I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my Definite Purpose in life, therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to render such action.

                                                 -Napolean Hill-

Landlord brokers by and large do a decent job representing landlords.  That's what they're paid to do.  Their task however is not easy if they are up against a seasoned, aggressive Tenant Representative.  It is not surprising that the advice landlord brokers are accustomed to offer Tenants typically will not serve their interests. 

Dedicated landlord brokers will usually offer the following poor advice: 

"We can get you the best deal because we know the market." 

Inferior leases are not executed because a tenant misses a perfect space.  Rather, because the lease is badly negotiated.

We all have access to office space availability.  Landlords never know who might bring in a tenant, so they let everybody know about availabilities directly, through frequent mailings, as well as through real estate databases which all of us subscribe to. 

Leases go awry for many different reasons such as costs increasing more than anticipated; the lease didn't specify sufficient landlord performance standards in such areas as heating, ventilating, air conditioning and electricity, the lease may have restrictions which impair a company's flexibility, and numerous other reasons.  An inadequately negotiated lease frequently turns a "great space" into a bad deal.

"We can get you a great deal because we have a relationship with the landlord." 

If your company is financially strong suggesting you can meet your lease obligations, the landlord will be motivated to have you as a tenant.  The idea that you need some kind of "in" to do a transaction is ludicrous.  Furthermore Tenant Reps have some of the best relationships with landlords.  The bottom line is that landlord's need paying tenants

As a Tenant, you should have an advocate who will represent your interests and not the interests of a landlord that the landlord rep works for or hopes to build a relationship with.  Will a landlord broker or a "dual agency" broker really negotiate aggressively on your behalf if that means going against a landlord they hope to gain a profitable listing from?  Many landlords have leases that propose terms and conditions which are not in a tenant's best interests.  Some properties have an elevated level of tenant frustration. Landlords may violate lease terms.  In addition, there are landlords with financial difficulties that can weaken their capability to carry out the provisions of the lease.

"We can provide great service because we have a lot of branch offices." 

Landlords list their availabilities through brokerage networks and databases.  Landlords want everybody to know about what they have, so they can start getting revenue as quickly as possible.  A great Tenant Rep no matter how many branch offices they have will insist on being the single point of contact.  They would never pass a client to a "branch" office to service a requirement.  Flying around the country or driving from one market to another is in our blood.  The key to signing a good lease is having good site analysis, good lease analysis, good lease negotiation and good follow-up.  These depend on the calibre of the Tenant Representative, not the location of their offices.

 "Dont rock the boat and upset the landlord."

As a Tenant Rep that once worked at one of the more well known dual agency firms, I have witnessed landlord brokers that advise tenants not to negotiate aggressively, not to demand that landlords comply with lease terms and, once a lease is signed, not to insist on the rights provided in the tenant's lease.  Tenants seem to be worried that a tough landlord might become more difficult to deal with.

In my experience, landlords respect tenants who know their rights and pursue their interests in a professional and organized manner. 

It's correct that a tenant often needs a landlord's cooperation.  It's also true that a landlord needs a tenant to help pay the mortgage. Logically speaking, it's cheaper to keep a current tenant satisfied than to incur the cost and possibly lost income emanating from a disgruntled tenant that moves out.

"Hurry up and get the deal done."

Landlord brokers push tenants to get a deal done.  These brokers will tell tenants that if they don't quickly commit to a space, somebody else will take it.  Hurrying into a deal risks neglecting comprehensive due diligence, overlooking costly drawbacks in a building, failing to properly analyze the risks and total costs of signing a lease which can become a serious liability to your company.

"Since you're such a big tenant, you have very few alternatives."

Big companies have signed some of the least advantageous leases because the top executives felt they had to be in a particular building.

If at a given point in time the number of large spaces in a particular area is limited, this doesn't mean big tenants must accept whatever terms landlords care to offer.

Big tenants must secure every feasible negotiating advantage.  Tenants Reps serve tenants exclusively and not the interests of landlords.

Critically important is for a large space user to start the site search early.  Starting early means you'll be able to see more spaces and include options that require building to suit and analyzing leasing versus owning.  There are almost always more alternatives for large space users than you might think.  By developing alternatives, objectively analyzed in detail, you will understand your true costs.  All this means you'll be able to pursue preliminary negotiations, and if they don't lead to satisfactory terms, you'll have time to walk away and begin negotiations elsewhere all the while creating leverage to negotiate the best transaction possible in the building you ultimately end up in.

"The landlord's draft lease is boilerplate, standard terms."

"Standard terms" translates to pro-landlord terms.  Leases are drafted by landlords who are naturally protecting their interests.  You wouldn't expect them to do otherwise.

Don't be pressured into accepting "standard terms." A lease negotiation should be driven by your business objectives, not by a landlord's desire to avoid risk.    

"Just focus on rent and workletter - let lawyers take care of the fine print." 

Many corporate executives imagine they've locked in their biggest costs by shaking hands on these two terms however; the rest of the lease is loaded with costs which are hidden.  It is contrary to the interests of landlord brokers to identify these costs or do anything else that might jeopardize a deal.

Find a Lawyer trained to analyze commercial real estate leases with hands-on experience and insistent on working very closely with your Tenant Rep.

Summary

The most common reason tenants seem to take bad advice from landlord brokers is that they're impressed by the size of the firm and the big deals such brokers have done.  But Big deals are meaningless unless they're good deals for tenants.   

It's shocking to see how many large leases have inadequate operating expense controls, high-cost electricity formulas, vague landlord performance standards, weak sublease rights, limited audit rights and so on.

When interviewing a professional to represent your requirement, in addition to asking about what deals a firm has done also determine how a firm protects tenants from onerous leases.  How do they analyze sites, evaluate landlords, negotiate leases, monitor build-outs and in other ways protect tenants.  

Most likely you will be signing a long term lease.  Please make sure your lease will protect your company's fundamental well being.