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In real estate, there's no better known truism than - wait for it - "location, location, location." But like most cliches, it's only partially true.
Take commercial real estate. Firms aren't likely to move hundreds of employees just because they like a new location; financial terms, building designs, office amenities and especially tax incentives carry just as much weight.
This is where brokers shine. It's all about knowing customers and knowing properties and knowing the angles. Closing a major real estate transaction is much more than paperwork, even footwork; it's every bit a work of art.
Big deals make big headlines, but the work and world of commercial real estate brokers remains mostly mysterious. Many of us are familiar with residential brokers - they check lists, show some houses, grease the negotiation skids, etc. - and commercial brokers are not entirely different; but few realize just how often super- deals are tweaked and transformed before those headlines are published.
Martin Lomazow and Richard Karson, brokers at CB Richard Ellis in Woodbury, are among the area's best-known commercial dealmakers. They've closed transactions for global companies, hospitals, colleges and large office and industrial users. Their office is lined with recognition plaques from the Long Island Association and the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society; the corridor outside sports a poster noting,...