CREBB Group
FREE
Commercial Real Estate & Negotiation
A free, beginner-friendly workshop on choosing a space, reading a lease, and negotiating the terms.
- Thursday, August 27, 2026 · 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM
- Deer Park Library · 4020 E Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45236
- Presented by SCORE, with the Ohio Department of Development Minority Business Assistance Center and the African American Chamber of Commerce
Register free
Registration is handled by the partners. No cost to attend.
Commercial space is where a small business either builds equity or quietly loses margin. Two leases can quote you the same rate and cost you completely different money, and most people don’t find that out until after they’ve signed.
On Thursday, August 27 I’m teaching a free workshop at the Deer Park Library covering how to choose a space, how to read what you’re being handed, and how to negotiate it. Roughly two hours of instruction, then thirty to sixty minutes of open Q&A. No prior commercial real estate experience assumed, and nothing is for sale in the room.
What’s covered
Four areas, roughly two hours.
Leasing and buying basics
- Lease or buy — what each actually commits you to, and how to tell which one your situation calls for
- The order that saves money: business plan and construction numbers, then funding, then space
- Asset classes, and why the same square footage prices differently across them
- What the deal team costs before you move in — commonly $5,000 to $25,000, separate from broker commissions
Key lease terms
- Triple net through full service, and why two quoted rates that look comparable often are not
- Term, escalations, options to renew, and what a personal guaranty really means
- Tenant improvement allowances, and why they rarely cover a new tenant’s build-out
- The clauses that cost people money quietly, long after signing
Negotiation strategy
- What is actually negotiable in a commercial lease, and what is not worth the ask
- Interest-based bargaining — finding the trade instead of splitting the difference
- Preparing before you sit down: what to know about the landlord, the building, and the market
- Working with representation, and what to read before signing a representation agreement
Choosing the right location
- Traffic, access, parking, visibility — and the difference between them
- Demographics and trade area: choosing on evidence rather than instinct
- Tenant mix, co-tenancy, and what the neighbors do to your business
- Zoning and use questions to settle before you fall in love with a space
Bring your lease
The last thirty to sixty minutes are open Q&A, and it’s the part most people get the most out of.
Bring the actual thing you’re working on — a lease you’ve been handed, a space you’re considering, a renewal you’re not sure about, a term you don’t understand. General questions get general answers. A real document gets a real one.
Who this is for
- Business owners about to sign a first commercial lease
- Anyone with a renewal coming up in the next twelve to twenty-four months
- Owners weighing whether to lease or buy
- Beginners — no prior commercial real estate experience is assumed
Russ Kitzberger
Managing Director, CREBB Group
Russ Kitzberger leads CREBB Group, a Cincinnati commercial real estate and business brokerage firm operating nationally through the eXp Commercial network, heading a team of salespeople, financial analysts, commercial real estate analysts, researchers, and deal coordinators.
On the real estate side he represents tenants — franchise and non-franchise — as well as landlords, and serves as broker of record for government entities and community development corporations. That work runs day to day through landlords, SBA and conventional lenders, attorneys, accountants, inspectors, surveyors, environmental and title professionals, and economic development agencies. It’s the same deal team this workshop teaches you to assemble.
Separately from the brokerage, Russ is a Certified General Appraiser and the founder of Pointer Appraisal Services, an independent valuation practice he started in 2007. He holds the GAA and RAA designations along with advanced certifications for ODOT, EPA, and Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions work, and his appraisal work has been admitted into evidence in Common Pleas, Federal Bankruptcy, Board of Revision, and Board of Tax Appeal proceedings.
The two practices stay separate — appraisal independence means he does not appraise a property he is also representing. What the valuation background brings to this workshop is an accurate account of how value and rent actually get established, and what a lender or a court will accept.
He completed the Mediating Disputes program at Harvard Law School Executive Education, focused on alternative dispute resolution and interest-based bargaining — the negotiation framework taught in this session. He has also run construction: as president of a renovation company he managed over $750,000 in residential and multifamily rehabilitation work, which is where the build-out and construction-cost material comes from.
- Harvard Law School Executive EducationMediating Disputes — ADR and interest-based bargaining, the framework taught here
- Certified General AppraiserGAA and RAA designations with ODOT, EPA, and federal Yellow Book certifications, through an independent practice separate from the brokerage
- Tenant and landlord representationFranchise and non-franchise, plus broker of record for government and community development entities
- National reach, local practiceCREBB Group operates through the eXp Commercial network from Cincinnati
Details
Thursday, August 27, 2026 · 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Deer Park Library, 4020 E Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45236
Free to attend. Beginner-friendly.
Presented by SCORE, with the Ohio Department of Development Minority Business Assistance Center and the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce.
Special arrangements for the handicapped can be made — please make the request in advance of the event. This program is provided on a non-discriminatory basis.
Two and a half hours, no cost, and nothing for sale in the room.
CREBB Group · 8044 Montgomery Rd, Ste 700, Cincinnati, OH 45236 · Russ@CREBBGroup.com · 513-622-9728
Real Estate Brokered Through eXp Commercial. Workshop presented by SCORE with the Ohio Department of Development Minority Business Assistance Center and the African American Chamber of Commerce. The Minority Business Assistance Center Program is funded by the Ohio Department of Development.