A vacant bay is a problem the landlord already owns. A landlord rep represents the owner of the space, and a tenant rep represents the business that wants to occupy it. When you take the listing, you take on a pricing, marketing and screening job, not a sign-in-the-yard job. It also shows you what tenants actually pay.

Winning the space listing

Owners with vacancy show it: faded signs, stale listings, expiring leases. Finding them is Course 23 work, starting with Choosing Your Farm and Cold Calling Commercial Owners. The sale-side version of this pitch is in The Listing Agreement and Addenda.

What the landlord wants

Landlord priority	How you serve it
Occupancy, because an empty bay still costs taxes, insurance and upkeep	Realistic pricing, dated marketing plan
Credit: can the tenant pay for the full term	One written screening standard
Term: long enough to earn back concessions	Ask for term in return for concessions
Rent: face rent protects value	Trade concessions before cutting rent

Net effective rent is the average rent a tenant pays over the term after concessions (Lesson 5 has the method). A tenant improvement (TI) allowance is money the landlord contributes toward the tenant's build-out, quoted in dollars per square foot (SF).

The landlord pitch

(a) Industrial owner with a vacant bay

"[Owner name], I know a broker call out of the blue is not welcome, so I will keep it short. Your [city] building has had a sign up since spring, and a phone call will not fix that. I can bring you a written plan with recent signed comps, a price and concession recommendation, and a 90-day marketing calendar, no obligation. Could I walk the building with you Tuesday at 10 a.m. or Wednesday at 2 p.m.?"

Coaching note: concede the sign, offer paper, never quote rent by phone.

(b) Retail owner with a dark bay

"[Owner name], I am not calling to say [center name] is priced wrong. I would like to show you what three recent proposals for similar inline bays looked like. Could we meet at the center Thursday at 9 a.m.?"

Coaching note: comps are the reason to meet. Never criticize the last broker.

The listing agreement for lease

Get the assignment in writing before you spend money marketing. The Florida Realtors Exclusive Right to Lease form (ERLC-2 in its 2026 edition) is the usual starting point. Older editions may still mention the repealed rent tax, so confirm the current edition with your broker.

Term	What to settle	Caution
Listing period	A definite expiration date	Long enough to run the plan and review it at 90 days
Compensation	Percent of aggregate base rent or a flat amount per SF; renewals and expansions	Market practice that varies and is negotiable. Florida sets no rate
Commission basis	Scheduled rent, or rent actually payable after free rent	Say which one, in the agreement
Payable when	At signing, at rent commencement, or split	Name the trigger dates
Cooperating brokers	The share you offer a tenant rep	Put it in writing before the first tour
Exclusions	Named prospects the owner already has	A dated list
Tail	Days after expiration that a listed prospect still triggers your fee	Negotiated; sources quote about 30 days to a year

Florida points to know. A written listing agreement must carry a definite expiration date, property description, price and terms, the fee and a signature, and the owner gets a signed copy within 24 hours (F.S. 475.25(1)(r)). Treat it as applying to leases. The commission lien act, the dual-agency ban, the end of sales tax on commercial rent and the rule that commissions are paid through your broker are in Lesson 7. Put your role in the agreement, and never represent both sides of one lease unless your broker arranges it lawfully.

This is education, not legal advice. Confirm legal points with your broker of record and a Florida attorney.

Pricing the space

Set the asking rent from evidence, then test it. Start with signed leases, not asking rents, which show only what an owner hopes for. Rents are quoted in dollars per SF per year. NNN (triple net) means the tenant pays base rent plus its share of taxes, insurance and maintenance, so the quoted rate is never the full cost of occupying the space.

Comps and market context

Comps are comparable leases. Use MaxLife Commercial's market reports and Orlando market page as background only. Published Orlando industrial vacancy runs roughly 4% to 7% by source. The Florida industrial report is labeled directional, not audited, and the Q1 2026 report cites 7.2% for Q4 2025 (JLL). Cite source and date, and pull your own comps.

Comp (invented)	Signed or asking	Concessions	Adjust for
A: 2,800 SF small-bay, Sanford	Signed, $11.50 NNN, 3 years	1 month free, no TI	Shorter term, no office
B: 4,000 SF flex, Lake Mary	Signed, $12.75 NNN, 5 years	2 months free, $3.00/SF TI	Finished office, longer term
C: 2,400 SF strip inline, Oviedo	Signed, $27.00 NNN, 5 years	2 months free, $10.00/SF TI	Second-generation space

Rank signed comps first, then adjust for size, condition, term and concessions.

Concessions strategy

Free rent, also called rent abatement, is a period of no base rent at the lease start. Unless the lease says otherwise, NNN charges are still due during it. An escalation is a scheduled rent increase, often a fixed percentage each year. Industrial guides describe fixed bumps of roughly 2% to 4%, and retail often uses fixed dollar steps. All of it is negotiable.

