Questions to Ask a Commercial Real Estate Broker
A commercial broker is usually paid only when a deal closes, so the first meeting is the time to find out who they work for, how well they know your part of the market and what their agreement would bind you to. These 61 questions are for a tenant or buyer choosing a representative and for an owner deciding what to ask when listing a commercial property. The first five are the ones to put to any commercial agent when the meeting is short. The rest follow the decision: track record, the agreement, the market and your plan, listing, and the deal itself.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Start here
Which submarkets do you work in, and how many deals did you close in mine last year?
Why ask it
Total career volume is easy to recite and tells you little. The count for your own submarket over the last twelve months says far more about whether they know the landlords, the vacancies, and what buildings are really trading at.
Which property types do you spend most of your time on?
Why ask it
Industrial, office, retail, and multifamily behave differently enough that experience does not transfer cleanly. A broker who lists all four equally is usually describing what they will take rather than what they know.
Do you mostly represent tenants and buyers, owners, or both, and who would you be working for in my deal?
Why ask it
Every piece of advice that follows is coloured by whose side the broker is on. The duties that come with each arrangement are set by agency rules that differ from place to place, so have them explain how it works where the property is. A plain answer is a good sign, and hedging usually means the arrangement suits them more than it suits you.
Who else do you or your firm represent in this submarket, and how do you handle the conflict?
Why ask it
Brokers who list buildings and also represent tenants in the same area face a real tension: a tenant's leverage comes from the very buildings they are trying to fill, and an owner's space competes with the other listings they carry. Get the properties and clients the conflict touches named in writing before you tour or list anything.
How are you paid on this, and who pays it?
Why ask it
Commission structure quietly shapes the advice you get. Find out whether it is a percentage of the price or of the total rent, whether the owner pays it, and whether a longer term or a higher rate increases their fee, because that tells you where the pressure will come from later.
Track record
How long have you worked in commercial property, and what did you do before it?
Why ask it
Commercial work is a different trade from selling houses, with its own leases, valuations and buyers. Someone who moved across recently may be perfectly capable, but you should know whether your deal is one of their first.
What is the typical size of the leases or sales you handle, and is mine small or large for you?
Why ask it
A 2,000 square foot lease at a firm built around office towers tends to be handed to the newest person on the team. A deal at the very top of a broker's range gets attention but may stretch their experience.
Will you be running this yourself, or will someone else handle it day to day?
Why ask it
Pitches are made by senior brokers and executed by junior ones, which is not automatically bad, but you should meet the person who will actually return your calls. Ask what the senior broker's involvement looks like once the agreement is signed.
How many clients are you actively working for right now?
Why ask it
There is no right number, since a broker with a team can carry more than one working alone. Listen for whether the answer comes with an account of where your search or listing fits, especially in the first month, when most of the work happens.
What license do you hold, and which broker do you work under?
Why ask it
Licensing rules for commercial brokerage differ by state and country, and in some places the person pitching you works under someone else's license. Take both names and look them up on the regulator's public register yourself.
What market data can you show me that I could not find on a public listing site?
Why ask it
Public sites show asking rents and whatever owners choose to advertise. A working broker should be able to name their sources, such as a paid database, the firm's own deal records and calls with other brokers, and hand you a sample report for your area.
Have you worked with a business like mine, and what did it need that others would not?
Why ask it
A restaurant needs venting and grease traps, a workshop needs power and loading, a clinic needs parking and accessible entries. A commercial agent who has handled your kind of business will raise requirements you had not thought to list.
When did you last tell a client not to go ahead with a deal?
Why ask it
Someone paid on closing has an obvious reason to endorse whatever you want to do, so a story about talking a client out of a lease or a purchase is worth more than a promise to be candid. Nobody who has worked long enough is short of an example, and having none is its own answer.
What did you get wrong on a recent deal?
