Commercial Real Estate Broker Services for Startups: How Nomad Works With You

The engagement: who runs it, who pays, and what to ask

• Who runs it: a principal of the firm is on every deal, and you can meet the brokers on the team page before you send anything.
• What you sign: ask us before the search starts, and put the same question to every firm you meet.
• The fee: in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee. The lease and the commission agreement settle it on each deal, so ask us how we are paid on yours.
• Conflicts: Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation. When a building the firm leases for its owner is on your shortlist, New York treats that as dual agency and requires the informed consent of landlord and tenant. Ask us to name those buildings before you tour them.

What happens once a 22-person team sends its brief

Take a company of about 22, the size of many teams just after a Series A. The work runs in this order.

• A shortlist of floors that fit the headcount and the budget, each with its size and asking rent.
• Tours, usually three to five floors in one afternoon.
• A test fit on the finalists.
• Requests for proposal to the landlords still in play, with every answer converted to what the floor costs over the whole term.
• A letter of intent that fixes the business terms, then the lease, negotiated alongside your attorney.

The floors below are sized for a team like that one, so you can see what a first shortlist draws from.

The test fit: checking a floor against a team that is still hiring

Square footage is a guess until someone draws it. A test fit is an architect's quick layout of your desks, rooms and phone booths on one specific floor. We ask for it on the finalists, ahead of the letter of intent, and we ask for it at the headcount you expect in 12 to 18 months as well as the one you have now. A floor that seats 22 comfortably and 30 badly is a different deal from a floor that seats both. The test fit entry shows what the drawing covers.

Four things a Series A team should weigh before signing

• Term: twelve months is about the shortest lease on a private floor, 24 and 36 are more usual, and the rate per square foot rises as the term gets shorter.
• Total cost: electricity, escalations, the deposit, furniture and any buildout above the allowance all sit above the rent.
• The way out: the assignment and sublet clause decides what happens if you outgrow the floor.
• The date: move-in usually follows the signature by two to four weeks on a furnished or pre-built floor, and by 10 to 16 weeks where the space is built to order.

The lease negotiation guide takes each term in turn.

Once the lease is signed: the buildout and the running of the office

The signature is roughly the midpoint. If the floor needs work, Nomad's construction management team runs the design, the filings and the contractor, and because it sits in the same firm, design can begin while the lease is still in negotiation. Once you are in, facilities management handles cleaning, maintenance and vendors, so nobody on a 22-person team has to become the office manager by default.