A decade ago, I wrote a series of articles about Dickstein Real Estate Services at 20.  It is now a decade later, and it is interesting to look back at what we got right and what we got wrong.  The most salient points I made were about how difficult it has been in the Garden State to upgrade our ageing infrastructure of office and industrial properties.  Even now, we see that new construction is mostly in high rise apartment buildings. We see that there are only a few brave Landlords who have been able to raise the capital to stay on the cutting edge of green technology as the cost of new construction of Class A office and industrial properties are almost double that of a decade ago.  As a result, the time horizon for turnkey leasing and new investments is a decade or more.

On the flip side, Landlords of Class B properties are all about trying to maintain tenant lease up with minimal improvements to preserve capital.  Short-term leases, where tenants renew for a year or two, or new tenants who occupy an existing space with only minor refresh work such as paint and carpet, is the norm.

We find that our niche is helping tenants to wrap their arms around the new world of hybrid work and hoteling office models. These more open and collaborative spaces need creative designers who understand ways to create exciting flow with minimal cost.

So, for the last 30 years what has been our magic?  We, at Dickstein Real Estate Services, owe our success to the good people that we have had the privilege of serving. That was true on day one, it is true now and it will be for the future.

Tenants and buyers of commercial real estate still have the fear that they are simply outgunned when negotiating a real estate transaction. Let’s face it; Landlords do this every day while Tenants only negotiate a lease once every three or five years. They want Dickstein Real Estate Services to serve as a “hired gun” to level the playing field.

When negotiating on behalf of a client I know that setting us apart, besides our broad experience, is our extensive preparation for every real estate negotiation. We start by prioritizing all business points so that we can clearly identify the objectives we are seeking to achieve going in. We then juxtapose our objectives against the Landlords known favored positions and their approach so that we can go point by point. We leave nothing to chance and seek to define all business terms clearly beforehand.

Our preference is to enter each negotiation session with a clearly developed business proposal in hand. We present each issue point by point in priority order. We like to leave the most contentious issues and sticking points to the end after we have found common ground on as many of the business terms as possible, framing the deal as a win-win, before making the final push to the finish line.

Finally, I know that once we have an agreement between parties, we then need to take it one step further and make certain to summarize the agreed upon business points in writing, so that there is no guesswork or questions later on when the attorney ratifies the deal. No one should have to go back and negotiate the same points twice.

I know that if we make the extra efforts outlined above, it will lead to a better outcome for my clients. The relationship between tenant and landlord is long-term. How we do our job in setting the stage through professional lease negotiations affects the entire tenant/landlord relationship for years to come.

After 30 years, how do we define success? Success is in the eyes of those we serve, many of whom have become our good friends. We have even gained the respect of, and dare I say, friendship with Landlords with whom we negotiate on behalf of our clients.

To all our friends and customers who have led to our success, we say to you most sincerely, THANK YOU!

Regards,

Lawrence Dickstein

Dickstein Real Estate Services

908-704-3500 ext. 11

[email protected]