Landlords often prefer free rent because it keeps the face rate, which supports the building's value, and TI because it is a one-time cost and the improvement stays with the building. TI is commonly paid after completion against paid invoices and lien waivers. Landlord work, such as paint or LED lighting, can cost less than cash; define it in a delivery exhibit.

NNN charge estimates

NNN charges cover property taxes, insurance and common area maintenance (CAM), the upkeep of shared areas. Build your flyer estimate from the owner's actual bills: the tenant's SF divided by the building's total, applied to the expense pool. Label it an estimate, not a cap, because taxes and insurance can move. In a retail center, ask whether the owner adds an administrative fee to CAM. MaxLife Commercial's Orlando retail guide reports 10% to 15%, a site estimate.

The leasing pro forma

Give the landlord a one-page pro forma per space: base rent by year, concessions, commission and months of face rent to recover them, as below. The rent growth projector models escalations.

Marketing plan for vacancy

Channel	Industrial	Retail
Signage	Visible from the truck route, phone number a driver can read	Storefront banner; pylon or monument panel if held; check the sign code
Listing platforms	LoopNet, CoStar and Crexi, with bay size, doors and power first	Same platforms, with frontage, traffic count source, delivery condition
Photos and plan	Dock doors, yard, clear height, panel, floor plan with column grid	Daytime storefront, parking, floor plan with restrooms and utilities
Broker tour, email blast, one-page flyer	Set morning tour; blast to reps who work small-bay users	Tour with co-tenant visits; blast to reps who work your target concepts
Direct outreach	Neighbors who may be outgrowing space	Neighbors and concepts that fit the center

Industrial flyer: rentable square feet (RSF), bay size, clear height, dock-high and grade-level door counts, power (voltage, phase, amps), sprinkler type, office percentage, truck court, zoning, base rent and the NNN estimate. For industrial outdoor storage (IOS), meaning rented yards, state paving, fencing and zoning plainly.

Retail flyer: gross leasable area, frontage, parking count, signage positions, delivery condition, co-tenants and exclusives, base rent and the NNN estimate. Name the source of any traffic count.

Verify every number, as Lesson 2 shows, because overstated clear height or power is a misrepresentation. Office space follows the same routine.

Showing space and feedback reports

Walk the space first, and know the roof, HVAC age, sprinklers and utilities. Ask what the space must do, then listen. Never state the landlord's lowest rent, cash needs or deadline. Request feedback within 24 hours and log it. The tour checklist covers what to inspect. Then send the owner a monthly report:

Subject: [Building] month one update

[Owner name], month one: 6 inquiries, 3 tours, no proposals. Two tours said the rent sits above comparable space, and one needed a dock-high door this building lacks. Can we review comps Thursday at 10 a.m. and decide on price or concessions?

Qualifying tenants

Qualify every prospect the same way, using a written standard.

Item	What you ask for	Why it matters
Financials and credit	Two to three years of statements or recent bank statements, plus credit report or references	Ability to pay rent and NNN charges
Time in business, plan	Formation date; startup projections	Replaces missing history
Guarantor	Personal or parent guaranty for smaller or newer tenants	Backs a thin entity
Use compatibility	Plain description of daily operations	Zoning, insurance, neighbors
Security	Deposit, letter of credit or prepaid rent	Negotiated; broker guides often quote one to three months

A letter of credit is a bank commitment the landlord can draw on if the tenant defaults. A guaranty can be capped or reduced after on-time performance. The lease controls both.

Extra check	Retail	Industrial
Concept or operation	Concept strength, sales history, other locations	Operations fit: racking, forklifts, shifts
Traffic	Customer parking demand, peak hours	Truck count, trailer size, turning room
Hazards	Grease, exhaust, salon or cleaning chemicals	Hazardous materials, fire load, spill controls
Outside use	Patio, signage, sidewalk sales	Outside storage, yard, trailers

Responding to proposals and moving to LOI

A letter of intent (LOI) is an outline of lease terms. Most are non-binding, though confidentiality and no-shop clauses are often binding, so have counsel review the wording. Course 12 teaches LOI craft on the sale side, and Lesson 6 covers it for leases. Log every proposal and answer within a stated number of days.

Proposal element	Landlord rep move	Do not
Rent below ask, strong credit	Counter on term or escalations before rent	Reject without a counter
Rent at ask, weak credit	Ask for a guaranty or letter of credit	Waive screening to close faster
Large TI on a short term	Tie the allowance to the term	Grant TI that cannot be earned back
Right of first refusal (ROFR), next bay	Limit the term and response window	Give it away casually
Exclusive use (retail)	Define by category with carve-outs	Write "retail" as the category

A right of first refusal (ROFR) lets the tenant match an offer on adjacent space before the landlord accepts it. Never present a counter as final until the owner approves it.

