About
I’m Ryan Walsh, Co-Founder and Principal at RadatzWalsh
Focused exclusively on…
Focused exclusively on…
Activity
2K followers
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisGrowing businesses often times get their space wrong in one of 2 ways: 1. They sign too short of a term because they expect to out grow it quickly 2. They try to build the "perfect" space before they've grown into it. Short leases go fast, because 12 or 36 months disappear before you know it. And suddenly you're back in the market with no time to plan, plus you left incentives on the table by agreeing to a shorter deal There are ways to build in flexibility if you know to ask for them. - Options on adjacent space, in case you need to expand - Sublease rights, in case your needs change - Expansion Opportunities in the Landlord’s portfolio - Negotiated outs if you outgrow the space early Then there's the other mistake, trying to make everything perfect before you've actually grown into the business that needs that space. I've seen it put real strain on cash flow, requires more guarantee’s and/or letterss of credit Companies pour resources into a space that's ahead of where the business actually is. A good building with solid amenities is usually enough to help attract talent A spec suite, or a sublease that's close but not perfect, lets you put your focus and resources into growth instead. Subleases especially get overlooked. There are still good ones out there, 5+ years of term left, with a credit-worthy sublessor who's motivated enough to get out of their commitment for 70 cents on the dollar or less. You don't have to lock every dollar into real estate to look credible. There's usually a smarter middle path. One that protects your flexibility and lets growth actually fund itself instead of getting squeezed by the space you're sitting in.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisPeople sometimes ask why they've never heard of me before someone referred them. We don't take listings and we don't represent landlords, so there's no sign with our name on it anywhere. That confuses people at first, so I usually explain it the same way: We work exclusively for tenants and buyers. Which means a client never has to wonder whose interests we're actually looking out for. When we first started, we took the occasional listing. But we were a small shop, and running listings the right way takes a team we didn't have. We ended up spending more time on admin and less time with the clients we actually wanted to serve. So we picked a lane and stayed in it. That decision keeps paying off years later: 1. A client signs a 5 year lease, and comes back to us when it's time to renew 2. An investor buys a building, and calls again when they're ready for the next one 3. New clients show up already knowing exactly what we do and who we work for I've got real respect for local listing brokers who are great at their craft. We trade deals back and forth all the time. We just chose our lane, and I'm glad we did. I ran into a longtime Gopher football coach, someone who sent a long line of running backs to the NFL without ever drifting from what he did best. He stuck around for a photo even after my phone picked that exact moment to force a software update. Some things are worth staying focused on and he clearly agreed.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisA tenant asked me if it was too early to start looking, with a year left on their lease. Too early is generally not a problem, but I've had plenty of clients tell me they wish they'd started sooner. The ideal window is 12 to 18 months before your lease expires. Here's what that time covers: - Touring spaces and narrowing down the right fit - Getting contractor bids and planning the build-out - Understanding what the market actually looks like right now - Exercising your legal renewal option, if you have one - Comparing your renewal rate to what else is out there A lot of leases require 9 to 12 months notice to renew. If you miss that window, you lose your legal right to stay. You can still negotiate after that, but you've already given up potential key leverage. And that timeline has to account for real-world delays: - Holidays that slow everything down - Decision-makers who are busy with other things - Internal stakeholders who each have their own priorities - Landlords, lawyers, contractors, and bankers all running their own timelines Getting everyone aligned takes longer than people expect. The earlier you start, the more room you have to absorb that. Most tenants don't know that landlords will lock in a lease 6 months or more (for larger deals) before you actually move in, and negotiated correctly, you don't start paying rent until you take the space. Time is the one thing you can't get back in a lease negotiation. It's the one thing that actually creates leverage.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisMy client asked, "If I'm signing a 5 year lease, isn't that supposed to lock in my rate for 5 years?" Some tenants assume that going in. A longer term gets you the right to occupy and operate in that space. It usually gets you tenant improvements in exchange for signing it but it doesn't freeze your rate. Almost every lease has some kind of increase baked in. In office and industrial, what we're seeing right now generally lands in the 3 to 4% range per year. Retail can work differently, sometimes tied to CPI, sometimes structured every other year or every 5 years A few things tenants get caught off guard by: - Rent increases are usually built into the lease from the start, even if the term feels "locked in" - If your last lease had the landlord covering tax and expense increases (Gross Lease), your new lease is unlikely to function the same way - Most office and industrial leases today pass through taxes and ops to tenants We negotiate to keep those increases as low as possible. Sometimes a longer term actually gets you a softer bump or a more creative structure, more TI upfront, or a stepped rent if you're growing into the space. I'd rather see a known, predictable increase written into the lease than something floating against CPI or another index you can't control. If you're about to sign a lease and want someone to walk through what those increases actually look like, I’m happy to talk it through.