Watch the video here to learn more about why this website is quickly becoming the premier website for linking owners, tenants and lenders with pre-screened commercial real estate professionals in markets across the country.

In today’s challenging economy, Owners and Investors are seeking out the best values available in commercial real estate and attempting to negotiate the optimum terms to lease or purchase real estate.  In order to achieve such goals and objectives Owners and Investors should utilize a qualified and experienced professional.  Following are ten simple reasons to hire a commercial real estate broker.

Experience: Commercial real estate is not rocket science yet can be complex in structuring advantageous lease or purchase terms.  Nothing in business can replace years of hands on experience.  You may have access to some real estate information via the library, newspapers, Google and the internet but the benefit of hands on experiences is priceless.  A seasoned commercial real estate broker who has lived through the beginning and the end of numerous transactions can offer the benefit of their experiences to your real estate transaction.  This experience is Priceless!

Market Knowledge: As in every industry, market conditions are constantly changing and opportunities are found and lost on a daily basis.  The commercial real estate industry is very proprietary on sharing information unlike the residential real estate market.  A commercial real estate broker processes hundreds of opportunities each day through various sources while filtering out the best for their clients.

Specialization: In most metropolitan cities, commercial real estate brokers specialize in an area such as the office, industrial or retail markets.  As a result, they achieve and maintain expertise in that specialty and utilize this expertize when seeking out and obtaining optimum terms for their clients.

Time Management: A business owner or manager usually has their hands full running the day to day operations of their company.  By engaging the services of an experienced commercial real estate broker, owners and managers can maintain their focus on their business while obtaining the benefits and guidance of real estate professional in quantifying and securing their new facility.

Cost Savings: The most common reason people don’t engage a commercial real estate broker is to save on the cost of a commission.  In commercial real estate the majority of properties are listed by  owners with commercial real estate firms and or have commission agreements with their in house marketing people.  In such cases a compensation or commission is already built into the pricing of the property or space and it is customary to split commissions with cooperating brokers representing tenants.  Thus, no real savings usually are achieved here.  More important aspects to consider are the cost savings that can be achieved through time management, successful negotiations, and proper deal structuring and market knowledge that only an experienced commercial real estate broker brings to the table.

Negotiations: The art of negotiating in a specific industry is honed over years of transactions.  Successful negotiation of a real estate transaction is stressful and in many cases time consuming for those involved.  A commercial real estate broker utilizes their experience in handling negotiations for their client relieving them of that stress by acting as a buffer, and freeing up their client’s time so that the client can focus on their daily business.

Deal Structure: Each and every real estate transaction is concurrently similar yet unique in its structure and function.  Proper structuring of a transaction can save a client hundreds if not thousands of dollars.  An example of potential savings deals with proper structure of “Base Year” in leases for building operating expenses.  Compounding these costs over a five year term can either be a) costly or b) savings to the tenant dependent upon the negotiated structure of the lease terms.

Professional Network: An experienced commercial broker specializing in a specific area has established a proprietary network of resources and informational contacts to assist and support their commercial real estate transactions.  This network of resources can be utilized as needed for your real estate transaction at no additional cost, or time via your commercial real estate broker.

Access to Data and Systems: An experienced commercial broker has established systems to facilitate the process and eliminate unnecessary costs.  These systems, combined with years of accumulated data are available to you via the commercial broker to assist you in the transaction process.  The result is an efficient, cost effective method of securing your real estate requirement on the most beneficial terms to you.

Integrated Services: An experienced commercial broker will be able to provide a client with integrated services relative to their real estate requirement whether they are internal or external consultants.  Securing qualified service providers such as economic incentive consultants, I.T. providers, legal and accounting services to name a few can be a time consuming and costly process added on to the stress of securing the real estate.

The author of this article, Guy Levingston, SIOR is a commercial real estate broker with Intermountain Commercial Real Estate, LLC. based in Boise, Idaho.  Guy’s area of specialization is in office properties and office tenant representation.  You can learn more about Guy by clicking on his name, above.

After reviewing literally thousands of websites over the last 12 months we (Zoliath.com) can say that the best websites in our opinion are the ones that combine key information and “flavor.”  Every Friday we are going to highlight one of these websites.  Sometimes the company who owns the highlighted website will be one that advertises on Zoliath.com but this will not always be the case.  Our goal with Innovative Friday is to make our readers aware of websites that are both informative, creative, and fun.  After all, isn’t advertising by its very nature supposed to leave the viewer with a positive lasting impression?  Just like memorable commercials aired during the Super Bowl, websites can impart a positive message in each of us if presented correctly.  We hope you find these websites as visually pleasing and flavorful as we do!

Our pick for the first website to be displayed on Innovative Friday belongs to Legend Retail Group in Denver, Colorado.  This is a site that is laid out extremely well.  It combines all of the elements of an informative website and does so in a way that engages the visitor to navigate far longer than one would on a more traditional industry website.  Cheers to Legend Retail Group for being the first to make the grade with Zoliath.com.  Legend is an advertiser on our website and can be found under Commercial R.E. brokerages.

If you would like to submit other commercial real estate industry websites for inclusion in Innovative Friday please send us a link and we will be sure to take it under consideration.  The only qualification is that the website must fall into one of the categories listed in Zoliath.com.  Have a great weekend.

Every business owner should be educated about insurance coverages before their business opens. Protecting your business and personal assets is of utmost importance. As you begin the process of educating yourself about business insurance, commercial liability insurance will often be the first coverage you consider.

While conducting business, every business owner can be held responsible for the safety and well being of their customers. While in an establishment, if a customer injures themselves it is very possible that the business owner will be legally liable. This means that the owner would be required to compensate the injured for the injury to their body. Coverage of this nature is called bodily injury coverage.

Personal Injury is another type of coverage included in a standard liability contract. Personal injury is distinctly different that bodily injury as it is less tangible. Personal injury is often of a psychological nature rather than a physical nature. An example of personal injury might be slander. When a consumer is slandered by a business owner or one of it’s employees, the owner can be held responsible. Insuring against such claims is extremely important.

Advertising liability is yet another type of liability covered in a commercial contract. If a business inadvertently uses copyrighted material in their advertisements, the owner could be held financially responsible for the copyright infringement. This is a situation that may be protected against under a commercial liability contract.

General commercial liability contracts typically have a moderate dollar limit on claims. Therefore, it is important for business owners to obtain appropriate levels of coverage to protect their assets. For example, if a business owner is found responsible for a 1,500,000 dollar claim and their policy provides a one million dollar limit, the owner would be responsible for the additional five hundred thousand dollars. This type of judgement could devastate a small business owner.

If a business requires higher insurance limits than a general liability policy can offer, it is common to purchase an umbrella policy. Umbrella policies are an aspect of commercial liability insurance designed to provide higher limits of coverage. When a business has more to lose, it is important to carry higher limits of liability coverage. As always, when choosing how to protect your business it is wise to utilize the services of a licensed professional. Take the time to find a general agent or insurance broker to help you navigate the tricky field of commercial liability insurance coverage.

Different industries require different insurance coverages. For example, a general contractor should consider contractors insurance. Or professionals may need errors and omissions insurance coverage to protect against potential mistakes they make that can cause their customers to experience a financial loss.

Article Source: Commercial Liability Insurance Coverage Briefly Explained