Lynn Drake

Lynn Drake’s status is well known in the industry: She’s the commercial realtor focused on maintaining “true north” for her corporate clients. It’s a reputation built on 35 years of commercial real estate experience. Lynn became a commercial realtor in 2001 after 15 years in corporate real estate. Thus far in her career, Lynn has successfully completed over 1,500 real estate transactions ranging from small business tenant leases to the sale and purchase of industrial complexes.

16

Jul2014

How Important Are Renewal Options?

by Lynn Drake / / Landlords, Leasing, Tenants
Are renewal options important? 95% of the ones I’ve seen set the renewal option at market rate, and the other 5% are set at a rate I would deem as “important.” How do you know? Well, you start by taking a look at a CoStar report to see what the ... Read More
July 16, 2014Lynn Drake

01

Jul2014

Protecting Your Rights as a Tenant Begins with Reading the Lease

by Lynn Drake / / Brokers, Landlords, Leasing, Tenants
As a brokerage firm, we have been disappointed with some of the attorneys reviewing our client’s leases. Why would this be? An attorney is an attorney, right? So you’d think. But you’d be wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Assuming all attorneys are alike is no different than asking your gynecologist to ... Read More
July 1, 2014Lynn Drake

18

Jun2014

Leaving Corporate Real Estate

by Lynn Drake / / Entrepreneurs, Goals
People are often shocked that I left corporate real estate after 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder. Certainly, the timing, just 10 days before 9/11, wasn’t great, but over the years, I’ve never once regretted my decision.It’s very interesting to hear people tell me that it’s much safer ... Read More
June 18, 2014Lynn Drake

04

Jun2014

My First Deal as Broker in 2001

by Lynn Drake / / Landlords, Tenants
Having come out of corporate real estate, I knew all about the real estate end of things. My customers were always fellow staff at the corporation where I worked in the real estate department. Entering the other side of the business was a whole new ballgame for me. It meant ... Read More
June 4, 2014Lynn Drake

22

May2014

What Does Your Dream Office Look Like?

by Lynn Drake / / Entrepreneurs, Landlords, Leasing, Relocations, Tenants
Our new offices are in a Class A building. The suite looks more like an art gallery than an office space, with high ceilings, and an 8-foot glass wall along one side of the office. The only thing missing is a gym—good thing we’ve got one right next door!Beginning your ... Read More
May 22, 2014Lynn Drake

07

May2014

What Was Your Oddest Showing This Year?

by Lynn Drake / / Tenants
Most people don’t really have any concept of the amount of time and effort it takes to line up a tour for prospective clients. Commercial real estate is quite different than residential—if only our work was as easy as residential, where all you have to do is call and get ... Read More
May 7, 2014Lynn Drake

23

Apr2014

Favorite Landlords: Who Was Yours This Year, and Why?

by Lynn Drake / / Detroit, Entrepreneurs, Landlords, Tenants
In this industry, one can’t help but develop favorite landlords. The ones who treat your prospect like gold. The ones who go out of their way to be accommodating. This year, I had the pleasure of working with a firm called Shaw Construction in Livonia. They were so accommodating to ... Read More
April 23, 2014Lynn Drake

02

Apr2014

Why Compass Moved

by Lynn Drake / / Brokers, Landlords, Leasing, Relocations, Tenants
When we leased our last office, we were so excited to move out of my house and into an office space. We thought that we would be there for many years. However, two short years later, we ran into a couple of bumps in the road. For starters, our building ... Read More
April 2, 2014Lynn Drake

19

Mar2014

Open Floor Plan, Anyone?

by Lynn Drake / / Brokers, Detroit, Landlords, Leasing, Relocations, Tenants
There is much debate about the open floor plan. As you read recently, Compass Commercial moved offices last year, and as we began to search for space, I wanted one that would attract a younger generation of workers—which meant going with an open floor plan. Are you considering doing the ... Read More
March 19, 2014Lynn Drake

05

Mar2014

Do You Speak Lease Terms?

by Lynn Drake / / Brokers, Detroit, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurs, Landlords, Leasing, Relocations, Tenants, Trends
Some of us speak Greek, Spanish, French or Mandarin, in addition to English. We think that if we can speak these other languages, surely we can speak real estate. But that’s where we’re wrong. See, not everyone can speak real estate. That’s why it’s important to work with a tenant ... Read More
March 5, 2014Lynn Drake