Why ask it
Everyone in this business has misjudged a timeline, a landlord, or a market. Willingness to name one, without blaming the client, is the closest thing to a reliable character reference you will get in a first meeting.
Who from your last three closed deals can I call?
Why ask it
Three references are a selection and the last three deals are a sample, which is why the wording matters. When you call, skip the outcome and have each client describe the most difficult stretch of the deal.
Agreement
What is the term of the agreement you want me to sign, and what happens if I want to end it?
Why ask it
The length in the first draft is a proposal and can be negotiated like the rest of the agreement. The line to find is the one on ending early: how much notice, whether you need a reason, and whether anything is owed if you walk. Read it before the market conversation goes any further.
Is the agreement exclusive, and would I owe a fee on a deal I found on my own?
Why ask it
Under an exclusive agreement the broker is usually owed a fee on anything you sign during the term, including a building a friend told you about. If you are already talking to a landlord or a buyer, ask to have them named and carved out before you sign.
After the agreement ends, which properties or parties would still earn you a fee, and for how long?
Why ask it
Many agreements carry a tail, a period after expiry in which the broker is still owed a fee on buildings they showed you or prospects they brought. It is only as clear as the list attached to it, so have them commit to sending the covered names in writing within a few days of the end date.
If I end up renewing where I am, are you paid, and by whom?
Why ask it
Renewing is often the cheapest outcome for a tenant and the least certain payday for a broker, because some landlords resist paying a fee on a tenant they already have. Settle it at the start so that staying put is advice the broker can afford to give.
If the landlord or seller will not pay your full fee, do I owe the difference?
Why ask it
Some agreements say the client makes up any shortfall, and tenants who were told the service costs them nothing find that clause late. Ask what fee the broker expects on your deal and what happens in a building that offers less.
Do some owners pay you more than others, and would you tell me when one does?
Why ask it
Landlords with space that is hard to fill sometimes offer brokers a bonus or a higher commission. That does not make the building wrong for you, but the incentive should reach you before the tour and from your own broker.
If a colleague at your firm lists a building I like, how is my information kept from them?
Why ask it
Two brokers from one firm on opposite sides of a deal is common in commercial property, and how it must be disclosed depends on the law where you are, so ask how it works there. Then ask about the firm's actual practice: separate files, who can see your budget, and what you would be asked to sign.
What will you tell the other side about my budget, my deadline and my other options?
Why ask it
Your lease expiry date and your top number are the two facts that weaken you most if they travel. A careful broker can say exactly what they share, what they hold back, and that they check with you first when unsure.
What do you need from me before you start, and what will this cost me out of pocket?
Why ask it
Expect to be asked for financial statements, a headcount or space plan, and a decision maker who turns up to tours. Costs outside the commission, such as an architect's test fit or the marketing budget on a listing, should have a name beside each one.
Market and plan
What have comparable deals actually settled at in the last six months?
Why ask it
Asking prices are published and settled terms mostly are not, which is a large part of what a broker is for. Push past the rate to the whole package. If no recent examples appear, that says more about their deal flow than about the market.
What are owners here giving away right now besides the rate?
Why ask it
Concessions carry the real value in a soft market: free months, improvement allowances, parking, moving costs, an early termination right. Negotiating only the headline number leaves untouched the part landlords are often most flexible on.
What is vacancy in this submarket, and what new space is coming?
Why ask it
Space arriving over the next year or two can move your leverage as much as today's vacancy figure does. Knowing what is under construction, and who is pre-leasing it, is the difference between watching the market and repeating a report.
Is there space or property available that is not being advertised?
Why ask it
Some options never reach a listing site: a tenant quietly looking to sublease, an owner who would sell for the right offer, a floor coming back next year. Hearing about them depends on the broker's phone calls, so ask for one current example.
Would you advise me to renew, move, or buy, and what would change your answer?
