{"id":12843,"date":"2026-06-06T12:01:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T12:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843"},"modified":"2026-06-06T12:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T12:01:22","slug":"seeing-commercial-real-estate-through-the-eyes-of-a-10-year-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843","title":{"rendered":"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

We just spent a delightful week in Philadelphia and New York City with one of our grandsons.<\/p>\n

Read more Kelsey Plum returns, but Sparks fall apart late in loss to Wings<\/a><\/p>\n

You see, we made a promise to each of our six grandchildren: Once they turn 10, we\u2019ll take them anywhere in the United States they want to go. This year, two reached that milestone. One chose the Florida Keys so he could fish. The other wanted a completely different experience \u2014 a tour of two of America\u2019s great cities.<\/p>\n

We gladly complied.<\/p>\n

You may be wondering what any of this has to do with commercial real estate. Bear with me. I\u2019m getting there.<\/p>\n

We flew to Philadelphia for three days and then boarded a train to New York City. What an experience! Once we arrived at Penn Station, we decided to walk to our hotel on 55th Street. Watching a 10-year-old, luggage in tow, encounter everything a big city throws at you was surprisingly similar to what many of our commercial real estate clients experience every day.<\/p>\n

The noise. The crowds. The unfamiliar surroundings. The constant need to make decisions.<\/p>\n

Which way do we go?<\/p>\n

Should we cross here or wait?<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Is this the right street?<\/p>\n

How much farther?<\/p>\n

What happens if we make a wrong turn?<\/p>\n

As seasoned travelers, my wife and I were comfortable. We had a map. We understood the subway system. We knew where we were headed. Our grandson, however, was experiencing all of this for the first time.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Commercial real estate often feels the same for business owners.<\/p>\n

A company owner may know everything there is to know about manufacturing precision parts, distributing products, running a transportation company or managing a successful service business. But when it comes time to lease a building, purchase a facility, negotiate a renewal, complete a sale or evaluate expansion options, they\u2019re suddenly in unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

The stakes are high.<\/p>\n

The terminology is different.<\/p>\n

The process can seem overwhelming.<\/p>\n

And one wrong turn can be expensive.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where a good commercial real estate advisor comes in.<\/p>\n

Our job isn\u2019t simply to unlock doors and show buildings. It\u2019s to serve as the guide. We help our clients navigate unfamiliar streets, avoid potential hazards, and arrive at the destination they\u2019ve chosen.<\/p>\n

Read more Freddie Freeman\u2019s walk-off homer gives Dodgers a 1-0 victory over Angels<\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes the value we provide is obvious. We identify a better building, negotiate a lower rent, or secure favorable terms. Other times the value is less visible. We help clients avoid costly mistakes they never knew were lurking around the corner.<\/p>\n

Throughout our trip, our grandson asked dozens of questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is that building so tall?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do people know where to go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are there so many people here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does that sign mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but think how similar those questions are to the ones I hear from business owners facing a commercial real estate decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is the landlord asking for that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does this lease clause mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould I lease or buy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much space do I really need?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens when the term expires?\u201d<\/p>\n

Questions are natural whenever you\u2019re entering unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

By the end of the week, our grandson was navigating subway stations, reading street signs and moving through crowds like a seasoned traveler. He wasn\u2019t an expert, but he was far more comfortable than when he arrived.<\/p>\n

The same thing happens with clients. As they move through a transaction, confidence replaces uncertainty. Knowledge replaces confusion. The unfamiliar becomes familiar.<\/p>\n

The trip reminded me that experience has tremendous value. What feels routine to us may be completely new to someone else. Whether it\u2019s finding your way through Midtown Manhattan or negotiating a commercial lease, having a trusted guide can make all the difference.<\/p>\n

And sometimes it takes seeing the world through the eyes of a 10-year-old to remember that.<\/p>\n

Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714-564-7104.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more U.S. Women\u2019s Open: Alison Lee, Ruoning Yin share 36-hole lead at Riviera<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may be wondering what any of this has to do with commercial real estate. Bear with me. I\u2019m getting there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-columnist","category-represents-the-opinion-of-the-author-who-is-either-a-paid-columnist-or-an-unpaid-guest-columnist"],"yoast_head":"\nSeeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You may be wondering what any of this has to do with commercial real estate. Bear with me. I\u2019m getting there.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-06T12:01:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T12:01:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843\"},\"wordCount\":714,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion Columnist\",\"Represents the opinion of the author who is either a paid columnist or an unpaid guest columnist.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843\",\"name\":\"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T12:01:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=12843#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"You may be wondering what any of this has to do with commercial real estate. Bear with me. I\u2019m getting there.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-06-06T12:01:22+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old","datePublished":"2026-06-06T12:01:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843"},"wordCount":714,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp","articleSection":["Opinion Columnist","Represents the opinion of the author who is either a paid columnist or an unpaid guest columnist."],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843","name":"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-06T12:01:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8bfaba28c3f0d90b4151033ffaa7557f.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12843#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seeing commercial real estate through the eyes of a 10-year-old"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}