Commercial Leasing - Deal Flow Question

[Gerald Tom]

Hey All,

Currently have an off-market leasing opportunity for a restaurant. It's fairly high profile and owner wants tenants to provide proof of funds and concept prior to getting access to any info. I have good relations with the owner but they are extremely strict on this because if the deal gets out, they will be more overwhelmed with calls than they already are.

I found a tenant who seems on the surface to be a good candidate. Drafted up an NDA and asked for proof of funds. I excluded the address on NDA until proof of funds is provided and currently stuck in a stand-still as tenant does not want to provide anything until he's given some more details. I've been burned before so I'd rather walk away from a deal with a tenant like this, yet they seem like a very good candidate match based on their current portfolio.

Getting back into the CRE game after a decade off. I had previously focused on investment sales and have not dealt with leasing much. How would you all handle this?