When it comes to managing a commercial property today, controls and efficiencies will help you provide a professional service to your clients. Most particularly, all of your systems should be well documented and relevant to each property type.
This then suggests that particular checklists will apply to office property, retail property, and industrial property. The checklists will also be different when it comes to leasing verses property management.
Here are some tips to help you establish a solid control process as part of your agency property management services.
- Lease documentation should always be checked when it comes to taking over a new property management. In many cases you will find that some of the documentation is lacking in some respect or critical dates have not been actioned. If someone gives you a tenancy schedule as part of the property handover, make sure that the schedule is completely checked against existing lease documentation. You should also understand that lease documents are not the only documents relating to occupancy. You can and usually will find special documents relating to licensed occupancy, and that would normally include car parking, signage, storage, and a special use areas. These documents can be separate to the lease documentation.
- Check the arrears in the property as part of the handover process. Any existing arrears will need to be quantified for any action that may be required. Ask for copies of any documentation and letters that relate to the pursuit of arrears. If any special agreements have been entered into with existing arrears, you will need copy of the documentation.
- Get to know the tenants and the property as early as possible. When it comes to changing property managers, the tenants can be quite sensitive to new arrangements and new people. Introduce yourself personally to the tenants on a daily one of the property Handover.
- Understand what the landlord requires of reporting and approvals. Every landlord will be unique and different when it comes to the communication and reporting process. Some landlords will have special requirements of cash flow and the reports to substantiate the cash flow. In complex properties with multiple tenants, this can become quite a challenge. Make sure that your chosen property manager has the experience to satisfy the demands of the landlord.
- Talk to the maintenance people involved with the property as early as possible. They will tell you a lot about the property today and the potential maintenance failures in the future. This information will help you planned for cash flow and expenditure over the coming years. Ask the maintenance people about the specific factors of plant and equipment that are critical to the performance of the property. Any older plant and equipment should be closely monitored for potential failure.
- Outgoings management forms part of the property management control base. The outgoings for the property should be managed to the building budget and the requirements of each and every lease document. Many leases will have different factors of control and reporting when it comes to outgoings recovery. For this very reason, all lease documents should be carefully scrutinised as part of the property take up procedure.
- Property history will always be relevant. Get copies of previous reports, financial activity, and lease documentation where possible. This information will help you when it comes to establishing the status of the existing tenancy mix and how the property can move forward as an investment.
- Budgets for income and expenditure may be current or this year. Those budgets should be passed across to the new property owners and property managers. In this way you will know how the existing outgoings recoveries have been established and on what basis.
- Vacancy reports and strategies will vary throughout the year. Importantly any vacant areas are successfully marketed to reduce the vacancy downtime. Any pending and upcoming vacant tenancy should be aggressively marketed to find the necessary new tenants.
- Rent review profiles and option strategies will be reviewed as part of the lease documentation scrutiny. Look for all of the critical dates as they relate to the rent reviews and option timings. Critical dates should be entered into some form of diary system so you can activate the event early or on time.
Professional commercial property management services are only achieved through systemised actions and well qualified people. Take the steps to establish your own systems as early as possible in the property management process. These items above can be modified and expanded based on the property type and the property location.