Livingston is moderating a panel at the winter conference of Corporate Facility Advisors International. The topic revolves on the effects of high-tech companies' technological and space needs in the commercial real estate industry. The five-day sessions opened Wednesday at the Wyndham Palace Resort and Spa at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Realvest Partners is hosting the event.

"In the absence of traditional measures, an owner should focus on other ways to judge the merits of tenants," Livingston tells GlobeSt.com. "These include the company's management, experience and quality; the sources of past and current funding; the likelihood of later rounds of funding; estimated profitability date; and the burn rate of existing and expected capital."

To offset questionable creditworthiness of a tenant, credit enhancements "are almost always necessary to close a deal," Livingston says. These usually take the form of some mix of cash deposits, letters of credit, insurance, guarantees or other inducements.