Broker offers BMW as bonus

For the second time in two weeks, a commercial landlord on Long Island is sweetening the pot in an effort to help fill up empty space.

This time, Ted Weiss, chief executive of Melville-based T. Weiss Realty Corp., is offering a leased BMW 328i to a broker who arranges a long-term lease for 35,000 square feet on the top floor of the Melville Corporate Center 1, a recently-upgraded Class A office building at 105 Maxess Rd. The lease must be completed by Sept. 1.

Weiss said he is not making the offer based on the health of the industry, which many say is still struggling. The Melville corridor and central Suffolk are the healthiest areas on Long Island, Weiss said. “Our portfolio has been running at 95 percent occupancy,” Weiss said. “This week  became available. We want to keep that building full.”

Weiss figures the three-year lease deal might cost him between $30,000 and $40,000. “That’s small change” compared to the approximately $460,000 commission the successful broker will receive. “It’s always nice to sweeten the pot.”

Two weeks ago, the principals of Lighthouse Real Estate Ventures offered grants of up to $1 million to attract medical tenants to a building they own in Lynbrook. They acknowledged the market is tough.

So would Weiss’ offer motivate brokers? Carmine Inserra, a principal at NAI Long Island, brokers in Melville, thought a moment. “What kind of BMW?” he asked.

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