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"Small Properties, Big Challenges"
CIRE's Survey Looks At The Small Side of Property Management
Posted by: Sara Drummond in CCIM Institute
Investors who manage their own small properties have only three small problems: tenants, money, and time. And for professional third-party property managers who handle small properties, add landlords to that list.
Those challenges cropped up most frequently in an informal survey of CCIM members who are owners/managers or third-party managers of properties under 20,000 square feet or, in the case of multifamily, fewer than 50 units. While not comprehensive, the anecdotal, self-reported survey provides a snapshot of the landscape small-property owners and managers occupy in a still-struggling economy.
The Personal Touch
Tenants are a necessary evil, but property managers and owners work hard to find good ones and keep them happy so they’ll renew. For the last few years, nonresidential property managers and landlords have struggled to fill their spaces. In some markets, office, retail, and industrial tenants have a plethora of space to choose from, and landlords have been offering shorter leases and concessions to keep tenants in place to reach full occupancy. “Up to now, I include a rent abatement period and a tenant improvement allowance and try to get a higher rent per square foot, an annual increase of 3 percent to 4 percent, and minimum terms of four years with options,” says the owner of two small retail plazas. While the strategy has worked, it has affected cash flow, which has not fully recovered yet, he adds.
What Are The Benefits of Using a Property Management Company?
Posted by Jordan Muela in Property Management Articles
A competent property manager can add significant value to your investment, which is why many seasoned real estate investors will tell you that a good management company is worth their weight in gold. Here are a few ways that a good property manager earns their keep:
Higher Quality Tenants
Think of tenant screening as the moat and draw bridge around your castle. It is certainly possible to get a bad tenant out of your home once they are in, but it's a real hassle and you are so much better off never accepting them in the first place. A thorough screening process results in reliable tenants that:
- Pay on time
- Rent longer
- Put less wear and tear on the unit
- Generally cause less problems
An experienced property management company has seen thousands of applications and knows how to quickly dig for the real facts about candidates and analyze that information for warning signs. By allowing a management company to handle the screening, you will also be shielding yourself from rental scams directed at owners, and discrimination lawsuits resulting from an inconsistent screening process. This kind of experience takes time, and insomuch as it means avoiding bad tenants, scams and lawsuits it is arguably one of the most significant benefits a property management company will provide.
When ONCE in a Lifetime is Once Too MANY
From: JPM Magazine
Jan/Feb 2013 Issue
IREM Website
Link: http://www.jpm-digital.org/jpm/20130102#article_id=246234
Six months ago, I was the person who you could find sitting down to lunch with colleagues to recall my good fortune for never suffering through a building fire. Sure, there were minor blazes—one due to a tenant mistaking his wall heater for a way to dry out his wet bath towel and the other due to a faulty alarm clock of all things—but a three-alarm fire? Nope. Never. Not me.
Today, I am no longer that person. I have learned more than I care to know both about human nature and the horrendous headache involved with experiencing a fire at one of your properties. All things considered, I am better for it—it is a feather in my cap of experience, so to speak.
The Day of and THE AFTERMATH
As fate would have it, I received the call at 2 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. This was a three-alarm fire that required 16 fire engines, shut down traffic at two major intersections and, ultimately, destroyed eight units at our complex, which displaced 30 people. It was also a major media spectacle due to a slow news day. Needless to say, we made the headlines. Fortunately, no persons or pets were injured. Unfortunately, the cause of the fire was a tenant cooking with grease and leaving the range unattended—entirely preventable.
What you can’t see, CAN hurt you
From: JPM Magazine – IREM Website
May/June Issue
Link: http://www.jpm-digital.org/jpm/may_june_2013#article_id=285812
Taking safety hazards for granted has a long and humorous history. Think of the slapstick-humor image of someone walking into the side of a building—it's been around since the pratfalls of silent movies. More recently, this type of attention-getting humor has also found its way into TV commercials. One example is a cholesterol medication commercial where male twins walk together side-by-side in a corridor, talking to one another. One strolls unaffected through an open door while his twin smacks into the adjacent closed glass door. Humor aside, these incidents do unfortunately happen, and sometimes with injurious results.
The increased use of glass in contemporary design has unfortunately created a number of potential safety hazards. One such problem involves large unmarked glass wall components, which may not be seen by people coming and going. This is especially critical with an aging population where large unmarked glass components may not be seen. Keep in mind that where an injury occurs, a law suit may follow.
