Brokers Have a Mental List of Landlords — Which One Are You On?

Question

I've been leasing up a medical office building this year, and it's reminded me of something I don't think gets talked about enough: tenant rep brokers have a mental list of landlords they call first - and a list they call last.

The difference isn't the building. It's usually not even the rent. It's how the landlord behaves once the broker brings a tenant to the table.

A few things I've learned:

- Honor the commission structure as written, every time. Brokers remember the one deal where a landlord tried to chip the fee more than they remember ten deals where you paid it cleanly.

- Fund tenant improvements without turning it into a negotiation marathon. If the deal pencils, move.

- Respond fast. A broker with an interested tenant doesn't want to wait a week for a redline.

None of this is complicated. But it compounds - the brokers who've had a smooth experience with you once are the ones who bring you the next three tenants without you lifting a finger.

We treat leasing brokers less like a transactional counterparty and more like a referral channel we must earn our way onto.

Curious from other owners and brokers here - what's made you put a landlord on your "call first" list, or your "avoid" list?

Darren Nakos · Answer

@Victor Patel

Well said — especially the point about deals actually getting to the finish line. That's really the whole thing, isn't it? A broker can't afford to burn a tenant's trust on a deal that stalls out over something avoidable.

Appreciate you confirming this from the broker side. Good reminder that the "shortlist" cuts both ways.

Victor Patel · Answer

As a broker, I couldn't agree more. Most experienced brokers absolutely have a mental list of landlords they call first and another list they avoid if they can.

It's not always about who has the nicest building or even the lowest rent. It's about confidence that the deal will actually get to the finish line. If I know a landlord communicates well, honors the agreed commission, makes decisions in a reasonable timeframe, and doesn't renegotiate every point at the last minute, I'm much more likely to show that property first.

The opposite is also true. If a landlord has a reputation for changing terms, dragging out negotiations, or making every deal difficult, brokers remember. Nobody wants to spend weeks working on a transaction only to have it fall apart over something that should have been straightforward.

The best landlords understand that brokers aren't just bringing one tenant—they're bringing future opportunities. Build trust on one transaction, and you'll stay on that broker's mental shortlist for years.

Darren Nakos · Answer

@Michael K Gallagher

That's a great point — the upfront pain being an investment in speed later, not just a one-off cost. We see a version of that with healthcare tenants too — once we've been through a lease with a group once, the next one goes a lot faster because you already know how they think.

Appreciate you sharing the retail side — good to hear it holds up across asset classes.

Michael K Gallagher · Answer

we do retail deals all over the country and I'm still learning in a big way but there are certainly more owners/institutional or otherwise that we know are just going to be difficult to deal with.  Generally though once you a deal a deal with say a publix you can can then leverage that to do other deals at their other centers now that your "know their lease" etc, it certainly speeds things up, so some upfront "pain" or difficulty can accelerate future deals.