Commercial Brokers
As the timeline of a lease renewal is closing in, tenants and landlords might start questioning whether a lease renewal is the right option. Should the tenant find a different space or exercise their options? Should the landlord start searching for a new tenant for their facility? Should the landlord consider selling the property within the next 5-10 years? These are all the questions tenants and landlords can address with their commercial broker before they ever reach the end of their current lease.
Commercial brokers may seem like professionals to hire only when there is an immediate need, such as a lease renewal. However, commercial brokers offer several services outside of organizing the terms of a lease. Commercial brokers with experience in healthcare real estate are valuable business partners for health professionals. Brokers with extensive experience in the healthcare industry know just how unique this commercial sector is. They understand the regulations and legislation surrounding medical real estate. And they know what factors specifically apply to each healthcare speciality clinic. Healthcare brokers are valuable team members even before the final lease is part of the conversation.
Tenant Representation
Commercial brokers who offer tenant representation provide services that support all aspects of a tenant’s commercial property needs. For example, these brokers can handle a property search for a private practice or a healthcare system. They can run comps for the market to ensure the tenant would pay fair market value. A good commercial broker will even visit the properties during the site selection process. They offer suggestions about what property features would benefit the tenant or what the tenant would need to add in their buildout. The broker’s experience in the industry also gives them unique insight to what structural requirements might increase the buildout costs per property.
Landlord Representation
Some brokers offer landlord representation. These services include marketing a vacant property, finding the right tenant for a space, and handling lease negotiations. Healthcare brokers typically have a network of industry-specific contacts, which allows them to tailor their marketing efforts to the right audience. Commercial brokers can also facilitate rent relief negotiations to ensure they are fair and in the best interest of both the landlord and their tenant.
Rent Relief
Sometimes a tenant needs to request rent relief during the lease. Large-scale economic downturn, as we saw during the pandemic, can cause temporary closures and financial strain. Even outside of industry-wide economic impact, tenants might need to negotiate temporary financial relief.
Rent relief is a multi-faceted conversation between a tenant and a landlord that could easily cause tension in the partnership. Most of the time, healthcare real estate advisors are able to handle challenging negotiations like rent relief. They are able to negotiate relief terms that benefit both parties while keeping the landlord-tenant relationship intact.
Buying and Selling Commercial Real Estate
Commercial brokers know just how involved a commercial property transaction can be. For sellers, they can provide a broker opinion of value (BOV). While it isn’t a legal appraisal value, it is an estimate of what the property would be worth. They make calls, complete online searches, and run comps to compare the subject property with similar local properties. Brokers also offer suggestions about what property upgrades could add value to a facility. Because of their experience with other medical real estate transactions, they know what features healthcare buyers will be looking for.
When commercial brokers represent buyers, they can also run comps to ensure their client’s preferred properties are listed at fair market value. They handle property searches that meet their client’s requirements. They also review zoning regulations to ensure an adaptive reuse project would be appropriate for a healthcare practice. Eventually, they also submit letters of intent and review the final purchase agreement to ensure it matches their client’s requirements.
HBRE is a full-service healthcare real estate practice with experience in all aspects of healthcare transactions. We assist our clients with leases, lease renewals, and sales transactions of healthcare properties. Healthcare professionals can reach out to our team for information that specifically applies to their practice.
