How To Keep Clients Happy And A Commercial Property World

10 December, 2009

Keeping a tenant happy means you have a tenant that renews their lease. This means that this tenant is profitable. The primary concern of a commercial property manager is ensuring that this happens. Their primary goal needs to be listening to customer complaints and concerns. Some of the problems that tenants often face are:

Parking Crime on the property Disaster management Maintenance Mechanical issues

General Expectations for Commercial Property Managers

In addition to signing leases, a commercial property manager will have many duties that resemble a realtor. They will advertise the property, show it to potential residents, and explain pricing. They will also go over the lease and explain all the options. Unlike residential property, commercial property generally has more legal documents the need to be explained and understood. There will also need to be coordination between insurance companies and the commercial property manager. This requires technical and high and knowledge that are very specific to the commercial property management field. In addition to these duties, commercial property managers must also understand how to coordinate staff.

Keeping A Tenant Who Does Not Pay Happy

Whether you have a residential or commercial property, it is common to have late payments. When clients do not pay on time, there’s often late fees involved that are addressed in the lease. However, when you are housing a large corporation on a property there may be challenges to keeping them happy. Unlike private residence, a large corporation must follow the rules of its leaders. For example, if assets are frozen due to government issues, payment for rent may be delayed by several months. In order to keep this client happy, late fees may be waived. You would not want to do something to affect this business and their reputation like putting an eviction notice where there customers can see it.

Making Sure Your Commercial Property Manager Has The Right Education

To say that a commercial property manager needs to be excellent at multi-tasking is an understatement. A number of variations in the field create demands upon a property manager on a regular basis. They must also have background experience in the maintenance and repairs involved. For example, basic knowledge of plumbing prevents being overcharged for the service. In addition to foundation knowledge such as this, commercial property manager must be skilled in marketing, sales, and other business knowledge. Business college is the primary area these advanced skills are taught. They help commercial property managers to be able to handle their dynamic job environment.

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Collecting Information From Tenants

04 December, 2009

Finally, you are in charge of the building. You can call yourself “the landlord.” First thing on your checklist is to collect your new tenant’s information; you will need to be able to contact them.

Every single time you talk to your tenants, smile. Never, ever forget to smile.

Collecting tenant information is a smooth process that you do not need to stress about. Always remember that you are in charge, and that you are the boss. However, although you are in charge, it does not mean you must be a jerk. Remember the three F’s: be firm, friendly, and fair.

Carry confidence in your voice and stand erect. Landlords who lack confidence or who are easily intimidated will not find themselves in the right career path; tenants will think they can walk all over you.

Your tenants will like and respect you if you appear to know what you are doing. Having everything under control, or at least, appearing to have everything under control, is one of your most valuable assets. Also, remember to smile!

When you go to ask them for their information, it is easy. Just ask them. There is nothing more to it. Occasionally, you will get a suspicious tenant, who thinks you have some elaborate plan which you just need his information to accomplish. Explain gently the reasons why you need his information to him, and you should get it without problem.

For example, if you are asking for their cell phone or work number, ask them if they would like to be notified if there was a fire or a creep lurking outside their windows.

Let them know that their social security numbers are needed so that you can report their excellent, on-time payments. This information you will need, too, in case you want to check your credit (you should). Also, be sure you are smiling.

If you encounter any resistance, let them know that it is for their own benefit. If they do not want to give out their phone numbers for fear of receiving harassing or telemarketing phone calls, assure them that you will take every precaution you can to keep their number from getting out. And, be sure to smile.

If you just cannot get the information out of them, forget it. It is not worth fighting with them.

Get their information from elsewhere; ask the previous landlord, check with the city, etc. You will be able to gather the rest of their information without much effort from other sources.

Once you have all their information, store it away in a safe place. That was pretty easy, right?

Cody Scholberg, an expert author on property management, has articles at Commercial Property Management Guide, a source of landlording information. Check out this short checklist for commercial property management.

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How to Become a Commercial Property Manager

03 December, 2009

Our economy has shown of many workers that they need a new career. Commercial property management is a great career for someone who is good at multi-tasking. Commercial property managers have a primary duty of tending to all of the concerns of a renter in a commercial space. It is crucial that they understand how to sell a space. They will also need to supervise any problems with property structure and day-to-day maintenance. There are certain background employment positions they give a commercial property manager a special edge when applying for the job such as:

Building maintenance Janitorial work Landscaping Plumbing and repairs Sales and marketing Management and business school Realty

Business Degrees And Commercial Property Manager

Someone who is in the maintenance department will typically work their way up to become a property manager. It is not uncommon for a large business to hire from within. Besides being able to be trusted, the main strength that they will bring is that they understand how the maintenance works in that company. They will know not to overcharge for services and they will also understand if the job was done poorly or not. This goes a long way to protecting the profit margin of the business. Of course, any employee will have an edge if they take the time to invest in business management and marketing classes through their local university.

