7 Reasons to Hire a Tenant Representative (Charlotte Edition)

Hidden lease costs, wasted time, and limited options… These problems and more are common frustrations for tenants in the metro Charlotte region and beyond. Real estate decisions have a major impact on business objectives, financial stability, and your timeline. Perhaps you’ve heard that tenant representation offers peace of mind. But why? This practical checklist will help you understand the top reasons why working with a tenant representative will transform your leasing experience in the Queen City. From tenant loyalty and real-time comps to access to exclusive properties, an experienced representative can revolutionize your tenant journey.

Tenant Rep or DIY? 7 Reasons You’ll Come Out Ahead With a Tenant Representative

1. Pure Tenant Loyalty

When you work with a tenant rep broker, you’ll have expert guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs—not the needs of the seller. Although you can certainly lease a property with the help of the seller’s real estate broker, this person isn’t going to be making decisions with your needs in mind. Instead, their loyalty is to the seller, and getting him or her the best deal possible.

When you work with a tenant representative for your real estate transactions, you get buyer representation that puts your needs first. Not only do you not pay any extra, but you’ll probably even pay less overall, since a good tenant representative is going to work hard to find you the best deal and negotiate the best lease terms possible.

Tenant representatives get a commission of the total sale or lease transaction. In other words, their paycheck is coming out of the seller’s pocket—not yours.

2. Access to Every Option (Including Off-Market Properties)

It’s true, anyone with internet access can search popular online marketplaces for commercial real estate. However, tenant rep brokers have comprehensive search database tools, a web of industry connections, and networking opportunities that aren’t available to the general public.

If you’re searching for properties in North Carolina, don’t settle for simply seeing the same results that everyone else is seeing. Even if you find what you’re searching for, you’ll be in competition with other tenants who are interested in the same property, and without an expert broker on your team, you may not get the best deal.

Experienced, local real estate brokers often have the opportunity to work with property owners before the owners even list their site. This means that, with the right broker, you get access to available properties before anyone else.

At Regent Commercial Real Estate, we’ve worked with hundreds of clients—both sellers and buyers—over the past 10+ years in the Charlotte area. We’ve established trusting relationships and often work with the same property owners over and over to pair tenants with available properties. In many cases, we’ve been able to match up tenants with their perfect space by contacting industry connections to find off-market opportunities.

Check out this case study to read one story of how we matched our client with the perfect lot next door, which wasn’t previously available.

If you’re not seeing a property that fits your real estate requirements, an interconnected tenant representative may be able to help.

3. Real-Time Market Comps (Save Money)

Another major advantage of working with a tenant rep is that you get access to up-to-the-minute market knowledge about comparable properties (comps). What are landlords actually agreeing to in the market right now? These comparables allow you to know whether or not you’re getting the best bang for your buck. Here are some areas in which a tenant representative can help you compare properties.

• Benchmark rents. What are other businesses currently paying in terms of rental rates for the same type of buildings in the same area? If you have this information, you can easily determine whether or not the landlord is asking a fair rental price.
• Tenant improvement allowance (TIA). A tenant improvement allowance is a sum of money that landlords give to tenants for building renovations. Your local tenant rep broker can offer current market comps so that you know whether the $25 per square foot that your landlord is offering is similar to what the landlord down the street is giving.
• Free rent. Some leases include a period of free rent. This may be given up front or staggered throughout the lease. Your tenant rep will be able to compare current deals to see if you’re getting a similar offer to what other tenants are receiving.
• Charlotte has a mix of parking options, including parking garages and surface lots, some free parking areas, and access to public transportation, including the LYNX Blue Line light rail. Depending on the neighborhood you choose for your lease, your building may also offer a private lot. Market comps allow your tenant rep to see if you’re being charged fair rates for parking, or perhaps negotiate credits if other parking options offer a better deal.
• OPEX (Operational Expenditure). Pass-through costs for the building include maintenance, taxes, utilities, and more. A tenant rep can help to compare these costs against similar buildings to make sure you’re not getting an inflated fee.

A tenant rep gives you real-time access to market research and comparables, giving you leverage when it comes to your real estate options. Plus, when you’re working with a tenant rep, your landlord will automatically know that they can’t overcharge. From financial analysis to parking options, you’ll get to experience real savings over the life of the lease.

