Commercial Listing Appointment Prep Checklist

Keep the first call under 20 minutes. Ask, listen, write it all down, and do not argue the price.

• Exact owner entity and entity type confirmedIndividual, LLC, trust, estate, corporation, or partnership. The name on the phone may not be the name on the deed.
• Signer and every approver identifiedManagers, members, trustees, partners, a lender, or a ground lessor. Invite each one to the appointment by name.
• Reason for selling and the date that forces it documentedLoan maturity, 1031 exchange, estate deadline, partner dispute, or a lease expiring.
• Price expectation and where it came from capturedWrite it down. The underwrite answers it later.
• Competing brokers and any prior marketing identifiedHas the property been listed before, and does anyone already know it may sell?
• Document request emailed the day the appointment is bookedRent roll, leases and amendments, T-12 plus two prior years, loan statement, tax bills, insurance, survey, title, environmental reports.

Save each item as a PDF or dated image with the two-digit item number at the start of the filename.

• 1. County property appraiser record savedParcel ID, owner and mailing address, DOR land-use code, sales history, building and land SF. Appraiser SF is a lead, not a fact.
• 2. Sketch, plat and GIS aerial savedBoundaries, access points and adjacent uses. Reconcile SF against the seller's number and the lease before the OM goes out.
• 3. Official-records pull saved, one PDF per instrumentVesting deed, mortgages and assignments, liens, lis pendens, easements, and memoranda of lease that reveal an option or ROFR.
• 4. Tax bill, two prior years, and the assessment-cap reset page savedOne-page bridge from the seller's capped bill to the buyer's reassessed bill (F.S. 193.1555). Check paid status and any CDD assessment.
• 5. Sunbiz record and signing-authority documents savedConfirm active status. Collect the operating agreement and consent, certification of trust, letters of administration, or board resolution.
• 6. Zoning, future land use, flood and FDEP screens savedScreens flag questions, they do not answer them. Order any zoning verification letter at intake because it can take weeks.
• 7. Existing or expired LoopNet or Crexi listing captured with a datePrice history, days on market, and why it failed. Do not reuse the prior broker's photos.
• Any unavailable item marked N/A with the reason and the request dateExample: Item 6, zoning letter, requested 10/1, pending, GIS screenshot attached.

Only the seller can answer these. Ask early, ask in writing, and read the leases yourself.

• ROFR, ROFO and purchase options asked about by nameRecorded memoranda of lease often reveal them. Read the notice steps and day counts in the lease.
• Transfer consent, exclusives, go-dark and co-tenancy rights checkedEach can limit a buyer or trigger rights in other leases. Disclose them in the OM.
• Lease expirations, options, termination rights and guaranty type listedCorporate versus franchisee guaranty matters on single-tenant NNN.
• Loan terms and payoff route confirmedLender, balance, maturity, prepayment, yield maintenance or defeasance, and assumability. Request the payoff quote at listing, not at contract.
• 1031 status askedQualified intermediary engaged before closing. Calendar day 45 identification and day 180 receipt once a closing date exists.
• Capex, disputes, offers and notices askedRoof, HVAC and paving ages, unsolicited offers, tenant disputes, code notices, loss runs and a current insurance quote.

The seller-side model you build before you price. The BOV and the OM are built on it, and every buyer and lender will re-underwrite it.

• 9. Rent roll abstracted lease by leaseRent, escalations, options, recoveries, and the clauses that hurt. One row per tenant.
• Rent roll tied to the leases and the T-12 tied to bank statementsThe leases control the rent roll. Note every mismatch and resolve it before pricing.
• T-12 plus two prior years loaded, with sales tax on rent strippedFlorida repealed the rent tax for rental periods beginning October 1, 2025. Older statements still show it.
• In-place NOI calculated from signed leases and the T-12
• Buyer normalizations applied to reach normalized NOIVacancy and credit loss, market management fee, reserves, reassessed taxes, re-quoted insurance, one-time items, CAM true-ups, and rollover TI and leasing costs.
• Pro forma NOI separated and labeled as a projectionInclude it only with a real value-add story. List every assumption. Never make it the headline.
• Lender back-solve run at DSCR, debt yield and LTVLoan sized at the lowest of the three gives the financeable price. Show the rate you assumed and confirm terms with local lenders.
• Special cases handledNNN lease abstract as the underwrite, vacant building lease-up cost, owner-user imputed rent, land residual with closed price-per-acre comps.