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisThis clause in a lease lets your landlord move you to a "similar space" whenever they want. We had a client who almost lost the one thing that made their space work. It's called a relocation or substitution clause, and I see it in most office leases It allows the landlord to move you into a similar space and cover reasonable moving costs. We try to get it removed on almost every lease we work on. A few things worth understanding before you sign: - "Similar space" is rarely defined with any real specificity, which leaves the landlord room to decide what counts - "Reasonable moving costs" usually covers the physical move. They don’t always cover the disruption to your business, your signage, your clients finding you, or your downtime - The clause typically gives the landlord the right to trigger a move on their timeline, not yours This client, a 7,500 square foot office user, had picked a suite specifically because a lot of their clients were elderly, and a long hallway just wasn't going to work for them. The landlord was pushing harder than usual to keep that clause in the lease, and that's when our radar went up. We held our ground and told him no deal with the clause in there. He fought it, and eventually he caved. Turned out we were right to push and our instincts proved correct. We knew they were likely trying to land a bigger fish that they could only accomodate by including the space our client desired The risk on this clause goes up significantly if you're next to a large vacant block, or significant sized tenant that is in growth mode That's exactly the setup that makes a landlord want the flexibility to move you. Majority of the time this clause just sits there, unused. It is expensive for the Landlord But when it does get used, it can be seriously disruptive to a business.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisA client once needed a phase 1, a survey, and contractor pricing, all at once. I didn't have to think twice because I already had people for all 3. People usually think finding the space is the hard part of this job but that's just the start of it. Once you've found the right building, or you're comparing a couple options, somebody has to run point on everything that happens after that. I don't think people notice that part. It's less about who I know and more about catching what a client hasn't thought to ask yet. - Getting a preliminary walk done before anyone's committed to anything, just to flag issues early - Thinking through layout and furniture before it becomes a problem mid-lease - Lining up pricing and timelines before a client even realizes they need them Sometimes I've got exactly the right person for something specific. Sometimes in specific cases I don't, and I'll ask other Brokers or Landlords I trust for their recommendations Either way, the client isn't the one scrambling to figure it out. It's what 24 years in this market does to how you work. You start seeing around corners a little, and you stop waiting to be asked before you solve something.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisI've watched a lot of "game-changing" tech come through commercial real estate over the years. Every few years, something new comes along that's supposed to change this business forever. I agree tools change and they can certainly add efficieny in our prospecting and daily tasks. I've been in this market for 24 years now and what actually gets deals Done hasn't changed at all. I co-founded the business not long before the 2008 and 2009 market hit, without much of a client base to lean on. We weathered that as a small business because of relationships. What actually moves a deal forward hasn't changed, just to name a few: - Having the right resources, relationships with landlords and other stake holders - Consistency and responsiveness, never being the reason a deal stalls - Knowing which questions to ask and which ones matter. - Transparent communications Sitting across from someone and understanding what they actually need beyond what they are saying. That doesn't come from a platform. When I mentor people coming up in this business, I don’t pass on tools or shortcuts. It's the same thing that got us through 2008. Relationships and trust, built one conversation at a time. The tools will keep changing. What gets a deal done hasn't changed once in 24 years, and I don't expect it to.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisTenants think the vetting only goes one way. Landlord checks you out, you sign where they tell you to. A lease is a partnership, so it should go both ways. Landlords want to know everything about a tenant before signing. Who you are, your financials, track record, how you'll use the building. Fair enough. You're about to spend years in their building. But you're entering a partnership too, and it's okay to ask questions right back. - Find out if things get fixed quickly when they break - Walk the property and look for deferred maintenance - Ask other tenants about their experience, if you're allowed to - Ask what the landlord's financial position actually looks like That last one matters more than people think. Just because a landlord looks like a big player doesn't mean they're stable. We've seen owners who bought at the top of the market and then struggled once vacancy climbed, especially in office buildings post Covid. That risk is in older class C buildings just as we’ve seen in class A properties too Professional management makes a real difference, along with a landlord who actually supports that management team. We know a lot of the landlords and property managers in this market. We know which ones to ask harder questions about and which questions actually matter. It's a partnership. If they're vetting you, you should be vetting them and the building too. That's how both sides end up able to hold up their end of the lease.