4. Strategy Before Tours

A tenant rep with prudent real estate strategies can help you save time by nailing down what you need before you start visiting properties. This way, you don’t waste precious hours looking at buildings that aren’t a good fit.

This hands-on approach typically means conducting a needs analysis that considers areas such as:

• Whether you’re looking at office buildings, retail properties, or warehouses, how much space do you need per employee, and how do you expect the company to change in the next 3-5 years?
• Growth projections. Will you be adding staff, expanding services, or launching new departments? In addition to the size of the building, these answers will also help determine how important it is to have flexible lease terms, expansion rights, sublease options, and more.
• Power needs. Tech firms, data users, and light industrial users have different power needs than retail stores and law offices. Knowing this in advance helps to avoid costly upgrades later.
• Parking ratios, loading and logistics, medical or plumbing requirements, and visibility and branding all factor into the equation. A hands-on approach to determining and organizing these needs allows a tenant rep to shortlist buildings that will actually work, instead of dragging you through dozens of buildings that won’t actually fit your needs

5. Site Selection and Location Analysis

No one knows a geographic area like a broker who spends 40+ hours a week exploring properties in the surrounding neighborhoods. Our team has spent over a decade working in the metro Charlotte area, completing nearly 1000 sales and lease transactions from Uptown and the Airport neighborhood to Lake Norman, Ballantyne, Belmont, and beyond.

A local broker can help you compare drive-time/commutes, the available labor pool, your customer map, whether the zoning fits for your business development, and more.

6. End-to-End Process Management

End-to-end process management means that you get the smoothest experience possible every step of the way. A tenant rep broker understands the ins and outs of the leasing process, from initial search to last-step vendor coordination.

This includes:

• RFPs (Request for Proposals). This formal document, sent to potential landlords, gathers detailed proposals based on your leasing requirements. This means that you get an honest comparison early in the process.
• Tenant rep brokers have access to organized packets that guide you on your property tour, so you can see detailed information about building specs, lease terms, and more.
• Timeline control. When your broker is in the driver’s seat, you don’t have to worry about managing the schedule of leasing activities. Your representative will handle key milestones, including proposals, tours, negotiations, move-in dates, and more, to help you stay on track.

7. Tough Lease Negotiation

Properly negotiating a lease can mean a huge financial impact over the life of the lease. When you work with Regent CRE for your Charlotte leasing needs, we’ll work to secure the best deal possible for you as the tenant when it comes to lease clauses, including:

• How often and by how much can the landlord increase your rent? This can be linked to inflation, operating costs, or a fixed percentage.
• Renewal/expansion rights. When it comes to renewing your lease or expanding into additional space within the property, what are your options?
• Sublease Rights. If the tides change, can you lease the space (or a portion of it) to another party?

Other contract negotiation factors include property management, security deposit, TIA, common area maintenance, and more.

How to Choose the Right Tenant Rep in Charlotte

How do you know who’s the best of the best around Charlotte?

Use this checklist to help you determine whether you’re hiring the best tenant rep available.

• How much experience do they have? How many transactions have they completed? How long have they been in the local market?
• What’s their process? Does this person have established processes to effectively and efficiently take you from an accurate needs assessment to move in?
• How are their reviews? Do they have good Google reviews or other public feedback from past clients?
• Do they understand the local submarkets? How familiar is this person with the surrounding neighborhood and local market comps?
• What are their credentials? Do they have any high-level real estate designations such as SIOR or CCIM? These designations can give you insight into how serious a broker is about his or her commercial real estate career.

Read more about how to choose the right tenant representative for your needs.

Let’s Get Started. Get Your Free Market Survey.

The Charlotte real estate market is our passion. Whether you’re on the hunt for an office space that checks all the boxes or a grocery store location that drives retail success, we’re committed to using our resources to pair you with the perfect property.

We know that you have a lot on your plate, and we’re here to provide tenant advisory services that take the burden off you while also giving you the confidence that your business is heading in the right direction.

We’ve closed nearly 1000 successful sales and lease transactions in North and South Carolina. Using comprehensive search database tools, a network of industry connections, and a genuine interest in our clients, we’re committed to providing exceptional service for tenants.

Whether you’re a Charlotte native or just starting to explore the area’s robust economy, we’re here for you.

Request your free shortlist or contact us today.