Talking Shop with Commercial Property Managers

The commercial or retail property management process can be time intense and quite frustrating.  The observation is quite common.  Most property managers will be intensely busy every day of the working week.  On that basis they need to be organized to the tasks that really matter as part of providing quality professional services.  Here are some tips from our Newsletter.

It is worthwhile noting that an experienced property manager will bring significant skill and opportunity to the landlords that they serve.  That will be across the property in a number of ways including the specialized disciplines below:

• Rental growth
• Expenditure control
• Vacancy minimisation
• Tenant mix strategy
• Property performance
• Lease documentation
• Safety and risk management
• Property value improvement
• Renovation and refurbishment

So there are plenty of ways that the manager can bring growth and opportunity to the clients that they serve.  It is just a matter of understanding the plans and the targets of the client as they relate to the future of the property in the region.  It is a wise process to create a property business plan on an annual basis to manage the variables of property performance for the client.

So let’s go back to the tasks and activities of the property manager.  If the correct person is chosen for the portfolio and the client, the other balances required will include the following:

1. Be aware of the amount of time it takes to manage a property for a client.  Some properties and clients will require significantly more work than others.  If that is the case, the intense workload should be reflected in the fee.  One way of calculating a fee is to consider the amount of time each week a property will require for ongoing control.  Consider the factors of the tenancy mix, lease documentation, maintenance, customer involvement, vacancy issues, and rental collection.  The larger the property, more intense these issues will be.
2. With quality clients and properties, the reporting process can be quite specific and tedious.  The factors of income, expenditure, lease management, maintenance, tenancy mix, and documentation will require special processes and established guidelines.  In a large property, it is not unusual to be reporting to each of these factors on a weekly basis.  That written report will support any verbal instructions given or communications made with the landlord.
3. The best way to get your job and portfolio under control is to work to a daily and weekly plan.  It can also be said that the end of each month will be busier with reporting requirements and property analysis.  So look at the factors of work that apply to each day, each week, and each month.  Split the working day into two segments.  The first half a day should be devoted to documentation and reporting issues.  The last half the day can be devoted to clients and tenant contact.  Obviously there will be some variations and pressures that apply.

So you work in a busy segment of the market.  At least 80% of your time should be under control.  In that way you will preserve the quality of performance and control that your clients require in commercial and retail property management.