Posted: under Real Estate.
Tags: business, commercial property management, finance, landlording, leadership, Money, Property Management, Real Estate
If you own multiple residential properties, you may feel that you’re well versed in property management. However, with larger commercial properties, this simply is not the case. The formula that you used to be effective with residential property is not the only thing that you need when a owning commercial property. Some of the topics that a commercial property manager covers that a residential property manager does not are:
Renting strategies Maintenance needs Legality and leasing Understanding advanced business strategies learned in graduate school
Short Description 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.
Typical Daily Duties Of Property Managers
Leasing agents and any maintenance workers will typically follow the orders of a residential or commercial property manager. Some residential properties are so small that one person can manage and do the maintenance. However, this is unheard of with commercial property managers. The job is simply too large for one person to do it all. Services that are needed for any commercial property include cleaning, landscaping, and basic repairs. There are certain repairs that are needed that will require a professional. Payment and supervision of the projects will be handled by the managers. Some of the general areas covered by hired professionals are installing air conditioning, repairing drywall, and reconditioning floors.
Customer Service A Key To Good Commercial Property Management
One thing that all property managers have in common is their personality. You must be able to deal with customers professionally when you are a commercial property manager. Although there are many pleasant customers, none of them are perfect. There’ll always be conflicts that arise. It is the responsibility of the commercial property manager to bring the temperature of the room down to something reasonable. In the long term, a customer who renews their leased is the most profitable. A good manager will always listen and try to find the best solution. They will not respond to the tenants with an angry or annoyed response.
More on commercial property management and a commercial property management checklist.
Nov 17 2009
Posted: under Real Estate.
Tags: business, commercial property management, finance, landlording, leadership, Money, Property Management, Real Estate
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
What To Expect From A Commercial Property Manager
Signing leases is not the only thing a commercial property manager will be expected to do. In many ways, the job includes a number of realty duties. Commercial property managers are expected to show the advertised property to potential tenants and explain pricing details. They will also amend the lease and explain leasing options. As opposed to a residential property manager, commercial property managers typically need to know more about the legal documentation. Part of the legal documentation comes from the city or state. The other part comes from insurance companies used by the renter and the commercial property itself. A CPM manager must also understand the importance of working with staff.
Working With Tenants That Do Not Pay
Just like with residential property, it is common for commercial property tenants to be late with rent payment. Of course, all property managers will seek to collect as soon as possible. However, when you are dealing with a larger corporation has taken residence in your property, this takes a different angle. For example, the payment may be delayed due to corporate cash flow issues. Although there may be a repayment that happens very quickly, it could take up to four months for these errors to be corrected. In the meantime, you may have several late payment charges. However, keeping a long-term commercial client happy involves being able to dismiss these charges periodically. Of course, you would never want to damage a commercial clients reputation by posting an eviction notice on their front door.
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.
More on commercial property management and the commercial property management business.
Nov 07 2009
Posted: under Real Estate.
Tags: business, entrepreneurship, finance, home, investing, investment properties, leadership, motivation, Real Estate, self improvement, small business
When first starting out with real estate investing, it is wise to start with residential property. You will be more familiar with this type of property compared to the other types. You will be able to know if the home is messing vital rooms or parts such as the front room or the kitchen. With commercial property, you may not be so familiar with the essential areas so you will not know what to look for or what potential buyers require.
Commercial real estate has its own complexities whether it is retail, office space, or industrial real estate. You have different types of business contracts that are different and more detailed compared to residential real estate. Residential real estate includes single-family dwellings, condominiums, duplexes, town houses, and apartments. With each type of residential real estate, you will be dealing with tenants. Realize the tenants can call you at anytime to complain about the residence. Tenants generally do not care about the residence’s condition only when things are not working properly. Dealing with tenants requires having good people skills as well as knowledge about the type of investment.
The key to dealing with residential property, you want to have a low vacancy rate with your properties. Generally, you will not have to worry about the vacancy rate unless you have your rent amounts set too high or the property is unappealing to potential tenants.
As the property owner of the residential property, you are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep that will eat into your profits. Keep these facts in mind if you want to invest in this type of real estate for a long-term investment. The options for financing residential real estate are better than commercial property. The financial institutions generally only lend about 70% on commercial properties but on residential properties, you can have up to 90% for the loans. This makes obtaining residential real estate easier than commercial real estate.
The biggest disadvantage of residential real estate is the maintenance and upkeep of the property as well as the other expenses associated with the property. To reduce the costs for maintenance, most investors will do the maintenance tasks themselves. This can be a complicated issue if you have a large portfolio of residential properties.
You will also need to ensure that after a tenant moves out that the residence is in a decent condition so you can rent it out again. Residential properties do take a lot of work; however you will reap the benefits of your investment when you invest in these properties.
Learn more about investment properties and finding your first few investment income properties.
Oct 25 2009
Posted: under Real Estate.
Tags: business, entrepreneurship, finance, home, investing, investment properties, leadership, motivation, Real Estate, self improvement, small business
When you think about investment properties in a logical matter, when you commence in flipping these properties you’re actually not investing. Flipping investment properties is a strategy that goes along with the buy and hold concept, however your having to put more money into your investment just to see a substantial profit.
If you, like millions of Americans, has gotten the flipping bug from watching all those late night infomercials that state you can make huge profits with nothing down and no monthly payments, beware. Yes, it is a fact that a person can make huge amounts of money by flipping real estate. This holds very true when the process goes right. Keep in mind though, if a flip goes wrong, a person can lose a huge amount of money also.
However, if you are like millions of other Americans that get their rocks off watching the various shows that show people avidly flipping homes then you have a genuine idea of what goes into remodeling a property. You can make a substantial profit simply buying a home and flipping it, if the flip is done correctly. However, if you flip an investment property and it is not done accordingly, you are risking the chance of being out a lot of money.
There are a plethora of Americans that have seamlessly gotten themselves involved in a flipping frenzy. Different television shows that accentuate flipping houses are avidly airing and many people are opting to believe that they can make a great income simply by purchasing a home and then fixing it up to their preference. Many people get the idea of flipping mixed up with the idea of remodeling a home in order to sell it for a larger profit. Flipping a home is when you purchase a home and then you opt to sell it immediately in hopes that you can make a fast profit from the sale.
The other advantage of flipping is that you don’t have to deal with rental contracts or tenants or maintenance for that matter. Just buy low sell higher and make your money right away. A word to the wise though, this looks very simple to do but the actual execution of this process is very complicated and has lots of snags. How do you find this property at below market price? Will you know exactly what repairs will make the house readily sellable?
You will have to be very careful not to spend more money than you planned on the necessary repairs. You must also know the least expensive way to sell the property in the least amount of time. Lastly, what happens if the flip deal you have lined up falls through, are you prepared for that? Before you get involved in flipping make sure you are fully informed and educated.
Learn more about how to find investment properties and finding your first few rental investment properties.
categories: investment properties,home,real estate,investing,small business,business,entrepreneurship,finance,self improvement,motivation,leadership
Oct 24 2009