MANAGING
BY ANGIE REDMOND
Managing Your
Commercial Property
Should you go it alone?
B
uying your first commercial property is the
start of a new and exciting venture in property
investment. But should you manage it alone
or should you use a professional property management
company? There are benefits to both, but depending
on the size of your property portfolio and your other
responsibilities, a property management company can
help streamline the process of renting and maintaining
your building.
A very important aspect of property management
is ability to have a professional agent take care of
all the administration, payments and maintenance
arrangements on your behalf, while also keeping an eye
on your tenants and making sure that they adhere to the
rules and regulations as set forth in their agreements.
Monitoring tenants is very important, as the value of
your properly relies in part on the way that your property
is taken care of. Tenants need to be properly screened to
ensure that they are suitable for your particular space and
that they are in a position to maintain their contract for
the agreed period of time. In order to profit from your
investment, you need the right tenants to enter into a
long-term lease.
Managing
Keeping records is always essential and this refers to
62
Commercial Handbook 2013
payments, deposits, notices, levies, maintenance records,
and more. Your property will also be advertised when
needed, in order to ensure that tenants occupy your entire
space at all times. When a tenant moves out, a new one
will be secured and ready to commence their term. Here
are a few benefits of working with a professional property
management agent:
• Professional management of your administration
functions;
• Placement and screening of new tenants for vacant
spaces;
• Management of all maintenance and repair work;
• Monthly management of payments and levies;
• Enforcement of rules and regulations.
Your administrative duties and responsibilities are one
of the core aspects of investing in commercial property
and if not handled properly, will become a massive hurdle
to your investment success. Self-managing landlords
will need to find the time to screen tenants, conduct
regular property inspections, ensure rent is being paid
on time and be ‘on call’ to attend to maintenance issues.
Property managers are able to conduct regular property
inspections to identify maintenance issues, ensure the
tenant is looking after the property and, if required,
liaise with appropriate trades people as soon as possible
to address any problems.
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