Skip to main content
All Services

CRECO Services · Texas Commercial Real Estate

Tenant Representation

Dedicated advocacy for tenants leasing retail, restaurant, office, medical, industrial, and flex space across Texas — from a full-service brokerage that also represents landlords, owners, and investors.

Full-service, not tenant-only. CRECO is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage, not a tenant-only firm. This page covers tenant representation, but CRECO also represents landlords, owners, sellers, and investors — for lease and for sale — across retail, office, industrial, flex, and land.

Tenant representation is the most undervalued service in Texas commercial real estate. The landlord pays our commission per market convention, which means hiring CRECO as your tenant rep is typically free to your business — yet the right tenant rep can save your company $50,000 to $5,000,000 over the life of a lease through better terms, larger tenant improvement allowances, free rent, and stronger renewal language.

When CRECO represents you as a tenant, our duty on that engagement is to your business. Because CRECO is a full-service brokerage — we also represent landlords, owners, and investors, and we own and lease our own centers — we know exactly how landlords underwrite a deal, and we use that to negotiate for you. If you want to see a property CRECO also represents for the owner, we disclose it up front; CRECO acts as an intermediary only if both you and the owner authorize it in writing, as Texas law requires.

Our practice spans every major Texas commercial real estate market — San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, El Paso, and the Hill Country — and every property type: retail (strip centers, restaurants, freestanding), industrial (warehouse, distribution, flex), and office (Class A/B/C, medical, executive). Whether you are a first-time tenant looking for a single 2,500 SF office or a multi-location operator rolling out 20 retail units across Texas, the playbook is the same: rigorous site selection, financial benchmarking, aggressive negotiation, and clean-handoff buildout coordination.

Service Scope

What's Included

Every tenant representation engagement includes the full scope of services below — calibrated to the specifics of your assignment.

  • Site selection across all Texas submarkets and property types — including off-market sublease opportunities our network sees first
  • LOI strategy and lease negotiation focused on tenant-favorable terms (free rent, TI allowance, renewal options, exclusivity, expansion rights)
  • Effective rent analysis comparing offers net of concessions, NNN, and amenity values
  • Buildout coordination — architect, contractor, permitting — through tenant move-in
  • Renewal vs. relocation analysis at lease expiration to maximize your leverage
  • Multi-site rollout strategy for franchisees and growing concepts
  • Sublease evaluation when direct lease isn't the best path
  • Texas market-rent benchmarking using current comparable transactions, not asking-rent surveys

Our Process

How a Tenant Representation engagement works

01

Discovery & Brief

We start by understanding your business — headcount, growth trajectory, work culture, customer profile, parking and access needs, technology requirements. The brief becomes the rubric we use to evaluate every site.

02

Market Survey

We tour 15-30 candidate Texas properties (depending on market and specs), narrow to a shortlist of 5-7, and provide a written comparison report — physical, financial, and locational analysis side-by-side.

03

Negotiation

We draft your LOI, run multi-landlord competitive tension when possible, and negotiate the lease line-by-line. Your attorney reviews; we coordinate. The goal is the best total economic outcome, not just the lowest rent.

04

Buildout & Move-In

We coordinate with your architect, GC, and IT teams. We monitor the landlord's delivery commitments, track the tenant improvement allowance disbursement, and sign off on the move-in checklist.

05

Lifecycle Partnership

After move-in, we stay engaged. 12+ months ahead of your renewal, we re-survey the market and run a fresh renewal-vs-relocation analysis so you negotiate from leverage, not from inertia.

Who This Is For

Use Cases

Growing tenants

Companies hiring fast and outgrowing current space. We negotiate expansion options into your lease so growth doesn't mean relocation pain.

First-time leasers

Founders and small businesses signing their first commercial lease in Texas. We translate every clause and protect you from gotchas.

Multi-location rollouts

Franchisees and concept brands opening 5-50 Texas locations. We standardize site criteria, lease templates, and rollout cadence.

Lease renewals

Existing tenants approaching renewal. We benchmark the market and create competitive tension to push the landlord into better terms.

Distress / restructure

Tenants needing to sublet, terminate, or restructure existing leases. We work with landlord and lender to find a path.

People Also Ask

Tenant Representation FAQ

Does CRECO represent landlords?+
Yes. CRECO represents landlords and commercial property owners throughout Texas — listing and leasing their space, sourcing and qualifying tenants, and negotiating on the ownership side — alongside tenants, buyers, sellers, and investors. CRECO is a full-service brokerage, not a tenant-only firm; tenant representation is one service line among several, and CRECO also owns and leases its own centers. What is scoped to a single deal is the duty, not the firm: when CRECO represents you as a tenant, our duty on that engagement is to your business, and we do not also represent the landlord on that same transaction unless both parties authorize an intermediary relationship in writing.
Can CRECO represent both landlords and tenants?+
Across its business, yes — CRECO runs landlord and owner assignments and tenant and buyer assignments at the same time. On one specific transaction, the two sides stay separate by default. If a tenant CRECO represents wants to see a property CRECO also lists for the owner, CRECO discloses that up front, and can act as an intermediary only if both the tenant and the owner authorize it in writing, as Texas law requires. That is a disclosed, mutually consented arrangement — never the default and never silent.
How much does tenant representation cost?+
Tenant representation in Texas is typically free to the tenant. The landlord pays the tenant rep's commission as part of the deal — usually 4-6% of the total lease value, paid 50% on lease execution and 50% on tenant occupancy. This is market convention across virtually every Texas commercial deal. Tenants who try to "save" by going direct to landlord brokers almost always end up paying more in higher rent, smaller TI allowances, and worse renewal terms.
How is tenant representation different from a regular real estate agent?+
Residential agents help families buy houses. Tenant reps are commercial real estate brokers who advocate for tenants in commercial leases. The skill sets, lease structures, market knowledge, and economic stakes are entirely different. CRECO's brokers are licensed Texas commercial brokers who work tenant, landlord, and investment assignments — commercial only, not residential.
Can I just respond to LoopNet listings myself?+
You can — but you'll be at a disadvantage. LoopNet listings are landlord-marketed properties. The landlord's broker is incentivized to maximize the landlord's outcome, not yours. Even if you have a perfectly fair landlord broker on the other side, you won't see the off-market sublease, the building down the street that's about to lose a tenant, or the comparable that justifies your aggressive counter. Tenant reps see the full market, not just what's publicly listed.
How long does the tenant rep process take?+
Typical timeline from engagement to lease execution is 60-120 days, depending on market conditions, your specs, and your decisiveness. Move-in adds another 30-90 days for buildout. Highly specific requirements (cold storage, cleanrooms, specialized restaurant) take longer. Simple flex-industrial or executive-suite leases can close in 30-45 days.
Do you only work with large tenants?+
No. CRECO works tenant rep engagements from 1,500 SF executive suites up to 250,000 SF distribution centers. We don't cherry-pick by size. We do prioritize clients where we can add real value — which usually means leases worth $50K+ in total value (a typical 3-year office lease in Texas).

Explore More

Related Services

Landlord Representation: Leasing & Sales

Landlord and owner representation — leasing and sales across retail, restaurant, office, medical, industrial, flex, and land. Marketing, negotiation, diligence to close.

Investment Advisory

Underwriting, market analysis, and portfolio strategy for multi-property owners and investors across Texas.

Property Management

Day-to-day operations and tenant relations for commercial assets — built for owners with multiple Texas properties.

Talk to a CRECO principal

No-pressure consultation. We'll listen first and recommend an approach — even if that means pointing you somewhere else.

Schedule a Call (210) 817-3443
CallTextStart