The Turning Point of Success in Commercial Property Management
If you are managing a commercial or retail property, you need some strategies to control things and particularly so with tenants, rental income, leases, vacancies, maintenance, and arrears. The deeper you go within each topic, the more complex and active the issues.
So, what is the turning point in property management control? To answer the question, it is essential to understand what landlords want and pay for. The answer is something like ‘the effective control, growth and improvement of their asset’. They want the frustration removed from their property and the provision of professional services to guide the asset forward in a positive way. Are you the person to do that?
Success Solutions in Property Management
There is only one way to handle this situation. It would be the systemization across critical areas or disciplines of property. There are also different property types to think about and local district or precinct issues. Lots of things happening in property management can mean difficulty and struggle at a personal level. That then feeds through to property performance and the investment results for clients.
It should be said here that the process of commercial and retail property management is far more complicated than that of residential. Systems in property management as a minimum should apply in all the following (these are just for starters):
- Arrears tracking – when a tenant goes into arrears, get onto the problem immediately, as time soon passes, and financial risk can compound very quickly. Lease documents will usually explain the method of handling the lease default. Check the lease as quickly as rental arrears start to accumulate.
- Lease of vacancies – vacant space will happen in a shopping centre or office building. The age of the building, the services and amenities will all have an impact on the factors of attraction to pull in fresh and new tenant interest. When you need new tenants or must market an area of vacancy, look at the strengths and weaknesses of the property so you can boost enquiry in the right way.
- Maintenance cost controls and checks – operational costs in the commercial or retail property will generally go up. They usually only go down through some ‘short cut’ or seasonal saving initiatives in the property. Landlords love to save money but doing so to the detriment of the property function will be a negative thing. Maintenance cannot be overlooked, and the elements of risk in the property cannot be allowed to accumulate.
- Budgets – this is an expensive process in property control. You can compare property figures and results by property type and by precinct. Ensure that your budgets are based on real facts, industry comparisons, and property requirements. Plan your income and expenditure budget allowing for the property as it functions with current tenancy mix.
- Capital works – these are the bigger jobs of significant maintenance in the property. They will be planned and costed with due regard to operations, tenant movement, and customer activities. You can set a timeline to these works. You can get plenty of quotes when the time comes to ensure that you are staying within the realities of costs and budgets for the major works.
- Lease documentation – this process must be up to date and accurately enforced. Expect all leases to be unique and different. Check your rentals, so they are applied correctly to occupancy and tenant activities. Add to that the pressures and timelines that effect to critical dates.
When all these things are systemized, the property management process gets easier. Conversely, if you overlook these things, problems soon evolve. Lift your property management controls and services up in operational performance through systemization.