-
Ryan Walsh shared thisA landlord once bluffed about another tenant just to force the rent up. My client was a growing medical device company. They'd built out expensive clean rooms in their space before they called me. When it came time to renew, the landlord went hard. He knew moving would cost them a fortune. They had fewer options in a tight market and their financials looked shaky because they were young with fast growth So he told us another big group was ready to take the space if we didn't agree to his number. We didn't just take his word for it. Through people we know in the industry, we found out that "other group" had already looked at two buildings, and this one wasn't in the running anymore. The landlord was overplaying his hand. The negotiation got contentious and the final number landed between the two. Higher than the under market rate they'd been paying. Lower than what the landlord was pushing for. Instead of a long term lease at his rate, we negotiated a shorter, stopgap renewal. Three years later, that client: - Got acquired by another firm - Needed a lot more space to match their growth - We moved into a new facility 5 times the size of what they'd been leasing A stopgap renewal. Then a move that worked out 5 times bigger. Landlords sometimes bluff and the only way to call it is knowing what's actually happening in the market. That's where having someone who knows the market pays for itself.
Ryan Walsh commented on a post
3w
Congrats Bud, that is quite an impressive 24 year run you're on at AP!!
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked thisBrooklyn Public Library just broke ground on something unusual. An 11,000-square-foot branch built almost entirely out of mass timber. The old Canarsie branch on Rockaway Parkway has been standing since 1963. Now it's being replaced with one of the first public buildings in New York City. Where the wood isn't hidden behind drywall, it's the architecture. This new library is expected to be completed in August 2027. We always notice when a project stops you and makes you look twice. Real estate doesn't always have to be about building more, sometimes it's about building something better.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked thisFinding 55,000 square feet of industrial space with upside in Nassau County isn't easy. The Renatus Group just found it and paid $10 million for it. The property is a former printing facility on South Broadway in Hicksville. They're planning to invest millions more on top of the purchase price. The improvements include: - Renovating the offices - Repaving the parking lot - Raising the roof to 28 feet - Upgrading the loading areas - Adding a new sprinkler system Construction is expected to start in early 2027, with a new tenant likely coming later that year. The interesting part isn't the $10 million purchase price. It's how much more the buyer is willing to put in to reposition an older building. Good industrial real estate on Long Island is scarce. When buyers find the right location and the right bones, they're willing to invest.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked thisBarnes & Noble is opening a new store two miles from one they closed in 2024. Which tells you something interesting about where retail is heading. The new location is taking nearly 9,900 square feet of the former Party City space at Veterans Memorial Plaza in Commack. They also opened a 14,000-square-foot store in Huntington Station last year. And they've opened 10 stores across New York over the past three years. After 15 years of shrinking its store count, Barnes & Noble opened more stores in 2024 alone than it did during the entire previous decade. That's quite a turnaround for a retailer many people once thought was being replaced by Amazon. It's another reminder for Long Island property owners that retail isn't dead. The retailers, the locations, and the formats that work just continue to change.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked this$46.5 million in Dutch Bros coffee properties sold this year alone. And another $25.6 million is already lined up behind it. SRS has closed on 18 Dutch Bros properties so far this year, at an average cap rate of 5.51%. They've got another 9 properties either listed or under contract right now. Investors aren't really paying these prices for coffee. They're paying for predictable cash flow. What they're really buying is a long lease, a strong location, steady daily traffic, and a tenant whose business keeps growing. That's exactly what 1031 buyers and net lease investors are looking for right now. The lesson for property owners is simple. When you combine the right real estate with the right tenant and the right lease, investors will compete to buy it.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked this2023: 64% of CEOs expected a full return to the office. 2024: Hybrid policies dropped from 80% to 40%. 2025: TikTok, Snap, Amazon, and Instagram are all mandating 5 days in. TikTok is the latest, starting next month. No more hybrid carve-outs for product, marketing, or advertising, everyone is back at the desk. They also just shut a 143,700-square-foot hub in Nashville and cut 250 jobs. It isn't downsizing, it's consolidating people into fewer, fuller buildings. KPMG says 85% of CEOs now expect a full return, up from 64% in 2023. JLL says hybrid policies have collapsed from 80% to 40% in that same window. Attendance policy is quickly becoming the new leading indicator for office real estate. The buildings worth betting on aren't the ones that are leased. They're the ones where the seats are actually full.