Selecting the right broker to assist and guide in a real estate transaction, whether a lease or sale, is vital to the ultimate success of the deal. Every client should first consider the broker’s experience with the type of property you are pursuing (industrial, retail, office, etc.) Clients should be confident in the broker’s local market knowledge, track record, and trust the broker’s relationships with other industry professionals within the market.

A good broker acts as a market advisor, negotiator, and advocate for the client – not simply as a salesperson. The broker also manages the many moving parts of a transaction, working with landlords, sellers, buyers, tenants, attorneys, lenders, contractors, and other professionals to keep the deal moving toward closing or occupancy.

Most importantly, the broker should understand the client’s business objectives. In short, the broker’s job is to provide expertise, save the client time, protect the client’s interests, and create the best possible outcome for the transaction.

The best time to engage a commercial real estate broker is early in the process—before a property is listed for sale or lease or before you begin negotiating with a prospective buyer or tenant. Early involvement allows the broker to develop a strategy, identify potential issues, and help you make informed decisions before important terms are established.

The most effective broker-client relationships are built on communication, trust, and a shared understanding of the client’s objectives. Choosing a broker early and giving them a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish allows them to add the most value throughout the transaction.

Columbus is a strong and growing commercial real estate market, but businesses entering the area should not assume that every part of the market operates the same way. Location, access, labor availability, surrounding development, and local market conditions can vary significantly from one submarket to another.

Companies should investigate zoning, permitting, taxes, incentives, utilities, infrastructure, and development plans before committing to a location. Local municipalities can have different requirements and processes, and understanding those factors early can prevent costly surprises later.

Finally, businesses entering Columbus should recognize the value of local relationships and market knowledge. A local commercial real estate broker can provide insight into properties that may not yet be widely marketed, realistic rental and sale pricing, landlord and seller expectations, submarket trends, and the practical considerations that are difficult to identify from outside the market.

Evaluating an industrial property requires looking beyond the size and asking price or rental rate. The right property needs to work for your operations, employees, customers, equipment, and future growth. Important considerations include: Building size and configuration, clear height, loading and dock doors, truck access and circulation, outside storage and IOS, site size and parking, location and accessibility, zoning and permitted uses, power and utilities, operating expenses, office and employee areas, and environmental considerations.

The answer depends on the parties and circumstances. There are several ways to arrive at a deal, but having the right representation greatly increases your chances of arriving to a point of success and doing so in an efficient manner. In some leases or sales, a letter of intent (LOI) or term sheet is an advisable and productive way to reach a non-binding agreement in principle. This also allows the parties to begin the transaction with a similar understanding of the deal and common ground to continue progressing forward.

There are many forms of leases and sales agreements that can be used. For some transactions, board forms are appropriate, simple, and easy. For some transactions that have more complexity and layers, longer and more details documents are necessary.

Inevitably, both sides will need to make some form of concessions and provide flexibility to make the deal work. The bright broker creates immense value in this area by having the knowledge and experience to offer solutions to the parties where both sides get what they need and are able to give where they can.

For purchase and sales transactions, a “drop and swap” is a transaction structure sometimes used by owners of investment real estate who hold a property through a partnership or LLC.

In a typical structure, the ownership entity first distributes (“drops”) its ownership interests in the real estate a newly formed company. The owners then sell or exchange their respective interests (“swap”) of that newly formed company to the buyer.

The advantages of generally considered two-fold: for the purchaser, an automatic re-evaluation of the property is not triggered for real estate taxes purposes. This may often result in the property remaining at a lower tax basis for several years. For the seller, the transfer will be regarded as exempt from local county conveyance fee (often $3 - $5, per thousand) in most counties in Ohio.