How to Manage a Commercial or Retail Property Today

So often we see landlords choose commercial or retail property managers to manage their property with little or no regard to the experience of the people doing the actual management work. 

When property performance matters, so do the applied experiences of the property manager and their role in the real estate team.

Invariably when you see this situation, the choice of the property manager has been made for financial reasons and not experience. There are many types of people working in commercial property management and some and better than others.

Essential Property Manager Experience

Experience matters when it comes to property management and the elements of financial control, leasing, maintenance and the overall risk controls applied to the asset over time.

In this property market, you get what you pay for, but unfortunately, the impact on the property can be significant and the damage to the tenant mix or property income significant and long term.

There are far more inexperienced commercial property managers out there than experienced ones. Choosing the wrong property manager is a recipe for disaster. When it comes to commercial and retail property, real experience is needed and particularly so if the property is complex and contains many tenants.

How Experience Counts in Commercial and Retail Property Management

Here are some ideas to help you sell your services as experienced commercial and retail property managers today:

• Show the landlord how you inspect a property and what you look for. Regular property inspections are part of your management services; in this way, you can stay on top of lease and maintenance issues. Reports should be created after all commercial property inspections as evidence and information may be required later in the event of any issues arising.
• Create a tenant retention plan that can be implemented for your managed properties. Good tenants should be retained and encouraged to be part of the future of the property. That being said, there is a need to work with them on any issues of tenant occupancy. Remember that other agents will be contacting your tenants to move to other properties nearby.
• Your financial reporting processes must be complex, accurate, and thorough. The parts of property management financial reporting that really matter include income optimisation, expenditure management, lease renewals and changes, rent reviews and options to extend for a further term.
• Lease management is the backbone of stable property investment and the overall tenant mix. All lease documents should be completely reviewed for all critical dates and changes that have to be exercised.
• Maintenance management is a daily task for most property managers. Systems in your office should be developed to control and track the property maintenance in all managed assets. That is from the first advice of the event to the final payment of the account. To help with this process you will need good maintenance contractors that work to your plans and processes.
• Risk management is part of the property manager’s role and process. Any risk within the property should be minimised and that will be across all categories of potential risk such as income, lease, property usage, public liability, maintenance, and health.

You could say that all property managers should do these things with efficiency and focus; the reality is they do not always do so. Ensure that your office is suitably structured to produce a top service for your property management clients. In that way, it is easier to justify your fee for service.