Working With a Commercial Property Management Team
Take it from us: Even the most seasoned commercial property experts could use a commercial property management refresher from time to time. Owning commercial property as a landlord is a great way to grow wealth. Still, the property manager is integral in ensuring a lucrative return on investment. When working to build a relationship with your commercial property management team, there are a few fundamentals you should be addressing.
Marketing and Leasing Your Commercial Property
Leasing reports correlate directly with your property’s revenue, which is another crucial number to track every week, especially when you own a commercial property with a high vacancy rate. It’s not enough for your property manager to report new leases; they need to be detailed in the rent roll report. Other stats you need to watch are comparable property rent averages, collection issues, and what’s being done to market your property and decrease vacancies.
Addressing Maintenance Concerns Quickly
Work closely with your property management team to develop a workflow for handling maintenance requests. Being proactive with these issues will go a long way toward maintaining the value of your commercial property. Consider who your tenants or employees will contact with requests and who will follow up (and when). While your property management team should have the autonomy to get bids for renovations, owners should approve any bids over a certain amount.
Streamlining Cash Flow With Experience
The right commercial property management team will have the financial expertise to offer insight on increasing income and cutting operating costs. They can suggest improvements that will raise property value, suggest vendors and service providers that will help expand profit margins, and know how to read and review vendor/provider contracts to identify opportunities for cost switching. Look for property managers with management and investment experience to contribute a multi-faceted approach.
Streamlining Accounting With Tech
There’s no shortage of property management and accounting software programs for your team, but the key here is that your team knows how to use whatever tool you choose. The software can have features that make it practically hands-off, but accurate reporting is still crucial — especially regarding accounting. As a property owner, you should have access to this reporting 24/7. Regularly check cash flow statements, balance sheets, general ledgers, and rent roll.
Ensuring Legal Compliance
Owning commercial properties is not without legal risk, as you may well know if you’re a seasoned commercial real estate investor or broker. Your property management team needs to have attorneys on hand who have worked in real estate to handle issues like evictions and inspections that are particularly fraught with complexities. Not following compliance guidelines could cost you dearly as an owner – procedures should also be in place for collections and fair housing regulations.
Understanding Rent Costs and Consistency
This is perhaps the most crucial report to understand when working closely with your commercial property manager. Check rent rolls at least bi-monthly; it should be kept up-to-date and available to owners at any time, from anywhere. It should quickly show you vacancies and collections, which impact your bottom line. Other info on rent rolls should include unit numbers, type, and square footage, tenants’ names and move-in/out dates, lease terms, rent amount, any additional fees as related to amenities, and balances due.
Concrete Exit Planning Discussions
Even if you’re not planning to sell your commercial property any time soon, it’s important to have a plan in place in case an opportunity to do so comes your way. Top-quality commercial property management teams should understand how their expertise can maintain property value so you know that you can get top dollar when a buyer comes along. A great relationship with your property manager could go a long way towards protecting your investment.
Are you dealing with a property management company that just doesn’t deliver? Unfortunately, it’s an all-too-common problem. Many of our management clients come to us because their existing company is not responding to their needs. In some cases, they have never even seen the property manager on-site!
The RSolution team understands that tenants want to be heard when they have a problem and need a solution immediately. Property and asset management done right requires a personalized touch and attentive service. From collecting the rent payments and sending out defaults to addressing property maintenance and repair emergencies, our experienced team works to meet the highest standards of excellence with every service—no matter how big, how small, or how often.
Contact us today to learn more!
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