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Many commercial tenants encounter a certain degree of frustrating "red tape" when trying to secure a commercial lease from a landlord. While this is unfortunate, it can help to work with a broker whose firm has a close relationship with the owner and/or manages the property.

As much as 50 percent of the leases we broker for tenants are in buildings in which our company is the leasing agent and/or managing agent. Because our firm has close relationships with these landlords, we have an inside track on what the landlord may be thinking and what he or she is looking for. This is an enormous advantage.

In a typical situation of a tenant looking for commercial space, he or she finds a broker and looks at between 10 and 20 spaces. Eventually, the tenant will whittle his or her likely selection down to three spaces and make offers on each. The tenant's broker will take the offer to the owner's broker, who will then take the offer to the owner, who will usually make a counteroffer, triggering an inevitable bout of back and forth. Depending on the speed of brokers and attorneys representing both sides, the time lapse from offer to contract could be 10 days (highly unusual) to six weeks or more. Sometimes, the tenant will become dissatisfied with the terms of all the offers and just walk away.

At Adams & Co., we try to cut through the bureaucratic red tape to make the process substantially simpler and less time-consuming. Time is money and saving time benefits everyone. The tenant gets to move in sooner and prepare the space and the landlord begins collecting rent at an earlier date--a win/win situation.

A home furnishings company, Phase II Productions, recently signed a seven-year, 5,000 s/f lease with us at one of our Flatiron District locations, 121 E. 24th St. An Adams & Co. broker, Jeff Schwartz, represented the tenant and I represented the landlord. We secured the lease in just seven business days. In some cases, we've secured signed leases in two business days. We're able to do this not only because of the lack of red tape, but because we have valuable knowledge of both the properties we manage and the landlords with whom we work.

People have found that by doing business with us, they can work on mutually agreeable terms. In some cases, a tenant may want to be in a specialty building and won't have the luxury of choosing between multiple locations. Although we're representing both the landlord and the tenant, we can look at the lease objectively from beginning to end to gain the confidence of both sides. And the tenant and landlord must be satisfied because chances are, several years later, the tenant will need more or less space and we'll want them to come back to the table. Our knowledge, developed from representing both sides of the deal, enables us to know where and when we can push and what can be negotiated, creating highly satisfactory solutions for both parties.

Brokering properties we own and manage is another unique aspect of Adams & Co. At times, we believe it makes the leasing process substantially simpler. And during the hectic time of setting up or moving one's office, a simple lease process can make a word of difference.

JAMES BUSLIK PRINCIPAL, ADAMS & CO.