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked thisThe Tampa retail market just did $1.6 billion in sales over the past year. And almost none of it was institutional money chasing trophy buildings. Sales are up 15% from the year before. But here's the part that actually matters: 75% of those deals were under $3 million. These aren't big funds writing giant checks for landmark properties. They're real buyers putting real money into properties they actually understand. The deals getting done are mostly single-tenant net lease properties. An O'Reilly Auto Parts recently traded at a 5.8% cap rate, and a Wendy's went at 4.8%. Investors aren't chasing yield just for the sake of it, they're chasing certainty. Simple real estate, strong tenants, and predictable cash flow. That's the playbook right now, and buyers are more selective than ever about what actually makes the cut. Tampa retail didn't wait for the rest of the market to catch up. It just started trading again.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked thisBest Friends Animal Society just paid $3.4 million for an old law office in Woodbury. Then they immediately committed another $8 million to tear it apart and rebuild it. That's more than twice the purchase price going into construction. The whole idea is to convert the building into a boarding facility for a national animal rescue. And this is the story nobody is really talking about, because office buildings on Long Island are quietly becoming worth more reimagined than they are as offices. And Woodbury isn't the only place this is happening. Owners in Hempstead and Valley Stream are doing the exact same thing with their obsolete office space. So if you're sitting on an office building with rising vacancy and falling rents, the market is trying to tell you something. The highest and best use of your property might not be the use it has today.
-
Ryan Walsh liked thisRyan Walsh liked thisNot every listing is worth taking on. Turning down the wrong ones has been just as important as landing the right ones. The first thing I look at is the landlord. I need to feel that I can work with them and that they have realistic expectations. They need to understand the sales cycle in the outer borough market, which can take time. They need the resources and commitment to see a deal through to the end. If those things aren't there, the listing becomes a problem instead of an opportunity. Reputation is everything in this business. To protect mine, I need to align myself with the right kind of people. People who share my values and understand how I do business. I also need to believe in the product I'm bringing to market. If I don't think the property has a realistic chance of leasing, why would I waste my time and resources marketing it? I try to be very disciplined about where I put my time and energy. I focus on opportunities where the property, the landlord, and the market all come together. That's when there's a realistic chance of getting the deal done. Taking on the wrong listing doesn't just waste time. It puts your reputation on the line for something that was never going to work.
-
Ryan Walsh reacted on thisRyan Walsh reacted on thisThe most valuable thing a sale-leaseback can do is not fund the next facility. It's to move the entire business into a much higher valuation. We recently worked with an operator that wanted to open additional locations, hire clinical staff, purchase equipment, and invest heavily in marketing. The traditional options were straightforward: - Raise outside equity and dilute ownership - Take on recourse debt and sign personal guarantees - Or slow down the growth plan Instead, we used a sale-leaseback strategy. The operator monetized its real estate, remained in complete control of each location, and redeployed the proceeds directly into expansion. The result was more locations, higher EBITDA, and a significantly more valuable operating platform. This is where the strategy becomes especially powerful. A smaller healthcare business usually trades at a modest EBITDA multiple. But as the platform adds locations, builds real infrastructure, and becomes more attractive to institutional buyers, that multiple can grow substantially. That means sale-leaseback capital isn't just funding the next facility. It can help move the entire company into a different valuation category. For healthcare operators and private equity groups, the question should not simply be: What is our real estate worth? The sharper question is how much more valuable the operating company could become if that capital was put back to work inside it. If you're a healthcare operator or PE group looking at expansion, it's worth a conversation.
Experience & Education
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Mark Roos
Looking for a quick value check on a newer vintage, stabilized multifamily deal in the Twin Cities? Ask an agency lender that you trust for the maximum loan proceeds available on a 7-year term, then: ▪️ Divide by 60% for Elite Product ▪️ Divide by 65% for Good Product ▪️ Divide by 70% for Average Product There are exceptions, but this is a pretty good starting point in my experience.
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content