Can You Trust Your Property Manager?
As soon as you purchase any commercial property—or even before that —the first question that comes to mind is: “How do I efficiently manage this property when I have so many other duties to handle?”
As we’ve found at Financial Management Group property management, the larger your property, the more important this question becomes. In order to gain the maximum profit from your investment, you need a very competent commercial property management firm to handle it for you. And in these days when management firms are not always what they present themselves to be, you have to be sure the firm you hire is the best possible choice.
So what should you expect from the company you select?
The first service, of course, will be negotiating the lease deed with prospective tenants. If you’re a relatively new investor in commercial property and thus not really familiar with governing laws and regulations, you’ll find yourself relying heavily upon the expertise of your management firm. That’s just one reason to make sure the company you select has the background and experience to handle your tenant negotiations .
Naturally, you’ve got to give your property management team something to work with. The property you purchase must have the potential to make money. That gives your management team some “wiggle room” with which to negotiate. Always keep an open channel of communications with your managers during the rental negotiation process throughout the lease negotiations. Keep yourself flexible so you will be open to creative options if some tenants require special terms that others don’t ask for. On the other hand, don’t be too quick to sacrifice any economic advantage you might have in the lease terms. It does you little good to have tenants if you’re not making a clear profit in the lease deal.
Once the leases are signed and the space is finally rented out, the real business of owning a commercial property begins. In month to month transactions, you have to ensure that your managers are collecting rents successfully and consistently collecting monthly rents, aggressively renting out any vacancies that may come up, communicating regularly with you, and advising you on changing local conditions that may affect revenues.
You’ll also want your property managers to pay close attention to ongoing maintenance and services as required by tenants. They have to have in place a system for providing basic services such as electrical power, water, security and waste disposal. Remember that the skill with which they provide all these services will directly impact your reputation as an owner, so be sure you follow up with your managers regularly.
If the complaints from tenants start to pile up, you know you have a problem somebody’s messing up. Keep in mind that it may not be a problem solely with your property or its amenities, but with your management firm.
When you’ve found a commercial property management firm that not only executes these services to the maximum, but exceeds your expectations by installing preventative measures and procedures, then you know that the company you hired is a good one .