Once terms are agreed, get the LOI signed and hand it to the landlord's attorney with the rent schedule, guaranty and delivery exhibit. Expect an SNDA (an agreement protecting the tenant if the lender forecloses) and an estoppel certificate (a tenant statement confirming lease terms). You keep the calendar; drafting commonly runs weeks, and build-out adds more.

Reporting and repricing a stale vacancy

Report monthly on inquiries (is marketing reaching the right users), tours (does the space match the ask), proposals (are price and terms credible), feedback themes and new comps. No rule says when to reprice, so many brokers set a review point at 60 to 90 days. Reprice on evidence, such as repeated feedback or a new signed comp, not owner anxiety. Cut rent only if the evidence points to rent.

A worked example (illustrative Lake Mary building)

Assumptions, all invented, not MaxLife Commercial results. A 12,000 RSF small-bay building in Lake Mary has four 3,000 SF bays. The owner asks $12.00/SF/yr NNN with 3% annual escalations. MaxLife Commercial's last-mile warehouse guide publishes an unaudited $9.00 to $11.50 range for Lake Mary and Sanford, so this ask needs a reason, such as finished office. The plan offers 5 years, 2 months free, $2.00/SF TI and a 5% commission on base rent actually paid (market practice that varies and is negotiable), with an NNN estimate of $3.25/SF.

Base rent per bay (3,000 SF)

Year	Arithmetic	Base rent
1	3,000 x $12.00	$36,000.00
2	$36,000.00 x 1.03	$37,080.00
3	$37,080.00 x 1.03	$38,192.40
4	$38,192.40 x 1.03	$39,338.17
5	$39,338.17 x 1.03	$40,518.32
Total	Five years	$191,128.89

Landlord cost per bay: free rent is 2 months x ($36,000 / 12 = $3,000) = $6,000.00. TI is 3,000 SF x $2.00 = $6,000.00. Commission is 5% of base rent actually paid: ($191,128.89 - $6,000.00) x 0.05 = $185,128.89 x 0.05 = $9,256.44. On scheduled rent it would be $9,556.44, which is $300.00 more, so the agreement must name the basis. The total is $6,000.00 + $6,000.00 + $9,256.44 = $21,256.44, so four bays cost 4 x $21,256.44 = $85,025.76. By the Lesson 5 payback method, the landlord needs $21,256.44 / $3,000 = about 7.1 months of year-1 face rent counted from lease start, ignoring escalations, NNN and financing cost.

Net effective rent follows the Lesson 5 method: base rent paid minus TI, divided by SF times years, straight line and undiscounted, commission excluded. Industrial: ($191,128.89 - $6,000 - $6,000) / (3,000 SF x 5 years) = $179,128.89 / 15,000 = $11.94/SF/yr.

NNN per bay: 3,000 x $3.25 = $9,750/yr, or $812.50/mo. All-in year-1 monthly cost is $3,000 + $812.50 = $3,812.50.

Retail comparison (the 2,400 SF bay from Lesson 5's Proposal X). Ask $28.00 NNN, 3% escalations, 5 years, 2 months free, $20.00/SF TI, 5% commission on rent paid. Year 1 is 2,400 x $28.00 = $67,200, and five-year aggregate base rent is $356,773.92. Free rent is 2 x $5,600 = $11,200. TI is 2,400 x $20.00 = $48,000. Commission is ($356,773.92 - $11,200) x 0.05 = $17,278.70. The total is $11,200 + $48,000 + $17,278.70 = $76,478.70, about 13.6 months by the Lesson 5 method. Net effective rent is ($356,773.92 - $11,200 - $48,000) / 12,000 = $24.80/SF/yr. The larger TI slows recovery, and Lesson 5 sets this proposal beside a stronger tenant's lower-concession offer.

Marketing calendar (plan targets, invented)

Week	Action
1	Sign, verify specs, shoot photos, publish flyer and listings, install signage
2	Email blast to tenant reps; call 20 neighbors
3	Broker tour
4	First monthly report
9	Day-60 repricing check
13	90-day plan review

Repricing at day 60 (illustrative). The log shows 11 inquiries, 6 tours and no proposals. Four tours said the rent was above comps, and two needed a dock-high door no bay has. Comp A signed at $11.50. Options:

Cut the ask to $11.50. The aggregate falls by $191,128.89 x ($0.50 / $12.00) = $7,963.70 per bay, to $183,165.19.
Hold $12.00 and add one month free. The cost is $3,000.00 per bay, and the face rate stays intact.

Feedback points to rent, so recommend $11.50 with concessions unchanged. Neither move serves the dock-high prospects.

Key takeaways

Lead with a written plan built from signed comps
Sign the listing first, with dates, commission basis, tail and exclusions
Price from signed leases, and cite the source and date of market figures
Trade concessions before cutting face rent
Quote NNN charges as labeled estimates
Qualify every tenant against one written standard
Reprice on repeated evidence at a planned review point

Next: Lesson 5 shows how to model deal economics and compare proposals.

The Landlord Rep Process