How much leverage do I really have and a question about flat fee negotiation help
Hi,

I am leasing a space for a retail/service location (1000 sq.ft) and since this is my first lease, I am wondering a few things:

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1. I am going into a location that has several vacancies and I am brining in an established franchise business. I have the financial stability where there should be little concern on their part on my ability to cover the lease in the event of the business not succeeding. I am very excited about the property for many reasons, but want to be sure I am not 'buying high' particularly with the uncertainty and potential further decline in tenant paying renters. To me, this seems like I would have a significant amount of leverage in my ability to negotiate a favorable lease. Am I overestimating my position?
2. I know typically a broker represents a client throughout the process - finding properties, showings, negotiations, etc., but since I have done all of the legwork up to this point,  would a commercial broker ever represent a person in just the negotiations for a flat fee or would it be better to get a lawyer to help with negotiations?

I know the first thought is going to be, "why not just get a broker, you don’t have to pay for it." In my case, the landlord is an older person and a bit eccentric and has already declared that they will not pay real estate fees. So, putting that aside and the discussion on whether or not this is the right property,  etc., if anyone can give some insight on my couple of questions, I'd appreciate it.
[{"id": "gk2rnfi", "text": "&gt; I know the first thought is going to be, \"why not just get a broker, you don\u2019t have to pay for it.\"\n\nThis isn't necessarily true in commercial real estate brokerage.\n\n&gt; I am brining in an established franchise business. I have the financial stability where there should be little concern on their part on my ability to cover the lease in the event of the business not succeeding\n\nDo you have a corporate parent company guaranteeing the lease? How strong are their financials?  \nFranchisees are typically independent of the corporate parent, so while you benefit from their branding, marketing, and business systems, you're closer to a mom and pop tenant than a corporate tenant without a strong corporation guaranteeing the lease.\n\nIf you're saying you have other franchises in the area and the lease will be guaranteed by the owner of all those locations, then that is a bit different.", "replies": [{"id": "gk3cm0h", "text": "I'll likely have to personally guarantee it.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gknp6u1", "text": "Don\u2019t guarantee the full term unless they are putting real TI or work into the deal. They aren\u2019t even paying a broker fee. You should be able to negotiate this point if you have good financials.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]