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Commercial property management is a specialized field that involves renting out manufacturing, retail, or office space to tenants. Few commercial building owners manage this task independently as it is time-consuming, making it impossible to do properly when they own multiple large buildings.
Instead, these owners rely on commercial property management companies to take on this responsibility. In each major city, including Denver, landlords have various commercial property management companies to choose from. Here are tips for finding the best one:
Use your connections
According to residential property management experts at Evernest, the Denver property management industry is tight knit. Evernest operates in several American cities besides Denver, including Murfreesboro, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. Several commercial property management specialists operate in Denver, such as Wheelhouse Commercial and Dunston Commercial. Evernest’s agents are well-connected and recommend local commercial property managers in addition to multinational giants like CBRE International and Newman Knight Frank.
If you own a commercial property and are looking for a property manager, speak to other landlords in Denver to determine which companies they use and how they would rate their agent’s performance. Word-of-mouth recommendations are valuable in a local market where their real estate association affiliations connect most practitioners.
Establish the company’s reputation
Once you have whittled your options down to two or three, interview each company to find the best fit for your needs as a commercial property owner. This is an opportunity to determine how the company operates. Prepare a list of questions, including some about how long it has been in business, how much property it currently manages, and general vacancy rates in your building’s area before you decide to rent a house with a beautiful patio.
The answers provided to such questions indicate how knowledgeable an agent is about the area. Experts advise steering clear of companies running for less than two years as they have yet to establish a solid track record. However, you might feel compelled to allow them to prove themselves. Your choice is a personal preference and the rapport established with the agent during your interview. However, do not sign any contracts until you have done some more digging.
Is the price right?
During your meeting with a commercial property investment company agent, determine what fees they charge and what is covered by this amount. Property management companies, including those in Denver, typically charge a percentage fee of between five and ten percent of the rental income they collect. However, some operations charge a percentage on the property’s gross collected income. Ensure you know which one your chosen company utilizes to calculate its percentage fee.
Do not be tempted to choose a company on the lower end of the fee scale based on price alone. These companies tend to add charges for additional services. Higher percentage charges usually include all necessary services. Understanding what is covered is essential before committing to an agreement.
Repairs and maintenance
Larger commercial property management companies retain maintenance and repairs staff to carry out routine tasks at the properties they manage. They deem it less expensive than outsourcing the work to contractors. Some landlords prefer this option to hold the property manager directly responsible for repairs and maintenance issues.
However, do not rule out a commercial property manager that hires local Denver contractors to do repairs and maintenance. It might be better to have a network of external experts than an internal crew of general contractors who cannot manage unique repairs and maintenance requirements.
Organization
As a landlord, you need to know that your commercial property manager can cope with the demands of managing your Denver building and the others in their portfolio. An overcommitted or disorganized agent will neglect some vital tasks as they do not have enough hours in their day. During the interview process, ask how the agent prioritizes tasks and manages to fit all their tasks into a workday.
You should also inquire about software solutions the company uses to streamline its operations and report to landlords. These allow landlords to track rental collections, repairs and maintenance costs, and other expenses. Such reports should be issued on the same day each month for recordkeeping and tax purposes, and they enable you to hold their agent to account for doing what is expected from them under the terms of your agreement. We are not asking them to identify houseplants from leaves or such.
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