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CRECO Services · Texas Commercial Real Estate

Tenant Representation

Exclusive tenant-side advocacy for retail, industrial, and office space across Texas. We never represent the landlord on a deal we are bringing you.

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.

CRECO works exclusively for tenants on every assignment. We will never represent the landlord on the same deal we are bringing you — that conflict-of-interest is core to how the big national firms work, and it is core to how we don't. When we sit across the negotiating table from a Texas landlord, we are 100% in your corner.

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

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 specialize exclusively in advocating for tenants in commercial leases. The skill sets, lease structures, market knowledge, and economic stakes are entirely different. CRECO's tenant reps are licensed Texas commercial real estate brokers focused exclusively on commercial tenant work — 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

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Talk to a CRECO principal

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

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