Why ask it
Anyone who has looked at your situation should be able to argue each option before recommending one. Listen for the conditions attached, such as how long you expect to stay and how much cash a purchase would tie up, and take the lease-or-buy numbers to your accountant.
How much space do you think I need, and how did you work that out?
Why ask it
Rules of thumb for square feet per person vary by industry and by how often people come in. A useful answer starts from how you operate, not from what happens to be vacant, and may come out smaller than the figure you walked in with.
How far ahead of my lease expiry or target date should we start?
Why ask it
Starting late costs tenants their leverage, because a landlord who knows you cannot move in time has no reason to bend. Have the broker work backwards from your date through build-out, permits and negotiation, and show you where today falls.
What would my current landlord probably offer to keep me?
Why ask it
Your own building is a comparison too. How much of it is empty and how the owner has treated other renewals are clues to how hard the landlord will fight to hold on to you, and that tells you what a credible plan to move is worth at the table.
Which landlords or buildings would you steer me away from, and why?
Why ask it
Brokers know which owners are slow on repairs, short of money for improvements, or about to sell. They may be guarded in a first meeting, but one specific, reasoned warning suggests they will be candid when it counts.
Should I be looking at sublease space, and what are the catches?
Why ask it
A sublease can be cheaper and already fitted out, but you take what is left of the term and whatever the original lease says, and the head landlord usually has to consent. Get the broker to explain how those risks play out locally before subleases go on the tour list.
How will you compare the options for me when one lease is gross and another is triple net?
Why ask it
Under a gross lease the rent covers most building costs, and under a net lease taxes, insurance and maintenance are billed on top, so two quoted rates can describe very different monthly bills. The labels are used loosely from market to market, which is why you want every option reduced to one all-in figure with the estimates shown.
Listing
What price or asking rent would you put on my property, and which recent deals support it?
Why ask it
Ask to see the comparable sales or leases and how each one differs from your building. A flattering number can win a listing and be followed by a request to reduce it a few months in, so the reasoning matters more than the figure.
Who is the most likely buyer or tenant for this property?
Why ask it
An owner-occupier, a local investor and a national fund read a building differently and are reached through different channels. The marketing plan follows from this answer, so a vague promise of plenty of interest is a poor start.
How will you market the property, and what happens in the first thirty days?
Why ask it
The channels are much the same everywhere: listing services, a sign, mailings to other brokers. Photographs and a listing page are the minimum. The harder work is calling the tenants and buyers who are not searching yet, so find out who makes those calls and how many.
Will you share the commission with a broker who brings the buyer or tenant, and on what split?
Why ask it
The buyer or tenant often arrives with a broker of their own, and a listing that offers outside brokers little may be shown less. Find out what split will be offered and whether the total fee changes when your broker ends up handling both sides.
On a lease listing, is your commission due at signing, and do I owe more if the tenant renews or expands?
Why ask it
Lease commissions are often worked out on the rent for the whole term and paid early, which is a large payment before the tenant has paid much rent. Some fee schedules also charge on renewals and expansions years later. Customs vary by market, so read the schedule line by line and ask what is negotiable.
How long a listing term are you asking for, and what will you have done by the halfway point?
Why ask it
Commercial property can take many months to sell or lease, so a longer term than a house listing is normal. Tie the length to commitments you can check, such as a launch date and a review meeting, and to a way out if they are missed.
Do you have other listings that would compete with mine, and which one does a prospect see first?
Why ask it
A tenant who calls about your space may be just as good a fit for the vacancy two streets away that the same broker is also paid to fill. There is no perfect answer, but a broker who has thought about it will describe a rule, such as showing everything that fits and telling each owner so.
What should I fix, clean up or gather before the property goes to market?
Why ask it
Buyers and tenants ask for the same things early: a rent roll, operating statements, the leases, a survey, any environmental reports. If they have walked the building and can name two or three repairs worth making, they have looked at it properly.
How do you check that a buyer can close or a tenant can pay before I stop talking to others?
