How To Own And Manage Commercial Property

By Cody Scholberg

When you own property for many years, you may feel that you understand the business. However, if you have our own residential property and are now in possession of commercial property, you may not be able to use the same business strategy as you did in the past. This is especially true if you hire a property manager. A residential property manager differs significantly from a commercial property manager. Some of the differences include:

Renting strategies Maintenance needs Legality and leasing Understanding advanced business strategies learned in graduate school

Fundamentals of Residential Property Managers

The manager of a common apartment complex will naturally understand basics of common business operation. In many cases, the apartment complexes have the manager live at the facility. Residential property managers will collect rental checks, make decisions about maintenance and repair, ensure the lease is signed and followed, and other basic requirements. A larger apartment complex may have staff that are directed by the manager. These are the common expectations for residential property manager. However, you would not expect them to draw up and follow through with long-term business plans. You'll also not expect them to be an expert in real estate and keep up with all of the latest literature.

Tasks of both commercial and residential property managers

All other staff including maintenance in leasing agents will work under the direction of the property manager regardless if it is commercial or residential. It is not uncommon for smaller residential property managers to do all of the maintenance jobs themselves. However, this is never the case for a commercial property manager. Commercial property is too large for one person to do all of the jobs correctly. A commercial property manager will need to be good at hiring staff and contractors to complete all of the work. A good commercial property manager will have experience with doing these jobs. This is a good way to protect the bottom line and ensure that services are not being overcharged.

Good Commercial Property Management Starts with Good Service

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. - 31904

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