One of the biggest mistakes I see shopping center owners make? Relying on online rent comps. You know those listings are wrong—I don’t even give my info to those sites! So how do you get accurate market data? You build relationships with your Neighborhood Leasing Agents (NLAs). When I was underwriting a deal, a quick call to a neighboring agent gave me the inside scoop on a renewal deal with a national tenant. That insight alone let me confidently increase my projected rent by $10/SF—which helped me win the deal! And I don’t mean a one-time “nice to meet you.” You’ve got to nurture those relationships over time. I even host Dead Deal Meetings twice a year where I gather the leasing agents in my market and we swap deals we couldn’t do. I’ve leased space from leads that came directly out of those meetings! Pro tip: Sharing is key. You can’t just take, take, take. Be generous with your own intel. It builds trust—and it comes back tenfold. Bottom line? Don’t isolate yourself behind rent rolls and listings. Get out there. Meet the agents. Build trust. Share leads. Real-world info beats appraisals every time.

Forget what your rent roll says. Forget what CoStar or the appraiser says. If you really want to know what the market rent is—get in your car, drive your market, and talk to other leasing agents. When I buy a shopping center, I don’t guess rents. I do the homework:• I identify my competition.• I walk their centers.• I peek inside the vacancies.• I evaluate visibility, parking, signage, frontage, and foot traffic.• I stalk their websites for quoted rents and CAMs.• Then—I talk to the agents. I ask what’s leased, what’s not, and what’s real. Visibility alone can justify a $10 PSF bump! A 1,200 SF endcap on Main Street with 65,000 cars/day? That’s a different animal than a deep-in-the-back space in an 800,000 SF center. Want higher rents? Build the case. Understand the vacancy rates, the comps, the demand, and the foot traffic. Then test the market. Start quoting $26 instead of $22 and see who bites. Own a multimillion-dollar property? Act like it. Be the most informed landlord in your market. And remember—if your tenants are crushing sales and paying 2% in occupancy cost, they can likely afford more rent.

Vacancy is expensive—and more often than not, we landlords are the ones causing it. How? By letting tenants pay late… again and again, until suddenly they’re three months behind and it’s easier for them to move out than catch up. That’s not good for them or for us. When I acquire a property, I give tenants a 90-day “habit reset.” I meet them, review their lease terms, and tell them we’re enforcing the rent due date—no more cozy grace periods. We charge late fees. We don’t waive them. Period. And yes, I track delinquencies on the 5th, 10th, and 20th every month. Here’s the Rockstar move: Get your tenants on ACH. The more automatic, the better. And if your tenants are local, pop in! A quick “Hey, haven’t seen the rent yet!” goes a long way. We’re in this business for two things: rent paid and doors open. So be diligent, be firm, and don’t be the landlord who contributes to their own vacancy problem.

Let’s get one thing straight: lease options benefit tenants – not landlords. Yet, so many landlords hand them out like candy, locking in below-market rents for years. Right now in South Florida, I have tenants paying $34/SF whose leases are set to roll in 18 months… and guess what? The market rate is nearly $70/SF! But with three five-year options at a measly 3% annual increase? That’s money left on the table—and a serious hit to your property value. If you must give options, here’s the Rockstar way to do it: Be fair, but don’t be foolish. You’re managing a multi-million dollar asset. Start negotiating like it.