Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February 2015 | Page 46

Managing

BY MONIQUE TERRAZAS

Commercial
Property Management
A professional approach

M

anaging a commercial property involves
far more than simply keeping a building
occupied and maintained. For long-term
sustainability, a professional approach to property
management is required as a catalyst for the growth of
the property investment. For this reason, smart property
owners outsource the management of their commercial
portfolios to professional property managers with
expertise and experience in managing a wide range of
critical success factors.
Tenants
Tenants are the source of income. Building mutuallybeneficial relationships with the right tenants requires
more than placing and billing. It requires a professional
approach, which yields excellent results as happy
tenants stay in a building for longer, pay their rent on
time, better maintain the building and its facilities, and
attract tenants with a similar profile. The right tenant
mix for a specific building area and industry type
ensures the sustainability of the premises.
A property manager is a critical interface between
the property owner and the tenants, professionally
taking care of the tenant mix, tenant screening and
installation, tenant risk rating to determine the
amount of surety and deposit, lease negotiations and
administration, billing and collections, tenant relations
and vacancies.
Maintenance and improvement
The property is an asset and in order to ensure it
maintains its value, ongoing maintenance and repairs,
as well as preventative maintenance is crucial. A wellmaintained property is more easily let than a neglected
one and can command a higher rental.
In addition to ongoing and preventative
maintenance, the building must also be improved on a

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February 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

regular basis to increase its appeal to current and future
tenants. A professional property manager will be up to
date on local property trends, rentals charged by similar
buildings in the area and the required improvements
to keep the property in line with or ahead of its
competition.
Legal issues
Property owners operate in a minefield of legislation
and regulations in all areas, including health and
safety, security, labour and consumer protection. A
professional property manager will be up to date on
changes in legislation and regulations and will ensure
legal obligations are fulfilled to manage this significant
risk.

“A property manager is a critical
interface between the property
owner and the tenants.”
Cost containment
In these tough economic conditions, cost containment
is crucial. A professional property manager will not
only provide budgeting, forecasting and cost reporting
but will continuously optimise the costs of, among
other expenses, security, cleaning services and parking
management, while reducing the costs and managing
the risk of utilities by implementing green and
sustainable building strategies.
Choose a property manager with a successful track
record in the specific type and grade of property. And
remember that ‘you get what you pay for’: understand
the value a good property manager will add to the
property and pay them appropriately.
www.reimag.co.za