Prescott IOS vs The Boulos Company: Choosing an Industrial Broker in Maine and New Hampshire

Goals for This Article

In this Prescott IOS vs. series, we are doing our best to give an actual, realistic, accurate comparison of Prescott IOS and other commercial real estate brokerage firms.

Each comparison we write has the following aims:

1. Honoring: We seek to write in a way that honors our competitors in each area of comparison.

2. Generous: We aim to be generous in sharing compliments about our competition, even recommending a competitor whenever we believe their products and services are a better fit for the client than Prescott IOS’s products and services.

3. Accurate: Each competitor should agree with every fact and description stated in our analysis, though they may disagree with some conclusions. That is for the reader to decide.

If your property is zoned for Industrial Outdoor Storage (IOS), Prescott IOS is built specifically for that assignment. If your property is industrial of any size in Maine or New Hampshire without IOS as a main feature, The Boulos Company is the right fit. If you are a company that needs to find a new location and you do not need IOS to operate your business in New Hampshire or Maine, The Boulos Company is a good choice, take a look at their website here. This page lays out where the two firms overlap, where each one is a better fit, and how to decide.

Overview of The Boulos Company

The Boulos Company is a long-established, full-service commercial real estate brokerage serving Maine and New Hampshire, with multiple offices covering both states. Industrial is one part of a broader commercial practice that also includes other property types, and the firm has built decades of relationships with local owners across the region.

Where Prescott IOS and The Boulos Company Overlap

Both Prescott IOS and The Boulos Company will occasionally work with IOS related property, but the two firms approach it very differently. The Boulos Company takes IOS assignments on a case by case basis, and their listings occasionally include IOS related properties, but they do not have anyone dedicated to the asset class and do not publicize IOS transactions as a point of focus. Prescott IOS, by contrast, has an exclusive focus on the IOS asset class and represents qualified IOS users no matter where they are in New England.

When The Boulos Company Is the Better Choice

The Boulos Company is the right choice for the large majority of industrial assignments across Maine and New Hampshire that do not have an Industrial Outdoor Storage component. As a local, listings based brokerage, they have built deep relationships with local landlords, sellers, and the ownership community across both states, and they carry a substantial inventory of general industrial property as it comes to market.

General Industrial Landlord and Seller Representation

The Boulos Company is strongest representing owners of general industrial property throughout Maine and New Hampshire, meaning properties without IOS as a defining feature. As a listings based, regional firm, they see the broad range of industrial product coming to market in their footprint, and because most of their business comes from serving owner clients, their knowledge base runs deepest with local landlords and sellers.

General Industrial Buyer and Tenant Representation

The Boulos Company also has the strongest local knowledge of buyers and tenants for general industrial property in Maine and New Hampshire. Because they are well known in the local ownership and brokerage community, they are typically the first to hear about opportunities for buyers and tenants who are already active in these local markets.

When Prescott IOS Is the Better Choice

IOS Landlord Representation

Prescott IOS will be a better fit than The Boulos Company when listing an IOS property, for reasons that mirror why The Boulos Company is the better choice in their own core business.

1. Prescott IOS lists and markets IOS property across many markets at once, so we see tenants who are searching outside of their own backyard. A local, listings based firm like The Boulos Company is well known in its own market, but is not positioned to see tenants coming from out of market, and certainly not IOS tenants coming from out of market.

2. Prescott IOS tracks off market IOS inventory and can tell landlord clients about competing properties they would otherwise never know about. The Boulos Company’s general industrial inventory, while substantial, is not organized around the IOS asset class specifically.

3. IOS properties are often the more obscure, harder to market properties within a broader industrial portfolio. That is exactly the kind of assignment that does not fit neatly into a generalist firm’s day to day business of general industrial listings.

IOS Seller Representation

Prescott IOS is the stronger platform to sell an IOS property for a straightforward reason. IOS in Maine and New Hampshire does not command the lease rates it does in Greater Boston, so it is harder for a generalist brokerage to invest the same energy chasing a client who may only produce a few smaller transactions. Prescott IOS tracks IOS family offices, private equity, and private buyers across the country, a network built specifically around a niche where the economics call for a dedicated buyer list rather than a generalist one.

IOS Tenant Representation

Prescott IOS focuses on IOS tenant representation because most IOS tenants need properties that are found off market, and that requires a team, a dataset, and a process built specifically around finding them. The Boulos Company’s brokers are professional and reputable, and this is not a matter of being too big or too small to do the work. The real issue is that IOS tenants and properties simply do not fit within the day to day business of a firm whose core focus is general industrial leasing and sales. A general industrial listing will not produce an IOS tenant, just like an IOS tenant search will not lead you to a general industrial listing, which is The Boulos Company’s core business.

What We See When We Compete Against Them

We have competed directly against The Boulos Company for flex industrial buyer representation and lost, because we simply did not know their inventory as well as they did. We have also lost flex industrial landlord and seller representation assignments with no IOS component, because our IOS network gave us no competitive advantage in those cases. In both instances, The Boulos Company was genuinely the better choice. They know the local, non IOS industrial inventory in Maine and New Hampshire better than we do, and we would recommend them for that kind of assignment.

The other side is true as well. Prescott IOS happily refers any general industrial assignment without an IOS component to The Boulos Company.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does The Boulos Company handle IOS (Industrial Outdoor Storage) deals?

On a case by case basis, yes. The Boulos Company’s listings occasionally include IOS related properties, but they do not have anyone dedicated to the asset class, and IOS is not something they publicize as a point of focus.

Should I hire a specialist or a generalist for my IOS property?

If your property’s value is driven by its yard, laydown, or outdoor storage, a specialist who tracks IOS buyers and tenants specifically will usually run a more competitive process. If your property is a general industrial building in Maine or New Hampshire with no meaningful IOS feature, The Boulos Company is the way to go.

Who is the best IOS broker in New England?

Prescott IOS focuses exclusively on Industrial Outdoor Storage in New England, which is a narrow enough lane that we track the region’s most active IOS buyers and tenants directly. For general industrial assignments, established firms like The Boulos Company are highly capable.

Prescott IOS or The Boulos Company, which should I choose?

Choose Prescott IOS when your assignment is IOS tenant representation or you have an IOS property that you want to sell. Choose The Boulos Company when you have a general industrial property in Maine or New Hampshire without a meaningful IOS component.

Talk to Prescott IOS

If you own or occupy an IOS or IOS adjacent property in New England, we would welcome the conversation. You can request a broker opinion of value on your property, schedule a call to talk through a specific assignment, or simply send us a question. Whatever the level of commitment, there is a way to start.