Dmytro Chernysh | Industrial & Commercial Real Estate Advisor in Metro Vancouver

Commercial real estate is often viewed as a transaction. I see it differently.

Whether you are signing a lease, purchasing an industrial property, or selling a long-held asset, every decision has the potential to impact your business, investments, and family's financial future for years to come. That is why my role is not simply to help clients complete transactions—it's to help them make better long-term decisions.

While many brokers focus on the assignment in front of them, my focus is on understanding where my clients want to be years from now and developing a strategy to help them get there.

Why I Started Focused Industrial

Before founding Focused Industrial, I spent more than seven years specializing in industrial and commercial real estate throughout Metro Vancouver. As my client base continued to grow, I realized I could no longer deliver the level of service my clients deserved on my own. Building a team wasn't about increasing the number of transactions, it was about preserving the quality of advice, communication, and responsiveness that had become the foundation of my business.

My background is in business and hospitality, and that continues to shape how I approach commercial real estate today. Many people believe this industry is built on sales. I believe it is built on customer service. Clients don't hire an advisor because they want to buy or sell a building - they hire someone to help solve problems, reduce risk, and make confident decisions.

That philosophy became the foundation of Focused Industrial: putting people first and providing advice that serves their long-term interests.

An Advisory Approach

One of the biggest misconceptions about commercial real estate is that an advisor's job begins when a property is listed or a lease is about to expire.

I believe our responsibility starts much earlier.

Commercial real estate requires anticipating what clients will need before they need it. Whether it's planning for an upcoming lease renewal, refinancing, a potential vacancy, changing market conditions, or future acquisition opportunities, we work proactively to develop strategies so our clients can make informed decisions instead of reacting under pressure.

The goal is simple: while you focus on running your business, we focus on making your real estate work for you.

A Boutique Advisory Practice

Focused Industrial was intentionally built as a boutique advisory practice rather than a high-volume brokerage.

We choose to work with a select group of clients so we can provide the level of attention, responsiveness, and commitment they deserve. When you work with Focused Industrial, you work directly with me and my team throughout the entire process—not by being handed off to junior brokers after the initial meeting.

When clients have questions, they deserve timely communication and direct access to experienced professionals who understand their situation.

Experience Matters

Commercial real estate is an industry where experience cannot be replaced by theory.

Negotiating complex transactions, developing strategies, and advising clients through important decisions are skills developed through years of being directly involved in deals. Some lessons simply cannot be learned in a classroom—they are earned through experience, responsibility, and being accountable for the advice you provide.

Over the course of my career, I have been recognized as one of Royal LePage Commercial's Top 10 Commercial Brokers in Canada. While I appreciate the recognition, what matters most to me is the trust clients place in our team and the relationships we continue to build long after a transaction has been completed.

A Long-Term Relationship

I often tell clients that my goal is to become their real estate equivalent of a family doctor.

Not because I expect them to call when something goes wrong—but because I want to help prevent problems before they happen.

Whether it's planning years ahead for a lease renewal, evaluating an acquisition, preparing a property for sale, or simply discussing how market conditions may affect future decisions, I want to be the first person clients call before making an important real estate decision.

The strongest client relationships aren't measured by a single transaction. They're built over years of working together, understanding each other's goals, and making decisions that support not only today's objectives but tomorrow's opportunities.

Maximizing Value Through a Complex Lease Renewal

Our client owned an industrial investment property occupied by a national tenant with an existing renewal option under the lease.

While many lease renewals appear straightforward, they can become highly complex when renewal rights, market rent determinations, and arbitration provisions are involved. In this case, our objective was not only to maximize rental income but also to protect the landlord's negotiating position throughout the process.

The first challenge involved timing.

The tenant requested an extension to the deadline for exercising its renewal option so it could further assess market conditions. Although this may appear reasonable, agreeing to the extension would have weakened our client's negotiating position. We advised the landlord to follow the lease provisions as written, requiring the tenant to exercise its renewal option within the contractual timeframe. Once the option was exercised, we knew the tenancy would continue and negotiations could focus entirely on establishing fair market rent.

The second challenge was determining market value.

Unlike a typical industrial building, this property included several components that required separate analysis, including the warehouse area, covered storage, and excess yard. Each element contributed differently to the property's value and became a significant point of negotiation.

To support our position, we completed an extensive review of recent comparable transactions, consulted with commercial brokers from multiple brokerages, discussed market evidence with appraisers, and analyzed leasing activity throughout the area. Because arbitration remained a possibility if an agreement could not be reached, every conclusion needed to be supported by strong market evidence.

In addition to rental rates, negotiations also included annual rent escalations and future renewal rights, making the assignment considerably more complex than a standard lease renewal.

Ultimately, we successfully avoided arbitration, secured a premium rental rate for our client, and protected their long-term interests.

