Shaun Benderson is involved in commercial real estate (CRE) in various geographical areas, including Phoenix, Tampa Bay, and Sarasota. Time and time again, he sees people engaging in a new project or in a renewal of their lease, for instance for a retail property, and try to do everything themselves. He believes, however, that it is important to work with a CRE agent instead, because they can offer all the professional services you could possibly need.

What to Look for in a CRE Agent According to Shaun Benderson

  1. Your agent should be likeable. You will have a lot of dealings with your agent because there are always delays in these projects, so you should be able to get on with each other.
  2. You have to be able to trust them. You must know that, if news breaks with some sort of scoop that could affect you, the agent will come to you first. Make sure you properly review the agent so that you find someone who will always have your best interest at heart. A particular issue to be aware of is that a CRE agent may have a conflict of interest. For instance, if the agent works with many different property owners, they need to determine whether your best interests come first, or their promise to the different owners to get them the highest rent rate they can. You need to find out, therefore, what other dealings your agent has, and whether those might affect you.
  3. They have to have experience. The world of CRE is very complex and very different from other forms of real estate. It takes many years for someone to become truly proficient at what they do. In return, they get paid a lot of money. However, you shouldn’t work with someone who isn’t experienced. Don’t assume that someone who is older will also have more experience, however, as this is often not the case. It is quite common for older agents to be quite new to the field, trying it out before their retirement, for instance. Younger agents, meanwhile, are often also more technologically advanced. Age, therefore, is not of relevance in terms of determining someone’s experience.
  4. You might want to find someone with a certain specialization. For instance, if you want to find a retail property, then you don’t need to work with an agent that exclusively deals with factories and other industrial locations. Similarly, if you want to find a property in Sarasota, you shouldn’t work with someone who usually covers properties in Phoenix. You need to consider both the vertical line (industry) and horizontal line (geography), in other words.

It seems that there are a lot of different things that you need to consider before hiring a CRE agent. That is, in fact, one of the reasons why many people don’t bother at all. However, Shaun Benderson feels that is a grave mistake and one that could potentially cost you a lot of money.