40+ YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE · NO CONFLICTS
One Client. One Side. Yours.
Tenant Advisors exclusively represents the tenant side of the table. We have never represented a landlord and never will. The biggest CRE firms in Chicago represent both sides and rely on a fictional “Chinese wall” to separate them. That wall doesn’t hold.
WHY IT MATTERS WHO YOUR BROKER WORKS FOR
No Divided Loyalties.
Tenant Advisors represents office tenants. We assess your lease position, benchmark your rate against current market transactions, and negotiate exclusively in your interest — with no landlord relationships to protect and no dual commissions to chase.
The Chinese Wall Doesn't Exist.
True dual agency — one broker representing both the landlord and the tenant in the same transaction — is relatively rare and requires disclosure. That’s not what we’re talking about.
The more common problem: all large national CRE firms, and most regional firms, represent both landlords and tenants. They collect landlord fees on listings, property management, and capital markets work across hundreds of Chicago-area properties — while simultaneously claiming to represent you as a tenant. When their broker works your deal, the firm assures you a “Chinese wall” separates the two. An internal policy that keeps landlord relationships from influencing your representation.
We’ve been inside that wall. Tom Koelzer and Dave Ven Horst spent their early careers at a major national firm. They know what the wall looks like from the inside — and what it doesn’t stop. The firm’s most important clients are institutional landlords with multiple assignments. They are repeat business worth millions in annual fees. You are one tenant, one transaction. When a tenant rep broker pushes hard against a landlord who is also a major client of the firm, they are pushing against their own company’s revenue. That pressure doesn’t need to be spoken out loud to be felt.
They founded Tenant Advisors in 2004 with a structure that makes the conflict impossible, not just discouraged:
no landlord assignments, no listing fees, no property management — nothing that puts a landlord’s interests
anywhere in our business. There is no wall because there is nothing to wall off.
The wall in practice: The managing broker overseeing your deal may also oversee the team listing your landlord’s building. There is no regulatory requirement separating them. The wall is a policy, not a structure. Policies bend when revenue is at stake.
WHY IT MATTERS WHO YOUR BROKER WORKS FOR
No Exceptions.
With a Full-Service Firm
With Tenant Advisors
BUILDING SELECTION
The firm holds listing assignments on buildings in your market. Their tenant rep broker may prioritize those buildings — consciously or not. You see a filtered market shaped by the firm’s landlord relationships.
BUILDING SELECTION
Every available option is on the table. We have no landlord relationships to protect and no financial incentive to steer you toward any building
RENEWAL NEGOTIATION
The firm may manage or list your building on behalf of the landlord.
Pushing the landlord hard — on rent, TI, or flexibility — creates
friction with a client that matters more to the firm than your one
transaction.
RENEWAL NEGOTIATION
We create competing alternatives that force your landlord to negotiate honestly. We push as hard as the market allows — our only incentive is your outcome.
CONCESSIONS
Pushing too hard on free rent, TI dollars, or termination rights could
strain the broker’s landlord relationship. The result: softer asks,
weaker outcomes.
CONCESSIONS
We ask for everything the market supports: maximum free rent, above-market TI, flexibility provisions, reduced escalations. No relationship to protect means no pulled punches.
LEASE ANALYSIS
A broker whose firm represents the landlord on other deals may not flag clauses that favor the landlord — escalation structures, relocation provisions, or personal guaranty exposure.
LEASE ANALYSIS
We flag every clause that favors the landlord — because we have no reason not to. Our job is to protect you, not the relationship with ownership.
THE LAW
Why Dual Agency Doesn’t Protect You
When a broker represents both the landlord and the tenant, true representation disappears. They know the landlord’s bottom line but are legally barred from sharing it or using it to your advantage. They can’t fight for you; they can only facilitate. While 225 ILCS 454/15-45 of the Illinois Real Estate License Act permits dual agency with written consent, the law transforms the broker into a neutral party. Under the statute, a dual agent can offer suggestions or advice regarding property info and “educated decisions,” but they cannot recommend specific terms or prices to either side. They provide data, but they cannot provide strategy. We refuse to be sidelined by these restrictions. We have never represented a landlord, ensuring that every building in your target market remains a fair fight where we can advocate for you without compromise.
CLIENT REVIEWS
What Clients Say on Google
5.0 on Google
“We renewed at a rate 18% below asking
and secured a tenant improvement
allowance that covered our full
buildout. The landlord was negotiating
blind—we were not.”
PRESIDENT — FINANCIAL SERVICES
COMPANY, OAK BROOK, IL
“We had no idea how much leverage we
actually had until they showed us the
market data. The renewal terms we got
were far better than we expected—and
it cost us nothing.”
OWNER — TECHNOLOGY COMPANY,
ROSEMONT, IL
“The lease review alone was worth
calling them. They found two provisions
that would have cost us significantly
over the term. Caught it before we
signed. That’s the whole ballgame.”
CFO — HEALTHCARE GROUP,
SCHAUMBURG, IL
“Tom and Dave are the best. They
recognized that our termination option
gave us real leverage to renegotiate
early—produced immediate savings.
Skill, patience, and attention to detail
throughout.”
CFO — PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM,
LOMBARD, IL
“I honestly didn’t believe we’d end up
with a better space at a better rate. We
did. The expertise and patience in
understanding our requirements set
them apart completely.”
REGIONAL DIRECTOR — INSURANCE
COMPANY, BUFFALO GROVE, IL
Chicagoland suburban office vacancy is at a record high.
Concessions are up. Landlords need tenants more than tenants
need landlords. That leverage belongs to you — if you have
someone using it.
No fee to you. Our commission is paid by the landlord as part of
the transaction
Tenant Advisors exclusively represents office tenants. We do not represent landlords. Dual agency is permitted under Illinois law (225 ILCS 454/15-45) — we simply refuse to practice it.