We called it “The Pink Wonder.” I didn’t know it at the time, but it was my introduction to residential property management. There are two lasting memories of this brief time in my childhood when my father and a colleague jointly owned an old home that had been made into several apartments in seedy part of town. The first is a 4 a.m. call from the resident named Arlene to alert my father in the midst of a blizzard that, “We ain’t got no heat.” My father, being handy, had to drive out in the blizzard to the rental property to see what he could do about that. The second memory is of my 3-year-old brother having a piece of metal wire surgically removed from his left leg because he was playing in the yard when my father ran over a piece of wire while mowing. That was the last rental property my father owned or managed. Though I don’t remember it precisely, I’m sure my mother and father and their co-owners were happy when The Pink Wonder sold and became someone else’s property to manage.
Though only a small apartment property, the lessons of The Pink Wonder extend into commercial property management. On a larger scale, such issues as building maintenance, property insurance requirements, taxes, and tenant relations that my father handled would be much easier if handled today by a professional property management company. Property management services help owners to maximize their investments by managing the many aspects of the business that owners simply can not if they are also working at other jobs and raising families and having a life outside of their properties.
Building Maintenance and Repair
From replacing carbon monoxide and smoke detectors to major plumbing to electrical, all these projects add up. Considering that the life of a carbon monoxide detector is 5 years and a smoke alarm is 10, that alone is a lot of replacing to do even for a full-time owner/manager. Renovations are another consideration as tenants seek to have their work or retail space updated.
Property Insurance Requirements
Determining your risk for undertaking particular tenants to ensure you are fully covered takes a knowledgeable specialist. Additionally, a property management company can ensure your policies are reviewed periodically and that you are meeting the property insurance requirements of your loan.
Tenant Relations
Tenants want any issues to be handled promptly, and a commercial property management company is positioned to offer a 24 hr. contact number where they can always reach a person. A management company can also offer on-line services and a tracking system to ensure all issues or requests are handled in a timely and efficient manner. The best tenants average 3 to 5 minor issues a year, so that can really add up if you have multiple properties and many tenants, some who might be more needy.
Financial Services
Owning a property is an investment and a property management company can help maximize the return on this investment by reviewing insurance policies, providing detailed financial statements and conducting market analysis to ensure your rents are comparable. Considering office rents were forecast to rise 3.4% in 2015, you want to be sure that you are keeping pace. In the same year, industrial rents were expected to rise 3.1%.
Properties large and small can benefit from the services of a property management company. There’s a lot to do when managing commercial properties and a property management company can help you get the most out of your investment without it taking a toll on you.