FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is "dual agency", and how does it compromise my interests?
“Dual Agency” exists when an agent represents both the tenant or buyer and the landlord or seller in a negotiation. A conflict of interest arises when a broker has a bias in favor of or against a tenant or buyer or landlord or seller. Tenants or buyers represented by conflicted brokers do not receive the full range of benefits they would obtain from a tenant or buyer only brokerage company. This holds true even if different agents are employed by the same broker to work with different parties in the transaction. This “conflict of interest” creates a fundamental agency dilemma for brokers who represent both tenants or buyers and landlords or sellers.
Is this "conflict" of interest issue that important?
Absolutely. Most brokerage companies derive the majority of their income from landlord or seller listings. It would be foolish of them to aggressively negotiate on behalf of one tenant or buyer and sour a relationship with a landlord who may give them business in the future or whom they have a personal relationship with and may know personally on some level.
I'm just going to renew my lease. Why do I need a broker?
Your landlord considers you a captive tenant who is unlikely to move and therefore willing to pay whatever he asks. We create competition for your tenancy by leveraging other landlords against your current landlord and by treating your current premises as just one of many options. This forces your landlord to be as aggressive in pursuing your tenancy as if you were not already there.
My lease doesn't expire for years. Why do I need a broker now?
Economic conditions can create opportunities to renegotiate leases for significant savings as the vacancy rate increases, just as recognizing a future increase in rental rates creates an opportunity to lock-in current lower rates. Addressing leasing needs on an ongoing basis, rather than just when the lease expires, can yield significant savings. Beginning discussions with the landlord before speaking with a broker only undermines the entire effort and has to be unwound for a tenant broker to do the best job and create the needed leverage.
Looking at other sites to lease or buy is part of the full process when receiving the best terms. Even a weak broker will be able to achieve minimal free rent abatement to justify the broker fees in a renewal. More important are terms such as pass-through of taxes and building expenses and which year is the base year for this is critical for a lease to age correctly—these terms alone are worth more that a few months of free rent.
How your space is measured is also critical. Architects have long- term relationships with landlords so you need your own architect to understand the method of measurement and language being used in the signed documents
What about other expenses such as moving costs, costs to improve space, etc.?
By addressing all of the elements of a transaction, not just rent, we maximize the efficiency of the space for our client while minimizing the cost. This begins with careful examination of a client's current and future space needs and how they utilize space, value engineering the construction process, and lease management to insure that all of the negotiated benefits are realized. Who the best architect and contractor of bid on the work required is not picked by an old buddy or the landlord or seller. We know all the better contractors best fit for your job and the best process to make them bid for your services.
What about negotiating capability?
Perhaps best known for our aggressive negotiating skills, we base all of our negotiations on financial analysis and modeling. This information gives us a powerful advantage in negotiations, including the obscure issues that can add up to significant additional rent. Combined with the tenacity and aggressiveness that our independence affords us, we are able to negotiate better deals than anyone. The result is less rent for a given space.
Using these financial models along with having the required leverage duing the entire process is the recipe for a successful, aggressive contract. This is not done easily and requires a single point of contact to leverage these groups against each other to bid for your business.
Can KANE negotiate all types of transactions?
Absolutely! We do building and land acquisitions, build-to-suits, renegotiate leases, leases with purchase options or equity participation, sale/leasebacks and straight leases. Our transaction portfolio includes every type of building: high-rise office, suburban office, R&D, and industrial. We pay for all the software services to see comparables and provide analysis and serveys of the market inventory.
How does KANE get paid?
We split a commission with the landlord's leasing agent, broker, or management company. Therefore, we do not increase the cost of the transaction nor do we cost you any money. If you don’t have a broker representing you, the listing broker simply collects more fees for the renewal, new lease or sale. It is very rare someone today does not use a broker—however on renewals the landlord tries to convince tenants not to hire a broker to save them money, but this is not true unless you have a below standard broker. Market information and leveraging other options is the vital role of the broker and pays for itself.
Wasting your time looking around for yourself can only complicate the process—as some landlords will not pay a broker fee since you have talked with them directly—and rarely do excellent brokers work with a client who does not pay for their services.
