Allen Buchanan

Allen Buchanan is a principal and commercial real estate broker at Lee & Associates, Orange. He can be reached at 714.564.7104 or abuchanan@lee-associates.com. His website is www.allencbuchanan.com.

Before pursuing a real estate deal, QUALIFY it first

May 3, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

After decades in this business, I’ve learned that success often comes down to asking the right questions before diving in.

As many in industry expect downward pressure to continue throughout 2025, landlords and tenants alike are revisiting the blend and extend, a lease modification that resets the rental rate — usually blending the remaining term’s rate with a new, often lower rate — in exchange for an extension of the lease term. (iStockphoto via Getty Images)

Will blend-and-extend lease strategies make a 2025 comeback?

April 19, 2025 at 5:04 a.m.

This lease modification resets the rental rate in exchange for an extension of the lease term.

Patrons leave the course at Augusta National after play was suspended for the day in the weather-delayed third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, April 8, 2023, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

What the Masters teaches us about real estate

April 12, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

Whether you’re chasing birdies or escrows, there are lessons to be learned.

Winnetka Pacific Theatres, photographed on July 31, 2023, multiplex location in Chatsworth, will be transformed into a Tesla delivery hub and service center. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

What the commercial real estate industry can learn from Tesla

April 5, 2025 at 5:04 a.m.

The Tesla buying experience may reflect some of the same trends and opportunities within the commercial real estate space.

How you complete a real estate deal is all about following a sequence of events. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

How do you SEQUENCE a real estate deal? Use this formula

March 29, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

With a little AI help, these steps help move along commercial real estate transaction.

Containers await transport at the Port of Long Beach on Thursday, Mar. 9, 2003. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Reshoring: A boon for U.S. real estate and local economies

March 22, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

In a shift to US manufacturing, industrial real estate is one big winner.

Whether in global trade, real estate or the courtroom, the art of negotiation remains the same. The first offer, the initial demand, or the newly imposed tariff isn’t always about the outcome – it’s about the process of getting there. (iStockphoto/Getty Images)

Tariffs: Trade policy or just another negotiation tactic?

March 15, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

And as any good negotiator knows, it’s not about the first move — it’s about who walks away with the better deal.

Two former office buildings at 3100 and 3130 S. Harbor Boulevard. were demolished in Santa Ana on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The site is now Harbor Logistics Center, a warehouse and distribution complex spanning 163,000 square feet. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Office space reckoning: What’s next for empty buildings?

March 13, 2025 at 12:24 p.m.

Many landlords are feeling the squeeze. What will they do with all the empty space?

After a rollercoaster ride of rate hikes in 2023 and 2024, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The next CRE disrupter: What’s coming for the balance of 2025?

March 1, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

Financing costs will remain a major player in 2025. shaping everything from new development to refinancing strategies.

FILE – In this Tuesday, Aug. 30, 1977 file photo, President Jimmy Carter meets with civic leaders from Georgia and Florida at the White House in Washington to explain his new Panama Canal treaty. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)

How presidents shaped commercial real estate

February 22, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

In honor of US presidents, here are 10 of the most influential moves that changed our industry forever.

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