Why ask it
A signed letter of intent from a party without the money costs you weeks. The answer should cover what gets requested up front, such as proof of funds, a lender letter or business financials, and what happens when someone declines to provide it.
How will you handle showings without unsettling my current tenants or staff?
Why ask it
Tenants who learn a building is for sale from a stranger with a clipboard start to worry about their own leases. Those leases often set notice rules for access as well, so agree who tells the occupants, when, and how much warning each showing gets.
How often will you report to me, and what will the report show?
Why ask it
Enquiries, tours, feedback from the parties who passed, and what the broker plans to change next are the useful contents. A fixed rhythm, every two weeks for instance, saves you from chasing and makes a quiet listing visible early.
If there is little interest after ninety days, what would you change first?
Why ask it
The lazy answer is the price. A better one looks at the marketing, how the space is divided or presented and the terms on offer, and only then at the number. Ask what evidence they would want before recommending a cut.
Would you publish an asking price or invite offers, and why for this property?
Why ask it
Both approaches are used in commercial sales, and which one suits depends on how easy the building is to value and how many buyers are likely. The explanation shows whether the broker has a view on your property or one method for every listing.
When offers come in, how will you present them to me?
Why ask it
Price or rate is one line among several: deposit, contingencies, time to close, free rent, improvement money, the strength of whoever is signing. Insist on every offer in writing and set out side by side, including the ones the broker thinks are weak.
The deal
What does the process look like from now to a signed deal, and how long does it usually take?
Why ask it
You want the sequence and the elapsed time for each step: tours, a shortlist, a letter of intent, lease negotiation, permits, build-out. Build-out is the step that catches businesses out, because a signed lease is not yet a place you can occupy.
Who speaks to the other side, and will I see every proposal before it goes out in my name?
Why ask it
Brokers usually carry the conversation so that you are not negotiating against yourself in a lobby. That only works if nothing is offered or conceded without your sign-off, so agree at the start that every proposal reaches you in draft.
How many options will you keep alive while we negotiate with the favourite?
Why ask it
Leverage comes from a real alternative, and it goes the day the other side learns there is none. Trading proposals with two or three buildings at once is more work for the same fee, which is the reason to ask whether they will do it.
What do you put in the letter of intent, and what do you leave to the lease?
Why ask it
Anything left out of the letter of intent gets negotiated later from a weaker position, once you are committed and running out of time. A considered answer here shows someone protecting your leverage, not hurrying you to a signature.
Which clauses in a standard lease here cost tenants the most later?
Why ask it
The expensive surprises are rarely in the rent: operating expense pass-throughs, holdover penalties, restoration obligations at the end, relocation rights. Naming the usual traps in local leases takes having read a few alongside a client, and what each clause means for you is a question for your attorney.
Will you check that my use is allowed at a property before I spend money on it?
Why ask it
Zoning, the building's occupancy permit and sometimes the other tenants' leases can each rule out a restaurant, a gym or a clinic in a space that looks ideal. These rules are local, so find out who confirms them, the broker, your attorney or the planning office, and at what point before the letter of intent.
Is the landlord likely to want a personal guarantee, and how would you negotiate it?
Why ask it
Small and newer businesses are often asked to back the lease personally. Brokers who do this regularly know the usual ways to narrow one, such as a cap on the amount or a guarantee that falls away after some years of on-time rent. What signing it would expose you to is a question for your attorney.
If I am buying, what assumptions are in your underwriting?
Why ask it
Rent growth, vacancy and the eventual sale price are the inputs to press on, along with how far each can move before the answer changes. A projection that only works when every input is optimistic deserves a second look from your lender or accountant before you rely on it.
Who else needs to be involved, and when should each of them start?
Why ask it
Most deals need an attorney, a lender, sometimes an architect, an environmental consultant, or a permitting expediter. A broker who names the roles and the timing has done this before. One who says they will handle everything is overreaching.
