Systems to Follow in Commercial Property Management
In commercial property management you should develop systems to help keep you on track when it comes to daily and important issues. It is a fact that commercial property managers are very busy people most of the time. The demands of the working day can be very high. Here are some tips from our Newsletter.
The only way you can really stay on top of the most important things is to build them into a system that is implemented every day when you start work. Each day you follow a routine to keep your property or properties under control. Landlords and tenants are very demanding people.
It should be said that some commercial property managers are given far too many properties or tenants to manage. It is also the case that some landlords are overly demanding and on that basis need a greater time commitment from the property manager. That situation says that the fees for a demanding landlord should be higher; as to how you get those extra fees is debatable, however the issue is real and should be considered.
So here are some issues to build into your working day and your work system as property manager of commercial real estate.
- Rent payments should be watched on a daily basis. It is a fact that rents can get out of control if you do not track them. Monies paid by tenants can be incorrectly applied to outstanding charges; you then have the start of a reconciliation problem. The tenant will think they have paid for something when you have applied the money elsewhere. The reconciliation can waste a lot of your time.
- Arrears will accumulate fast. In a property with a lot of tenants, you must watch your arrears daily. Look at the arrears report on a daily basis after the incoming rent cheques and payments at bank have been applied. If an arrears issue exists with a tenant, get on top of it immediately. Recovery processes should start in accordance with landlord instructions.
- Lease critical dates will vary from tenant to tenant. Always check your lease critical dates on a weekly basis and look 12 months in advance so you can see the things coming up.
- Maintenance activities will occur each day. Older buildings will have more issues to control given age and wear and tear.
- Accounts payments should be tracked so that you do not pay and account twice. It happens all too often. Watch what you do with your landlord’s money.
- Budgets should be tracked and adjusted where a property is not performing to the approved budget. Understand what the reasons are for the performance problems and advise the landlord of the required changes.
- Tenant communications should happen regularly so you stay ahead of any tenant issues of performance or obligation. Monitoring the leases will be part of that process to make sure the tenant stays within the lease terms and conditions.
You can establish systems like this and add to them based on your location and your properties managed. Simple systems like this will help you stay out of trouble as a property manager of commercial property.
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