Comments on: Sick of the Garage? Rofo Finds Office Space For Startups

By: OutCubator - Blog

OutCubator - Blog — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:59:09 +0000

Rofo got reviewed on Techcrunch…

Rofo.com – the commercial real estate search engine we have been working on, just exited Private Beta and received a nice review on Techcrunch.
Here is also the viral video released in celebration of Rofo getting out of Private Beta:

……

By: mahalo bruddah

mahalo bruddah — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:26:46 +0000

did it ever occur to you landlord’s hire brokers so that they know whats going on in the market and don’t have to spend their time answering every little question or inquiry about a space?

landlord’s are usually wealthy, and their time is valuable.

By: John

John — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:09:15 +0000

Don’t see much value here for the exception of rofo making some bucks $$ off of brokers. One of these days a web site will be build to replace the listing broker, who if you really think about it, doesn’t provide much value to the process aside from marketing a property for lease or sale which rofo is doing without the assistance of a listing broker. When you find a way to do without a listing broker and develope of system of allowing the Tenant to go direct to the Landlord and the Landlord to advertize direct to Tenants, then you have a valuable service. How about LeaseOfficeDirect.com – save some cash, have a Tenant go direct to the Landlord for space and leave the listing broker out of the proecess and save some serious cash. Now that’s a concept!

By: Office Snapshots » Blog Archive » Rofo Offices

Office Snapshots » Blog Archive » Rofo Offices — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:01:40 +0000

[...] If you’ve ever run a business and needed office space, but didn’t know where to look, or felt like those real estate agents were only out to make a buck off of you, then Rofo is the site for you. They’ve got a map that displays open listings in a given area and allows users browse and make viewing appointments. They were also recently covered on Techcrunch here. [...]

By: michael

michael — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:33:20 +0000

These folks called me and I listed a property that is ideal for startups. No replies or leads. Plus no follow up from ROFO to see how I like their service. As both a small business owner and a commercial agent I’m not sure of the value to either. Nice interface though.

By: Chris Zelenka

Chris Zelenka — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:45:27 +0000

As someone that offers small spaces Rofo is a great tool. I have used Rofo to create a listing for the spaces that are available in my building and because they have created a way to embed a Rofo listing into craigslist I can manage my listing on Rofo and then integrate easily into craigslist by just copy and pasting the code into craigslist. This also gives you more pictures and quick access for potential clients to more information about your property listing.
http://sfbay.cr.../782576688.html

For those complaining about Rofo only being in the bay area right now, I am confidant they will be rolling out into new markets as they refine the products. Most successful start ups begin with a small beta and ramp up, I look forward to seeing what markets they expand into when they do.

By: Peter Corbett

Peter Corbett — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:32:14 +0000

We need this in Washington DC. If/when you launch here, contact me and I’ll pimp it to the startup community. It would be very valuable to have this insight here!

Peter

By: Omar

Omar — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:09:43 +0000

Is it recurring in your professional life? I’m just curious as I’m working on a web 2.0 startup about comedic names. I think your story can secure me funding.

By: The SmallBusiness.com Blog » links for 2008-08-05 [delicious.com]

The SmallBusiness.com Blog » links for 2008-08-05 [delicious.com] — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:02:40 +0000

[...] Web Startup Rofo Aims to Help Startups Find Office Space | TechCrunch Now limited to the San Francisco Bay area, the online service specializes in real estate listings for offices up to 5,000 sq feet. It plans to move into other areas later. (tags: startup) [...]

By: Yahoo Boss Is So Open, It Runs on Google’s App Engine

Yahoo Boss Is So Open, It Runs on Google’s App Engine — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:56:39 +0000

[...] Business model which reminds me on the german ebuero http://www.tech...e-for-startups/ [...]

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:35:33 +0000

This guys are calling it a Beta service with only supporting the Bay Area. What a joke!!! Whoever you are… At least build up a real DB and then launch it or call it a Beta!

@ Don Wilson. Forget about Dallas or NYC, these guys don’t even support markets like Los Angeles.

