Reprinted with permission from the publisher, Nolo, Copyright 2003.  (Nolo Press) The following sections contain completely unabridged advice to Office Tenants for choosing and working with commercial real estate brokers.

Many small business owners have easily found space on their own and negotiated the terms of the lease with the landlord. Many others, however, have preferred to get help from a professional real estate broker. You may decide to work with a broker in any of the following situations:

• You've searched long and hard but failed to turn up great space at an affordable price.

• You have limited time available to look for space and would find it convenient to have someone else help narrow the field for you.

• You've had no prior experience in searching for space or dealing with real estate matters and you feel a bit intimidated by the prospect of doing it all by yourself.

• You're worried that you'll encounter experts working to protect the landlord's best interests-but no one will be looking out for you.

Well here's good news: It's almost always feasible to hire a real estate professional in the form of a broker who will represent your interests. And there's even better news: Often it will cost you little or nothing to get the benefit of the real estate pro's services. In this section and those that follow, we'll explain: what brokers do, broker licensing, how to find and choose a broker, how to work with a broker, and how to deal with problems with a broker.