What did you do the last time a deal started to fall apart?
Why ask it
Deals collapse over financing, inspections, permits, or a landlord reopening terms that were agreed. A specific, recent account matters more than a philosophy, because a broker's behaviour in that week is what you are actually hiring.
What do you do for me after the lease or the sale is signed?
Why ask it
Some brokers stay through build-out, the move and the first reconciliation of operating expenses. Others are gone at signature. Either can be fine, as long as you know which you are getting and who to call when the first odd invoice arrives.
What would you tell me about this if you were not being paid on the transaction?
Why ask it
This asks the broker to step outside their own incentive, and the answers are often surprisingly direct: wait a quarter, renew where you are, take less space. Anyone who cannot separate the two positions has told you which one governs.
Choosing and Using a Commercial Broker
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before You Sign Anything
Settle Who the Broker Works For
Get the representation arrangement in writing before you tour a single building: whether the broker acts for you alone, which properties they or their firm also list, and what happens if one of those reaches your shortlist. It is a much more expensive conversation to have once you want the space.
Read the Term and the Tail
Look for the length of the agreement, the notice needed to end it, and how long after it ends the broker is still owed a fee on buildings they introduced. Those three lines decide how much freedom you keep.
Interview More Than One
Two or three conversations tell you which parts of the market picture are shared and which are one person's opinion. The disagreements are the most useful thing you will take from the process.
Verify the Track Record Yourself
Ask for the addresses of recent closings, not just a list of clients. Sales can often be checked against public property records, while leases mostly cannot, so for those a call to the tenant is the test. Being relaxed about you checking is itself a good sign.
While the Deal Is Live
- Get an attorney involved before the letter of intent, not after it
- Ask for the full economics of every option side by side, including concessions and expense pass-throughs, not just the rate per square foot
- Keep your own timeline for build-out and permits, since occupancy dates slip more often than lease dates do
- Put every negotiated point in writing on the day it is agreed, however informal the conversation was
- Ask what the landlord has said, in their words, rather than accepting a summary of their position
- Decide your walk-away terms before the final negotiation, and tell your broker what they are
Common Pitfalls
Calling the Number on the Sign First
The agent named on the sign has been hired by the owner. If you tour with them and hire your own broker afterwards, there can be an argument about who introduced you to the building and whether your broker is paid on it. Settle representation first, even if it delays a viewing by a week.
Negotiating Only on Rate
Improvement allowances, free rent, expense caps, renewal options, and termination rights often carry more value than a small reduction in the rate, and landlords part with them more readily. A deal judged only on rate usually leaves money in the room.
Taking More Space Than the Plan Supports
Growth projections are optimistic and leases are long. Ask what happens if headcount stays flat, and what your options are for subleasing or handing space back before you sign for the larger footprint.
Assuming the Broker's Interest Matches Yours
Most brokers are honest, and nearly all of them are paid at closing. Read advice about timing, term length, and how hard to push with that in mind, and get a second opinion on the decisions that are expensive to reverse.
If You Are Listing a Property
Ask for the Pricing Evidence Behind the Number
Have each broker you interview bring the sales or leases behind their figure and explain how your building compares. Two brokers working from the same deals should land close together, and a number well above the others needs the strongest explanation.
Get the Marketing Plan Attached to the Agreement
A listing agreement sets out the owner's obligations in detail and often says little about the broker's. Ask for the launch date, where the property will be advertised, the split offered to outside brokers and the reporting schedule to be written in or attached.
Assemble the Paperwork Before the Launch
Collect the leases, the rent roll, two or three years of operating statements, the tax bills and any survey or environmental report before the first enquiry arrives. A gap a buyer finds halfway through a deal costs more than one you fill at the start.
Decide Who Tells the Occupants
Agree with the broker how and when tenants and staff hear that the building is for sale or that space is being shown. Check what each lease says about access and notice, and take it to your attorney where the wording is unclear.