Tenant Advisers Carpenter/Robbins Tap Government Pipeline
November 13, 2009
Carpenter/Robbins Tenant Advisory Services has found a way to thrive during the worst real estate climate in decades.
The San Ramon firm turned to the government when private sector work dried up.
Sixty percent of the company’s business comes from government clients, up from 15 percent when the company was founded, partner John Carpenter said. This shift has “absolutely” helped the firm weather the downturn.
That pipeline of business is responsible for 93.9 percent revenue growth over the past three years, to $4.07 million last year from $2.1 million in 2006.
The other key ingredient is its singular focus on tenants. After years of working with commercial real estate firms that represented both landlords and tenants, Carpenter realized that there was a better way to ensure that tenants got the most out of a real estate deal.
“There was a distinct conflict of interest,” said Carpenter, who along with partner John Robbins, founded Carpenter/Robbins in 1999.
“You either represent the husband or the wife,” said Carpenter, relating the company’s role in a real estate transaction to that of an attorney in a divorce. “Many times when companies are out looking for space, they don’t realize that the person they have contracted is really representing the landlord.”
The 16-employee company provides strategic planning, needs assessment and consulting services to companies and government departments looking to move or renew their leases.
“The firm really functions as a temporary real estate department for companies and government entities,” Carpenter said.
Some clients include the U.S. Postal Service, the City of San Ramon, Wells Fargo and SAP Software. The company is currently working to help the U.S. General Services Agency find about 3,220 square feet of office space in Oxnard and Ventura, according to its web site.
Carpenter said some of their success comes from the tendency to form long-term partnerships with clients, an approach based on the partners’ experience as business owners.
“When I needed my real estate broker the most, which was after I signed the lease, they were gone,” Carpenter said of his experiences with brokers who bailed after a deal was signed. “The time we spend with our assignment is 24 to 48 months.”
The approach also can eliminate problems that crop up when a broker disappears, such as not being able to get out of a lease early and not being able to extend a lease.
“Some of the most important things are things that typically companies don’t think about,” Carpenter said. “They get in there and they strike a great deal for new office space, but when they stand in the office you can hear the conversation of the person in the next office.”
The company’s focus is partly due to it being fee-based, rather than transaction-based, but Carpenter said the customer service has created long-lasting relationships. One example is San Ramon-based Media Net Link.
“At least since 1995, since I’ve been here, we’ve been in four different locations, and I believe he’s put us in all four,” said Tom Brickley, part-owner and director of operations for the San Ramon-based web design and consulting firm. The company’s fifth move, which will be handled by Carpenter/Robbins, will relocate its 15 employees from its 2,500 square-foot space to a 3,400 square-foot space.
Brickley said he felt comfortable enough with Carpenter’s handling of their real estate matters to remain completely hands-off.
“I didn’t get involved with the real estate.” said Brickley. “The advice he has given us has been spot-on, and the deal he pulled off for us has been fabulous.”