About

Compass Commercial LLC is a certified woman-owned real estate company in Troy, Mich. that focuses on tenant-rep-only services. They help tenants and buyers of office and industrial real estate save 30% to 50% on their lease renewals and relocations by bringing leverage to the current landlord.

There are a number of advantages to working with a tenant-rep-only broker. They only represent tenants, so their presentations are unbiased. They spend time (20-40 hours per transaction) that many clients don't have to devote to the project. And their services are free to the client because landlords pay the commissions.

Through their affiliation with ITRA Global, Compass Commercial serves clients across North America and internationally.

Compass Commercial was founded by Lynn Drake, whose status is well known in the industry. She's the commercial realtor focused on maintaining the "true north" for her corporate clients. It's a reputation built on twenty years of commercial real estate experience and expertise in corporate and institutional workplace design, planning and project implementation.

Lynn became a commercial realtor in 2001 after 15 years in corporate real estate during which she initially managed and leased industrial real estate across North America for Central Transport, then directed real estate and facilities for 1,000 Kelly Services branches in the United States and Canada. Thus far in her career, Lynn has successfully completed over 2,000 real estate transactions ranging from small business tenant leases, to the sale and purchase of industrial complexes.

Lynn has a BS degree in Business (Accounting) from Oakland University and a Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR) from CORENET Global.

Marilyn Nix is Senior Vice President for Compass Commercial. Marilyn is a real estate veteran, having primarily represented corporations for over 35 years. Marilyn spent over 30 years with General Motors Worldwide Real Estate, where she managed staff and a activities associated with GM's global real estate portfolio, which at the time totaled over 360 million square feet, 200 million of which was in North America. Most recently, she was the principal and broker in her own consulting firm, Marilyn P. Nix and Associates. Based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., the firm provided consulting services on economic development projects to local and state governments.

Marilyn has a BBA from Walsh College, an MBA from Wayne State University, and a Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR) from CORENET Global.

Laura Vedder is Senior Associate for Compass Commercial. Laura is an accomplished real estate professional with an exemplary record in commercial asset and property management over the last 28 years. She has overseen various leasing efforts, negotiated money-saving service contracts (averaging 20% savings over previous costs), as well as managed multi-million dollar budgets for her properties. During her career, Laura has negotiated more than 500 lease renewals on the landlord's behalf and developed a strong understanding of the landlord's position and tactics in a negotiation. This has helped her develop a unique perspective as she focuses her efforts on getting tenants the best deals from landlords.

Laura has a BA degree in Business Administration from Olivet College.