District Manager for Real Estate explained, “You’ve helped simplify our lease administration procedures so we can monitor significant costs more effectively, particularly landlord charges.  Our lease administrators across the country report that your training sessions were authoritative and will certainly contribute to more effective performance.

     Allied Signal: “CTRR’s specialized expertise leveraged our time and increased the return our department generates.  At a time when being cost-effective really matters, we’re glad to have had a resource like CTRR.  Thank you very much for your efforts on Allied Signal’s behalf.”

     Since big landlord brokers make their money serving landlords, no prudent corporate executive would expect a landlord broker to recover landlord overcharges, but this is what CTRR does for tenants.  For instance, a Vice President of Inc. magazine wrote: “While we had reviewed all the charges and did not expect that you would find anything, we were certainly happy with your recovery.”  Conrail Director of Facilities Management: “CTRR’s efforts identified overcharges we just did not know about.  Your approach successfully put money on our bottom line.”  The Vice President and Associate Counsel of Mutual of America wrote, “With CTRR’s leadership we were able to recover the maximum number of landlord overcharges.  The knowledge and experience displayed by CTRR would no doubt also prove very valuable to a tenant negotiating a new lease, or renewal, with a landlord.”

     Native Textiles Vice President for Finance: “You came in, got the landlord records we needed, overcame the deadline issue, analyzed those charges and got us money back – even though the building had changed hands – and you left us a good relationship with our landlord.”

     Serving tenants exclusively, CTRR is unusually attentive to client needs.  The Executive Vice President of Medialink told CTRR, “I found your approach to be thoughtful and effective.  I found that all along during the process I was kept fully informed of progress and the issues.”  The Human Resources Director of Interact Electronic Marketing reported: “I found your firm’s financial analyses and your explanations made us aware of how to better assess our options.  You showed us costs we weren’t aware of, and benefits we might have overlooked.”

     New York State’s Executive Department, Office of General Services issued this report to CTRR: “Both projects were extremely complicated, requiring much skill and patience.  As were the other projects you have been involved with…I have come to appreciate your expertise, perseverance and hard work.  I very much appreciate your efforts on the State’s behalf in these most difficult projects.”

     A Co-Chief Operating Officer of Cox Radio: “The combination of so many services, all packaged in one firm whose sole interest is aligned exclusively with that of the client proved not only to be extremely effective, but very economical.  Because you also acted as our broker, the commission you received from the landlord covered all of the services you provided to us.  I estimate this saved us at least $15,000 in legal fees alone.  Altogether, in the way the lease is structured, I estimate you saved us about $500,000 – not counting things like improved sublease rights and operating expense terms, better building service provisions, and other factors.”

     As a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Vice President put it: “We’ve worked with Commercial Tenant Real Estate Representation for several years now, and if we were starting over, we’d select you again.”

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CTRR serves commercial tenants exclusively nation-wide,
providing real estate brokerage & consulting services 
to help cut occupancy costs

Commercial Tenant Real Estate Representation Ltd.
12 East 41st Street, New York, NY 10017
Phone (212) 684-4400     Fax (212) 684-4403    
email mmanley@ctrr.net

Copyright (C) 2005 by CTRR Ltd.
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