#228: Beth Azor - The Shopping Center Canvassing, Prospecting, and Leasing Queen!

Beth Azor is the founder and CEO of Azor Advisory Services (AAS), a leading commercial real estate advisory and investment firm based in Weston, Florida. As its principal, Beth currently owns and manages six shopping centers in Florida valued at over $100 million. She travels the U.S. consulting with, brokering deals for, and training associates in the commercial real estate industry.

On this episode, Beth discusses how to drive the most value to a leasing center through leasing best practices, Impulse vs destination tenants, and the best practices for structuring a retail lease from decades of practice. Chris and Beth also chat about what makes the best deal for landlords and a lot more!

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

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Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ 

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Beth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bethazor1

Beth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethazor/

Beth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethazor/

(03:07) - Beth’s Career in Real Estate

(14:54) - Why was it so tough to bring in talent horizontally?

(18:15) - Where did you develop this leadership style?

(19:34) - How do you define canvasing & prospecting?

(21:48) - Do most tenants already want to expand when you prospect or do you need to sell them on the idea?

(22:52) - What are the critical components of an amazing leasing agent?

(25:21) - What’s your solution to someone who is afraid to go talk to a stranger?

(28:19) - What are the main reasons a tenant is happy where they are or unhappy where they are?

(33:15) - Impulse Tenants vs. Destination Tenants

(40:53) - What is Dwell Time?

(43:14) - “Your leasing competitor across the street is your best friend”

(45:53) - What would be a reason you don’t provide TI knowing the leasing agent across the street does?

(47:29) - What is Occupancy Cost Ratio?

(49:59) - Sales Reporting in Leases

(50:58) - Percentage Rent Deals

(53:54) - Relocation Clauses

(55:51) - Grace Periods to Pay Rent

(58:24) - What else have you learned are must-haves in a lease?

(1:00:48) - Are there any lease clauses that linger post-covid?

(1:03:22) - Why would a great property be okay with a pop-up shop?

(1:08:12) - Is there ever a time when a tenant brings too much traffic?

(1:10:38) - How does the delivery economy (Uber Eats, DoorDash) impact shopping centers?

(1:14:42) - What is the Circular Economy?

(16:02) - What gets you to a quick no when you’re buying a property?

(18:17) - Do you have tenants on the hook before you develop a property?

(1:19:08) - Are you doing Triple Net leases or Gross?

(1:19:26) - What are you responsible for as the landlord that is unique to the asset class?

(1:20:48) - Is it true that grocery stores pay less rent?

(1:20:58) - Why don’t you like CoStar? Are there any online tools that you do like?

(1:22:43) - How do you conduct a market survey?

(1:24:26) - Why is traffic count so important?

(1:25:12) - How do you respond to the media accusations that retail is dead?

(1:29:15) - How can people engage with you online?

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