Listing agents work for the landlord and get paid to maximize their return, not protect you. Hire a tenant-rep broker instead. The landlord already pays commission, so it costs you almost nothing and gives you someone actually on your side.
If you're listening to this and you're going to go lease a space, you should hire a broker because in theory it's not really going to cost you anything. If it's listed by an agent, that agent is representing the seller or the landlord and they're getting paid a commission and they have a fiduciary duty to that person. So they're not going to be looking out for your best interest. If they come along and they find a tenant who's unrepresented, they think this guy probably doesn't know what they're talking about and we're going to try to get as much as we can for the landlord because that's their job. The landlord's likely already signed a listing agreement and they're already going to pay a commission. So the only thing it's affecting is how much the listing broker makes. You should get somebody who represents you and specializes in tenant rep. Find somebody who's been a long time, represented a lot of businesses. Have them do it, and then they can give you the advice.
The companies that win the next five years won't be the ones gaming the system.