• 8. Closed sale comps pulled and matchedLast 12 months or so, matched by tenancy, term, credit and condition. Licensed CoStar and Crexi data is for the meeting, never for republishing.
• 10. BOV built on the underwrite, not before itDirect cap on normalized NOI plus price per SF for multi-tenant and NNN. Price per SF first for industrial. Price per acre or per buildable unit for land.
• Range set with cap-rate and NOI sensitivityAggressive, market and quick-sale cases. Run cap rate plus or minus 50 bps and NOI plus or minus 5%.
• Range tested against the financeable priceIf the number only works for an all-cash buyer, learn that before the appointment.
• BOV language and footer checked against F.S. 475.612Say broker opinion of value and not an appraisal. Every page carries the not-an-appraisal disclaimer.
• 11. Net sheet built from the market case and labeled an estimateFee, doc stamps, owner's title, loan payoff, prepayment cost, prorations, attorney and closing costs, FIRPTA if foreign, 1031 noted. Stop before income tax and refer that to the seller's CPA.

• 12. MaxLife Commercial booklet printed, with your agent share link readyAgent pages are noindex. Send the agent link, not the hub.
• Cover sheet completedProperty, parcel ID, seller goals in the owner's words, pricing range with the NOI and cap rate behind it, three talking points, open questions.
• BOV and underwrite insert added to the bookletOne page: in-place, normalized and pro forma NOI columns, the range, and the assumptions.
• Net sheet placed before the What We Need From You pageBring a second clean copy of items 9 to 14 for the seller, without your notes.
• 14. Sample Florida Realtors commercial contract or LOI included (optional)Shows the seller what an offer will look like.

Blanks are decisions. Fill every one or strike it, and put every promise from the presentation in writing.

• 13. Agreement pre-filled with the exact Sunbiz entity name, parcel ID and every signerInclude what conveys and what does not, such as racking, medical equipment and signage.
• F.S. 475.25(1)(r) elements present, with a hard expiration dateExpiration date, property description, price and terms, fee, and principals' signatures. No evergreen renewal and no cancel-notice requirement.
• Exclusive right to sell recommended, with fee schedule and co-broke written as numbersFees are negotiable and not set by law. Keep buyer-broker compensation out of any MLS field.
• Tail defined in days with a registered-prospect list attachedLog every CA signed, OM sent and tour given from day one. End the tail if the owner relists exclusively elsewhere.
• Named exclusions listed in writingAnyone the seller is already talking to. No verbal carve-outs.
• Marketing costs and early-termination terms statedWho pays, the cap, when reimbursed, and any cancellation fee.
• Lien Act disclosure included if the deal is a covered sale (F.S. 475.703)Made at or before signing or the lien cannot be enforced. Hand the sworn-notice deadlines to your broker of record.
• Addenda and authority documents assembledProperty information sheet, certified rent roll, exclusion list, fee schedule, protocols, estoppel and SNDA cooperation, 1031 cooperation, authority documents.
• Tenant-rights and seller disclosures preparedROFR, ROFO, options, transfer consent, exclusives, go-dark, environmental, claims, code and tenant disputes.
• Broker of record reviewed the agreement, and a same-day scan and email is readyThe owner must receive a signed copy within 24 hours of signing.

• Pricing bridge ready if the seller's number exceeds the underwriteAsk what NOI and cap rate produce it, show in-place versus normalized, then closed comps at the same term and credit.
• Fee and term positions decided before the meetingOffer a structure such as a step-down scale or hybrid, and trade it for term, not for nothing.
• Answers rehearsed for the common objectionsWait for rates, my tenant wants to buy, another broker said more, keep it quiet, sell off-market, 1031 later, I will list it on Crexi myself.
• Ethics lines rehearsedNo guarantee of price, timing or a buyer. No unsupported NOI. No tenant contact or names before a CA.

• Broker of record reviewed the range, fee and term the day beforeNever promise a fee the broker of record has not approved.
• Folder named and files numbered 00 to 14, with a tabbed binder printedResearch tab, numbers tab, sign tab. Print a copy for each attendee plus your annotated copy.
• Digital set loaded on a tablet or phoneFlip-book link, PDFs, and a way to scan and email the signed agreement.
• Pricing story rehearsed out loud, twice, timed to 60 minutesHave a colleague play the owner and throw your three least favorite objections.
• Numbers, Sunbiz status and listing status re-checked the morning ofConfirm the attendee list, and set the follow-up date and the 24-hour thank-you email.