Choosing a Commercial Leasing Firm When Your Lease Is Running Out

Why a renewal needs a leasing firm at all

A renewal offer often arrives as a short amendment: same space, new rent, a line to sign. Treat it as an opening position. Replacing a tenant costs a landlord months of vacancy, work on the space, leasing commissions and usually free rent for whoever comes next. That avoided cost is your leverage, and it counts only if the landlord believes you could leave.

A leasing firm makes the alternative real, and presents your renewal as a deal the building has to win.

Twelve to eighteen months out: what the firm does first

Bring the firm in 12 to 18 months before expiry. Inside six months the landlord knows a move is no longer practical, and the terms show it.

• First, a market check: comparable floors in your size range, with asking rents.
• Second, tours of the few that could truly replace your office.
• Third, both futures on one sheet: the renewal as offered and the move, each with its one-time costs counted.
• Fourth, the negotiation, with the landlord aware that an alternative exists.

Renew or relocate runs the full calculation and lists the dates that matter.

How to tell a leasing firm has no stake in the answer

A firm that earns more when you move, or that leases your building for its owner, may still advise you well. You should know before it does. Ask three things and get the replies in writing.

• How are you paid if we renew, and how if we relocate?
• Does your firm lease our current building for the owner?
• Does it lease any building you expect to shortlist?

Put the same three to Nomad. Besides tenant brokerage we offer agency leasing and owner representation. If a building we lease for an owner lands on your list, one firm would sit on both sides of the deal; New York calls that dual agency and requires informed consent from each side. Your attorney can confirm what disclosure you are owed.

What Nomad does once the comparison is run

We run the market check, arrange the tours, request proposals from the alternatives and convert every offer, the renewal included, to effective rent across the same number of years. If you stay, our construction management team can run the refresh. If you move, the same team runs the new buildout, which typically takes 10 to 16 weeks for custom work. The brokerage page sets out each stage.

The Midtown floors below, and how to use them

Midtown is Manhattan's traditional corporate core and holds its deepest supply of full floors, a natural yardstick for an established company. The block below lists the Midtown floors available through Nomad, each with its size and asking rent. Set them against the figure in your renewal offer. They are a first comparison, not the whole market.