Unless you're in a market with very scant tenant demand, the landlord usually drives the leasing process. After all, you're looking to occupy his building and if you can't meet his terms, he can lease the space to someone else.  The best way to mitigate this imbalance is to have negotiations going with multiple landlords at once. This not only lets you choose the best offer but also negotiate more aggressively to get a landlord down to his best offer, knowing that you have alternate options waiting.

The economy for space follows the same rules of supply and demand of most other economic commodities. When a market is slow and there are relatively few tenants looking for space, landlords know that they are in competition with each other. This causes motivated landlords to cut rents, offer concessions, or do whatever it takes to ensure that they aren't left with a long-term vacancy. In a more balanced market, landlords don't feel the same competitive pressure and may be less willing to adjust their terms to suit your needs.

You can solve this problem by creating competing space and letting prospective landlords know about it. The competing space options might actually turn out to be better, saving you money or getting a more attractive space. Alternately, the knowledge that you have other spaces under consideration could motivate landlords to move their pricing expectations a little and land you as a tenant. Here are some ways that you can expand your search and create competition:

Include Pre-construction Space in Your Search

If you're in a hot market, there are probably projects on the drawing board that either are about to break ground or will break ground if they can get some pre-leasing activity. Not only will you get the newest space with the most modern features and amenities, but you'll also usually get a generous tenant improvement allowance. You can use this to negotiate more aggressively with owners of existing buildings.

Consider Nearby Markets

While one market might be very tight, adjacent or equivalent ones could enjoy much lower rents and better negotiating terms. For example, there are times that while Midtown Manhattan has enjoyed very low vacancy rates, buildings in Lower Manhattan have been hard to lease. During the heat of the dot.com craze, many companies left Silicon Valley to set up locations in the Sierra Foothills outside of Sacramento, 100 miles to the northeast. In Minneapolis, the intersection of Interstate 394 and 100 frequently offers lower rents than the office market centered a few miles to the south at 494 and 100. The lower-cost northern market also offers better access to downtown and better proximity to affluent western suburban communities.

Shop Multiple Classes of Building

A class B space in a nice B building with a good build out can frequently give you the same overall effect of a slightly less lavish build out in an A building. A 30 clear-foot warehouse can also hold as much stock as a 38-foot one -- you'll just need a few more square feet of floor area to do it.

Consider Sublease Space

Sublease space is frequently available on the market at a lower price than existing space. Furthermore, in some cases you can also negotiate with the landlord to get the ability to either take over the tenant's option or to pre-negotiate your own renewal or extension. This lets you use the inexpensive sublease rate to negotiate with other landlords while knowing that you can use the space on a long-term basis if you need to.

Want more tenant tips? Check out these articles:

Office Planning Tips for Corporate Tenants

6 Tenant Tips for Leasing Commercial Space

Five Commercial Real Estate Myths That Tenants Hold

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