By: Jingho

Jingho — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:33:53 +0000

LAH

By: wada wada wada

wada wada wada — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:02:59 +0000

if you paid a brokers by the hour, your deal would never get done. the best solution is to ask the right questions before you hire a broker.

By: Don Wilson

Don Wilson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0000

Rofo doesn’t support Dallas. Very typical of these little startups and no ambition to support main cities outside of San Fran and NYC.

By: Seth Gardenswartz

Seth Gardenswartz — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:48:46 +0000

Part of the problem is few office spaces or owners have a “product” that will work for start ups. The ideal space has a short lease term and the tenant will pay up front for all TI work. That way the landlord does not need a big commitment and personal guarantee. Just collection all the available spaces does not mean the Landlord will take the tenant who likes the space. This is a small niche from a real estate point of view. If there is a market why are the Rofo guys not building a product to meet it?

By: Wes

Wes — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:40:52 +0000

It seems like the smaller you are the harder it is to get office space, lets hope this service will really help the start ups.

By: techdude12

techdude12 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:12:50 +0000

This could be a hit in California, the internet capital!
http://blabtech.blogspot.com

By: Tom Poser

Tom Poser — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:16:08 +0000

Dan: Disappointed in your choice of places to toss out an insult… more disappointed in your lack of originality. That one lost steam in 6th grade.

By: SFEET

SFEET — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:53:21 +0000

Let me preface this post by saying that I know office space.

What I can tell you is that nobody will be able to show you 100% of the market. A good broker can get close though.

The second thing is that while sites like ROFO might help you find the space, that is the easy part. The part tenants need to be worried about is structuring and negotiating the lease. Termination rights, expansion rights, alterations, security deposits, sublease rights, rent concessions, default, limiting operating expense exposure, dealing with casualty, restoration, so on and so forth.

There is no substitution for a competent broker and a competent real estate attorney for the second part of the “office space equation”. A good broker will help you determine how much space you need, how long of a term to seek, and be out there working on your behalf to get a good deal.

My advice? Find a good broker who doesn’t have ties to the landlord, and stick with him. In fact, if he’s good, he’ll check ROFO for you just to make sure he’s not missing any opportunities to present to you.

By: Alex Pooley

Alex Pooley — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:22:51 +0000

@Jason I think Rofo’s success actually will lay in their ability to make money from the free service they are offering. How do they plan on doing that?

By: TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » ガレージに疲れたら、新規企業向けRofoでオフィスを見つけよう

TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » ガレージに疲れたら、新規企業向けRofoでオフィスを見つけよう — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:06:02 +0000

[...] ［原文へ］ [...]

By: dan

dan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:27 +0000

Tom – shameless!! you are a poser

By: Nat

Nat — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:51:31 +0000

Great Idea, who would thought of doing this helpful site.

Nat
http://www.workersinc.com

By: Tom Poser

Tom Poser — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:27:26 +0000

True and not true Adrian, but you bring up an issue I constantly have to deal with. Almost every building in the SF commercial real estate world is represented by agents, and those agents have contracts with the ownership groups. 90% of the time they have a preset amount of commission they are contracted to receive, and I get a % of that preset amount. Whether the tenant is represented or not, the landlord will pay the same fee. In my written agreement with my clients however I do make sure it is clear that ultimately that fee is generated by the value of the stream of payments they will pay over time.

That being said, could I screw my clients by negotiating poorly so I get a bigger fee? Of course. But for starters I am honest guy with a wife and kid and great references. More importantly, that would be short term thinking. The hardest part of my job is getting clients, why would I risk losing long term clients that will introduce me to other clients just so I can make 5-10% more on a single transaction? People that do that get run out fast.

Like I said before, you have to find someone you trust and check their references. My point is that you should hire someone, if not me, another agent that will look out for you.

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:06:25 +0000

I use BuildingSearch.com. They have been at it far longer, and have far more listings. Plus it’s free and easy to pull up buildings by address. This market is saturated with websites with good content, but this content grows stale and unless you can stay on it, the content cannot be trusted. Brokers do not update listings much…