Following completion of the renewal, the client told me:

"Dmytro, you've found a client for life."

For me, that was the greatest measure of success.

Solving Operational Challenges Before Preparing a Property for Sale

We first met the owner while marketing another industrial property in the area. What began as a conversation about the local market evolved into a long-term advisory relationship. As we reviewed the property and discussed the owner's future plans, it became clear that before considering a sale, several operational and leasing issues first needed to be resolved.

The owner was beginning to slow down their business and was considering selling the property in the future. A tenant occupied a portion of the building and yard, however, the tenancy had not been actively managed for several years. Additional rent had not been reconciled since the expiry of the initial lease term, property tax recoveries had not kept pace with annual increases, utilities required reconciliation, and several rent payments needed to be verified. There were also concerns regarding the tenant's use of the property.

Rather than immediately focusing on selling the property, we recommended strengthening its financial position first.

Our team completed a comprehensive review of approximately five years of rent records, reconciled outstanding rent payments, calculated property tax and utility adjustments, and worked directly with the tenant to resolve all outstanding issues. This required a detailed review of historical records, financial reconciliation, and ongoing negotiations to ensure every amount was properly supported.

By bringing the tenancy back into compliance with the lease, we successfully recovered outstanding rent, utilities, and property tax adjustments while increasing the rental rate by approximately 70% to reflect current market conditions.

However, we didn't stop there.

Although increasing the property's income improved its investment performance, we knew the owner's long-term objective was ultimately to sell the asset. A traditional long-term lease without flexibility could have reduced its appeal to owner-users—buyers who are often willing to pay a premium for a vacant property they can occupy immediately.

Instead, we negotiated a landlord termination clause that would allow the lease to be terminated if the property was sold to an owner-user. This provided our client with the best of both worlds: stronger rental income while holding the property and the flexibility to maximize its value when the right purchaser came along.

For us, the assignment was never simply about recovering missed payments or increasing the rent. It was about understanding the client's long-term objective and ensuring every recommendation supported that goal. By improving the property's financial performance while preserving its future marketability, we positioned the owner to achieve the greatest possible value when the time was right to sell.

Guiding a Family Through the Sale of a Legacy Property

Our relationship with this client began with a simple phone call requesting an opinion of value on their property. What started as a valuation discussion developed into a long-term advisory relationship that has since included multiple successful projects.

The family had recently completed the complex process of rezoning their property from agricultural to industrial and wanted to understand not only what the property was worth, but how to maximize its value before bringing it to market.

Marketing the property was only one part of the assignment.

The larger challenge was identifying a purchaser capable of completing a significant land acquisition within a reasonable timeframe while protecting the family's interests throughout the process.

Interest was immediate. Within the first week, we received multiple offers from developers, institutional investors, and owner-users. Rather than rushing to accept the first proposal, we recommended establishing a formal offer date to allow all interested parties sufficient time to complete their review and submit their strongest terms.

As negotiations progressed, several complex issues required careful management. Buyers evaluated servicing requirements, truck access, fire department access, setbacks, drainage, and the net usable area of the site—each of which had a direct impact on value and development potential. Financing also presented challenges, as lenders often approach multimillion-dollar purchases of vacant development land differently than income-producing assets.

Our role was to help the client navigate each of these issues while ensuring the property's strengths were properly communicated and supported throughout negotiations.

Adding further complexity, the family was simultaneously acquiring two replacement properties that were conditional upon the successful sale of this asset. Coordinating multiple transactions while managing changing timelines required continuous communication and careful planning.

Over the course of the marketing campaign, we received more than ten offers. The property was placed under contract three separate times. While two transactions ultimately did not proceed, we remained focused on protecting our client's position and securing the right buyer rather than simply completing a sale.

The third transaction successfully completed with a 30-day due diligence period and a 30-day completion at approximately 95% of the asking price.

Looking Ahead

Every client, property, and objective is different. There is no one-size-fits-all solution in commercial real estate, which is why every engagement begins with understanding your goals before discussing the transaction itself.

Whether you are purchasing your first industrial property, negotiating a lease renewal, expanding your business, selling a family asset, or simply looking for a second opinion, my commitment remains the same: to provide honest advice, thoughtful strategy, and guidance that supports your long-term objectives.

At Focused Industrial, we don't measure success by the number of transactions we complete. We measure it by the relationships we build, the trust we earn, and the confidence our clients have knowing they have an experienced advisor they can call whenever an important real estate decision arises.

Every recommendation we make begins with one simple question:

How does this decision affect your future - not just today's transaction?

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about my approach to commercial real estate.

If you're considering buying, selling, leasing, or simply looking for an experienced perspective on your commercial real estate, I'd welcome the opportunity to learn more about your goals.

Dmytro Chernysh, PREC*