The landlord's broker is friendly, responsive, and always ready to show you another space. That is exactly why it is worth asking a simple question before you sign anything: who is this person working for? For a dentist, veterinarian, or physician about to commit to a long lease, the answer shapes your rent, your build-out budget, and your flexibility for years to come.

A medical real estate broker in Georgia who works only for you changes the balance of the negotiation, because their job is to protect your interests, not the building's occupancy rate. So, knowing more about what a healthcare real estate broker does can help you ensure whoever you’re working is really on your side.

Whose Side Is Your Broker On?

A landlord's agent, often called the listing broker, is hired by the building's owner to fill space at the highest rent and most favorable terms. That is a legitimate job, but it may not get you the best rates. A tenant representative is engaged by you to find space and negotiate on your behalf.

Georgia's Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act draws the line clearly. A client relationship begins with a written engagement, and under O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-8, a broker engaged by a tenant must promote the tenant's interests.

That includes seeking a property at a price and terms acceptable to the tenant, presenting all offers, disclosing adverse material facts the broker knows about the transaction, keeping confidential any information the tenant designates, and advising the tenant to get expert help on matters beyond the broker's expertise.

The same section also bars a tenant's broker from knowingly giving a landlord false information, so representing you never means misleading the other side.

What a Tenant Rep Does for a Healthcare Practice

Healthcare space is not ordinary office space. Plumbing, patient access, referral patterns, and specialized build-outs all affect whether a location works, and a tenant rep brings that lens to every step.

Market and Site Strategy

Instead of simply comparing available spaces, a tenant rep helps you evaluate accessibility, demographics, referral patterns, and proximity to hospitals and other providers, so the location supports the practice you want to build and not just the one you open with.

A dental real estate broker in Georgia who works only with healthcare tenants brings that perspective to site selection from the first conversation.

Lease Negotiation

Healthcare leases are full of terms that look routine and are not: Triple Net structures, annual CPI escalations, restrictive renewal clauses, tenant improvement allowances, and exclusive-use protections.

A closer look at how triple net leases work for dentists shows how much the structure matters. A tenant rep negotiates those terms for you.

Practice-Specific Needs

A dental office needs plumbing and equipment space, a veterinary clinic has to think about noise, odor, and outdoor areas, and a medical practice has to think about patient access and parking. A broker who works with healthcare tenants asks about these early, before they turn into expensive surprises.

Here is where a landlord's agent and your practice tend to diverge:

• The base rent and the annual escalation structure
• Who pays for the build-out, and how much the landlord contributes
• Exclusive-use protection from competing practices in the same center
• Renewal terms and how future rent is set
• Relocation, restoration, and early termination clauses
• How much time pressure you are under, and how much leverage you have

None of this makes a landlord's agent a villain. They are doing the job they were hired to do. The point is to make sure someone at the table is doing yours.

A tenant rep might, for example, ask for an exclusive so a competing practice cannot lease space in the same center, or push for a build-out allowance that covers specialized plumbing. A landlord's agent has no reason to volunteer either one.

Dual Agency: What Georgia Law Says and Why It Matters

Some brokers represent more than one side. Georgia defines a dual agent as a broker who has a client relationship with both the landlord and the tenant in the same transaction.

Under O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-12, that is allowed only with the written consent of all clients. The consent must state that the broker represents two clients whose interests are or at times could be different or even adverse, and that you do not have to consent.

A dual agent also discloses adverse material facts to all parties, with limited confidentiality exceptions, which narrows how much one-sided advocacy a broker can offer. Every brokerage must have an office policy that either permits or rejects disclosed dual agency, and some firms use designated agents instead.

The practical takeaway: if a broker also represents the building's owner, ask for the agency disclosure in writing and make sure you understand it before you sign. This is general information, not legal advice, so have an attorney review any agreement.

Who Pays a Tenant Rep?

This question keeps many practice owners from calling a broker at all. In many commercial leases, the landlord pays a commission to the listing broker and shares it with the broker who brought the tenant, but arrangements vary by deal, building, and engagement, so never assume.

What Georgia law does say is that the source of payment does not decide who the broker works for. Under § 10-6A-11, the payment or promise of payment of compensation by a seller, landlord, buyer, or tenant does not determine whether a brokerage relationship has been created.

A landlord-paid commission therefore does not automatically make a broker the landlord's agent. What matters is the relationship you establish, ideally in a written tenant representation agreement. Before you sign, ask how the broker is compensated, by whom, and what happens if the landlord will not share a commission.

Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Broker

Bring these to your first conversation:

• Do you represent any landlords, owners, or developers in properties I am considering?
• Will you sign a written tenant representation agreement with me?
• How are you compensated, and by whom?
• What dental, veterinary, or medical build-outs have you handled?
• How will you evaluate locations beyond rent per square foot?
• Which lenders, attorneys, architects, and contractors do you work alongside?

A good broker will welcome these questions, and the answers will tell you a lot about how the relationship will work.

Experience across practice types matters too. You can always ask about the range of dentists, veterinarians, physicians, and groups a specialized rep supports, so you can be sure that they are the right person for the job.

When You Are Buying a Practice or Expanding

Representation matters even more in acquisitions and expansions. Whether you take over an existing lease or negotiate a new one can affect your rent, your options, and your risk, and an assignment often requires the landlord's consent. Bringing a broker in before you sign a purchase agreement gives you time to review the real estate side of the deal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a tenant representative?

A tenant representative is a broker you engage to find space and negotiate on your behalf, with a duty to promote your interests.

Can a landlord's broker represent me too?

Only as a dual agent, which Georgia allows with the written consent of all clients. You do not have to agree to it.

Do I need a broker if I am only renewing my lease?

A renewal is a negotiation, and a broker can help with market rates, your renewal options, and timing.

Does hiring a tenant rep cost extra?

Often the landlord's commission covers a tenant rep, but terms vary, so ask for the details in writing.

Do you only work with dentists?

No. Healthcare real estate advisors also work with medical, veterinary, optometry, and multi-location practices.

Need a Medical Real Estate Broker in Georgia Who Works Only for You? Schedule Your Consultation

At Lightpoint, we primarily represent healthcare tenants and buyers, so your lease, purchase, or expansion gets advice built around your practice, not a landlord's vacancy. Schedule a consultation today to talk through your next move.