Our focus is representing and assisting corporations and individuals for the planning, acquisition, disposition and leasing of facilities. Mike Wilens began in 1985 working for PODOLSKY & ASSOCIATES and in 1993 founded KBF.
For 29 years KBF has been a part of the Metro Chicago Commercial Real Estate network of brokers. This network is involved in most commercial real estate transactions in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
Why is tenant representation important for a renewal or relocation?
Representation can help you identify viable space alternatives and help you understand the market - while saving you a significant amount of time.
What am I communicating to my landlord if I hire a tenant representative for a renewal? Hiring a tenant representative shows your landlord you seriously wish to understand and consider the best space options on the market for you and your organization.
Can a renewal and the selection of a new space be pursued simultaneously? Understanding legitimate alternatives for purposes of comparing moving vs. renewing can prevent a tenant from being taken advantage of by all landlords. The answer is absolutely yes.
Why does a tenant need representation for a renewal? Unless competition occurs between a current landlord and surrounding owners, tenants will find themselves at the mercy of their landlord (and landlords are often not merciful).
How soon before lease expiration should planning begin? Beginning the process 9 - 14 months before a lease is scheduled to expire is best. (16 - 24 months for space requiring extensive, planning, preparation and build-out or renovation).
What if I'm afraid of an adversarial relationship with my landlord? Though counter -intuitive, securing favorable terms will often help maintain a good relationship with a current (or future) landlord. A landlord will control the the renewal process when a tenant has no alternative space options (the tenant will have no choice other than to accept the landlord's renewal terms). Landlords prey on tenants who've not "shopped" the market and this is often when tenants become resentful and the process becomes adversarial.
Asking a landlord to re-negotiate the terms of a lease agreement is always possible. While no one can know for certain whether a landlord will agree to change the terms of a lease, it is tempting to underestimate the possibilities.
Often times a landlord will be in favor of a lease extension long before a lease expiration date. Most landlords appreciate the value of a tenant remaining in their space vs. having to search for and complete a transaction with a new tenant.
Do you know if your landlord is charging you properly based on the terms of your lease? Many tenants do not. An owner and their attorney negotiate the terms of a lease and at a later date a property manager employed by the owner interprets the lease document for a determination of how much money a tenant is responsible to pay the landlord.
Lease misinterpretations, oversights, math errors and errors in square footage all contribute to mistakes resulting in tenants paying more (sometimes far more) than they had agreed to pay when they signed their lease. The potential for error is great. Unless detected, a miscalculation can cost a tenant thousands and thousands of dollars over the life of a lease (depending on square footage).
Our experience ranges from small construction/renovation projects to lead broker and advisory assistance for new build-to-suit construction for facilities of up to 230,000 square feet.
Whether a large or small project we have lots of experience assisting clients for build to suit construction and/or a more traditional bidding process. We're not architects, nor are we general contractors and our expertise is not construction. However, if you're searching for ideas for an upcoming project, we'd be happy to provide suggestions.
A short thank you for all your help in assisting our office relocation. In the service industry today it's rare to find someone that really cares about the customers desires. In our case it was as if you thought and genuinely cared about our needs as much as we did.
HAWTHRON REALTY GROUP I just wanted to say that you did a "bang-up" job for HAWTHORN on leasing our 147,000 sq. ft. facility The property floundered many years prior to your involvement. Vacancies were high and many new tenants brought in went belly up. However, your diligence pushed the occupancy level to 95%. Moreover and perhaps more important, the quality of your tenants were top notch. I believe all the tenants you brought in are still occupying the building.
Now that we have landed and taken the big step into our own space, I wanted to take the opportunity to formally thank you for all your assistance. We recognize our space requirements were extremely exacting and caused a number of false starts. Nevertheless, in the age-old spirit of give the customer what they want, you never missed a step and kept showing us options until we found one which seemed to meet our needs. But you didn't stop there. Once lease negotiations commenced your advice was invaluable. A number of your suggestions found their way into our final contract. On behalf of all of our people here., thank you for all of your unflagging enthusiasm. Most of all thank you for helping us secure a space we are very pleased with.
Please know how appreciative I am to have had you as my broker for the lease and sale of the property we're occupying in Lake County, IL. More than a "well known" name in the real estate business, I wanted someone to advise and direct my thinking to make the best decisions possible. You did all this and much more. I believe your marketing of the property was way above average and you provided insight concerning the structuring of what became a somewhat complex lease (with an option to purchase) transaction. In addition, you predicted correctly which direction the market was going to go.
I wanted to reduce my asking price and you would not let me. I was very surprised. Many real estate people pretend to care about their clients when they really are thinking of themselves and a commission. Not you. You cared about me and my situation. Your input permitted me to save a great deal of money. I also want you to know I recognized how your marketing of the property was excellent. Your marketing of the property was exceptional as evidenced by by the great many showings you had with co-operating brokers. You kept telling me you knew how to expose the property to the market - you were true to your word, did a fantastic job, and I thank you.
This is a short note to express my appreciation for the results of the work you have performed for ALPHA LIGHTING. You were successful in your search for a specific type of building while not wasting our time looking at misfits. Then you were patient with us on what turned into a very slow and sometimes frustrating process with the owner. You are to be commended for your ability to bring multiple parties together for one common objective. In addition, immediately after the transaction was complete you leased our available space to other tenants. WITHIN a short period of time we had a revenue stream from our tenants, thanks to you. As you continue to fill our current and future real estate needs please feel free to use ALPHA LIGHTING as a reference. You prove nice guys can finish first.
I consider myself very fortunate for having selected you as my real estate broker. Thank you for your persistence. You showed me many properties and influenced me to consider the 2850 W. Irving Park Road building. Having not agreed with you at first, I have come to appreciate your input immensely. You know what you're doing. Along with being a good value, this building serves our needs perfectly. Our business has never been better and I believe the selection of this building is the primary reason for our success. Thank you again for your help and please know it will be my pleasure to continue referring business your way.
Michael Wilens Managing Broker License # 471004738
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