Related Job Description

Organizing jobs that vary significantly can be especially difficult for someone who is not good at multi-tasking. A commercial property managers job includes comparison of building costs, keeping company records, negotiating contracts, and making reports. They also need to have a critical view of all situations where they do not take anything personally. Long-term goals must be held in a proper perspective. This applies to staff and contract employees as well. Difficult decisions must be made on a regular basis but they must help goals go from ideas to reality.

On The Job Experience Versus University Level Management

Most commercial property managers have a university education. They may also have a master’s degree. However, this does not mean that they’re qualified for the job. Hiring from within the company is common. Part of the reasons that this is the case is due to the large sums of money that are handled by commercial property manager. Someone who is not trusted will have a hard time getting the job. This means having positive referrals from past jobs are key. Many property owners rationalize that they will be able to train under qualified commercial property managers after they are hired.

More on commercial property management and a commercial property management checklist.

categories: commercial property management,property management,landlording,real estate,business,finance,money,leadership

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Situational Analysis For Residential Or Commercial Property Managers

02 December, 2009

When dealing with emergencies, it’s nice to know that you have a manager with that plan no matter what. Businesses face various confrontations throughout the year. This is not only major problems like emergencies. When you are considering management for your rental space, it pays to know the difference between a residential property manager in a commercial property manager. Managing a larger property needs the following considerations:

Customer retention Sales projections Financial planning Employee performance

Differences Between Residential And Commercial Property Managers

When you think of a landlord or apartment manager, you are generally thinking of a residential property manager. They will handle any and all related problems for multiple family homes, apartments, and condominiums. Generally, these managers work with other property managers and residential companies. Commercial property managers are similar except they are working with larger properties. There are also many demands on these properties that are not of a concern to a residential property manager. Mainly, an overwhelming concern for CPM firms are the expectations of a tenant’s insurance policy. For example, a tenant who owns a large amount of flammable inventory can place a special challenge on a commercial property manager.

Formulating A Strategy

A commercial property manager will be able to do a situational analysis and formulate a strategy for every client or tenant in your property. This basically determines what the company can provide and what services they can offer their tenants. Some of the strategies will involve day-to-day operations. Others will be strategies to help compete with other properties. There are also many long-term strategies that help your company take a long-term step in the right direction. Commercial property managers generally have a business school background. This helps them to understand the basics of these plans and ensure you that they will be completely at ease handling any situation.

Implementing Strategy

Implementation of strategy is a third important step in the process of strategic management. A commercial property manager will put the formulated plan into action. They will ensure that all staff are informed about the methods and procedures and keep track to make sure that they are actually following through. After the plan has been in place for a while, the final step of the strategic management process will be to observe the outcome. At this point, critical changes may be made. Of course, a new plan may be put into place as well. This kind of strategic planning goes far beyond the expectations for a typical residential property manager.

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How To Own And Manage Commercial Property

24 November, 2009

When you own property for many years, you may feel that you understand the business. However, if you have our own residential property and are now in possession of commercial property, you may not be able to use the same business strategy as you did in the past. This is especially true if you hire a property manager. A residential property manager differs significantly from a commercial property manager. Some of the differences include:

Renting strategies Maintenance needs Legality and leasing Understanding advanced business strategies learned in graduate school

Fundamentals of Residential Property Managers

Basic business management is all that is required for a typical residential property. It is often important that the manager live on site of a residential rental. In addition to gathering rental payments, there may also be emergencies with plumbing that can cause significant damage. There are also often day-to-day outdoor maintenance that needs to be attended to. In addition to a manager, there may also be contracted staff that need to be supervised. Although this is a very intense job, it does not have the components of a commercial property management position. For example, a residential property manager will typically not create reports or rebuild a property to accommodate a new client and their insurance policy.

Tasks of both commercial and residential property managers

All other staff including maintenance in leasing agents will work under the direction of the property manager regardless if it is commercial or residential. It is not uncommon for smaller residential property managers to do all of the maintenance jobs themselves. However, this is never the case for a commercial property manager. Commercial property is too large for one person to do all of the jobs correctly. A commercial property manager will need to be good at hiring staff and contractors to complete all of the work. A good commercial property manager will have experience with doing these jobs. This is a good way to protect the bottom line and ensure that services are not being overcharged.

Commercial Property Management Promote Good Service

Regardless of whether or not the property is residential or commercial, a property manager must be able to deal with tenants in a professional and courteous way. Of course, there is no perfect tenant. However, customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal. After all, if you need to have your tenants happy in order for your lease to be renewed year after year. A good commercial property manager that understands good service will know how to communicate with even the worst client. Much of this begins with the understanding the services that can be provided and at what additional cost.

More on commercial office property management and the commercial property management job.

categories: commercial property management,property management,landlording,real estate,business,finance,money,leadership

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