Presentation at UC Berkeley 2017
Please check the article featured Jeffrey S. Weil named East Bay Has Both Abundant And Scarce Space and written by Lisa Brown on December 8, 2017
“Brokers presented a case study of a current or recently completed real estate project and discussed market conditions within their respective product type specialties at a recent town hall event at Cal.”
Cal Nov 2017
Undergraduate at Cal – Marketing, then MBA. One week after graduation on October 11, my birthday, Office leasing at Grubb & Ellis in Oakland – Walnut Creek. 1st deal 2nd month 2,200 sf 22¢, Office Papermill Don Olson.
Did every small deal no one else wanted. Managed an apartment house, bought used suits, drove a real old Cadillac at age 22. Cold called like a whirling dervish. Wrote articles that got published. Worked 80 hours a week 1st3 years, once 22 days straight 12 hour-days.
Started writing a newsletter, sent it to 200 real estate directors and office building owners, now it goes out to 23,000.
In 1983 got a call off the newsletter, Fran Fruzzetti. AT&T right of way.
Case Study
I get companies into space, and get them out as well.
Took a 3,500 sf client up to 8,500 sf, then they went virtual, employees working at clients’, didn’t need space.
PH Bart Station, Class A, Bells & Whistles Building, charging $3.60/rsf client paying $2.50, space on market for months.
Marketing
I did everything I could for marketing:
Sent out email brochures to the office agents. Went door to door both in the Treat Towers office project where the space was as well as ……. of other office buildings. Made personal phone calls to all local brokers. Sent out hard copy flyers to everybody. Put an ad on Craigslist, virtual tour linked off YouTube – I actually was on the cover of the Business Times way back for being the first broker in the world to put sublease space on YouTube.
I got a $500 total budget and bought ten $50 gift cards at two nice nearby restaurants. Every week I would pull a card from all the active office brokers out of a bowl and send a winner announcement out to the entire SF East Bay brokerage community: They the winners had to call me within 3 business days to claim their prize and tell me which restaurant they prefer. That’s how I made everybody know about this space!
Key to sublease
Move quickly, most spaces for sublease never get sublet – The shorter the term, the harder it is to move the space, who wants to move in and then a year later move out?
Most credit tenants won’t sublease – they want to negotiate the lease, which for the most part a sublease is stuck with the contract. They want their space to be laid out to their specs, sublease usually As-Is the way it is!
Some landlords insist on restoration you modify the space, at end of term at tenant’s expense you must restore it.
No options with most subleases
There was a bottom-feeder insurance company that swam around looking for wounded fish for bargain basement sublease deals, 3-4 year terms, and they moved from one steal into the next. On top of bargain rent they got, the furniture, wiring included. Yes, a pain to move every 3 to 4 years, but building rate $3.60, Client paying $2.50.
Client looking at losing entire leasehold – only needed 1,500 sf Bargain hunter got 6,500 sf for $1.63 a square foot, full-service, including furniture and wiring, client kept 1,500 sf and didn’t have to move, client got $420,000, bargain hunter saved $515,000, well, with having to move every 3-4 years, and I was paid a $18,000 commission.
