Commercial property management is a complex job. Most days are very busy and require good time management skills on the part of the property manager. Many come unstuck through ineffective control of their diary and tasks. Stress is the result and careers can be shortened.

There are a small number of key things that should be done every day by the manager as part of the property management process of commercial and retail buildings. Here are some of the main ones:

1. Checking of the arrears as they apply to all tenants in the buildings
2. Following up on the strategies and results of leasing of any vacancy
3. Monitor the payment of accounts as they apply to the maintenance of the building and cross reference them to the building budget
4. Keep the landlord appraised of current property issues
5. Talk to the major and anchor tenants in your key properties
6. Check any outstanding lease documentation or the associated issues of assignment or sublet that may be current
7. Look for any rent reviews or options that are coming up in the next 12 months and start planning for that activity
8. Follow up on maintenance works in your buildings
9. Undertake routine property inspections of the portfolio taking appropriate notes on any items that have to be actioned
10. Communicate with tenants on any outstanding issues taking notes of the response or comments that they raise
11. Prepare reports for the landlord on any critical items

It’s very easy to see that the commercial property manager is quite busy on every working day. That is where effective time management and task management becomes critical.

Best Practice?

One of the best business practices I have come across in managing several large and top end property teams is to keep their working days basically very simple. That says that the work practices can be simplified into two basic windows of time. That is between 7.00 AM and 12.00 PM, and 1.00 PM to 6.00 PM. Let’s look at that.

One of the most challenging aspects of commercial management is that the documentation and file processes takes up a large part of the working day. Uncontrolled documentation and records will quickly derail and destroy the property manager. Most managers do not have personal assistants to help them with the paperwork. Everything is up to the property manager to control, action, and follow through with. Read the rest of this entry »