The Essential Skills Needed in Commercial Property Management
It is not easy managing a commercial or retail property at a professional level for a lengthy period. Some ‘uninformed’ people may say that the rent collection and tenant management process is ‘easy’, but that statement is far from the truth.
With any investment property of reasonable size, there are plenty of things to do each day beyond simple rent and tenant matters. That is where skills and strategy become important to the process. A reasonable fee for service is required when a complex property is under management.
A professional property management process is something very special and controlled; good people with knowledge and experience are required to undertake tasks well. Why is that? There is a property to maintain, investment results to improve, tenants to manage, and lease incomes to optimize. Those issues need a ‘formula’ or strategy to make things work. Most experienced property managers work on a planned week and monthly reporting processes; that is wise.
Property Manager Skills and Processes
I would expect the following key skills in a property manager and or any property management team as part of a professional property management process:
- Identifying threats to the property and the investment
- Resolving tenant issues and changes before they become problems
- Lease interpretation and critical date management
- Filling vacancies current and known in a timely way
- Negotiating on property matters with tenants and contractors
- Establishing budgets for income and expenditure
- Understanding and working to the client’s investment plan and priorities
- Reporting to the client on risk and current issues
- Providing clear recommendations to the client in advance
- Maintaining the property to safety and building codes and compliances
- Optimizing rental outcomes for the client for the long term.
Perhaps you can add to this list? All these elements should be directed to a business plan for the managed property. That plan is established at the beginning of a financial period or year and then monitored monthly and quarterly as time moves on.
It is easy to see how ‘strategy’ becomes part of a professional property management service. The best managers know how to do that.
