Services Offered By Facility Management and Property Management
Facility management is the management of communal buildings,estates which encompasses both building fabric and service. Facilities management accomplish that everything is available and operating properly, so the building occupants can start doing their work. This includes air conditioning, cleaning, decoration, lighting and security,monitoring and supervising devices, control and regulation systems, management and optimization mechanisms in buildings. Facilities Management is about managing risks within an organization, controlling costs and improving the levels of service within that organization. The services are sometimes divided into 'hard services' and 'soft services'. Hard services includes things such as the air conditioner is working properly and safely. Soft service includes cleaning of buildings and monitoring the performance electricians and builders. Facilities management is the integration of process within an organization to develop and maintain the agreed services which improve the effectiveness of its primary activities. Every day effective facilities management provides a safe and efficient working environment, which is essential to the performance of any business.Property management is the operation of commercial, industrial or other residential real estate. Once an investor decides to construct on his land, the management property organization takes care of his land and takes care of all the legal proceeding that are involved in the construction. The owner doesn't bother about knowing the legal intricacies personally. He trusts his assets managing firm to take care of the legal complications for him, though it is advisable for the owner to be aware of all the legal procedures. The managing firms have a list of architects and construction personnel with them and they arrange for them.Property management manage construction, maintenance, repair and development on a property. The relations with the tenants provides a buffer for those landlords desiring to distance themselves from their tenant constituency. It includes participating in or initiating litigation with tenants, contractors or agencies. Special attention is given to landlord/tenant low and non-payment, harassment, reduction of pre-arranged services and public nuisance. The property management are also responsible for taking care of mobile home parks, automobile storage areas and recreational facilities. The tasks that are involved in taking care of private assets, that involves maintaining and developing office premises, shopping malls and entertainment venues. The work is tougher and more elaborate than in the case of managing houses because places of public access need to be maintained in a top class condition as the business venues can attract a lot of clients only if they are very impressive to look at and be in.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
Whats involved with property management
Does the property need frequent visits, repairs, or attention? If your rental property is a veritable money pit, you can find yourself spending more time there than at your regular job. If you're getting constant requests for repairs to a property, having someone who can devote the majority of their time to your property is very helpful. The more units you have, the more you can benefit from a professional maintenance worker or property management company.
What services do you need? If you're looking for a small amount of assistance, such as monthly rent collection, a full-service agency may be too much for your needs. Since you'll need to budget in the fees charged by a property management company, this will cut into your profit margin. Therefore, instead of hiring a full-service company, you may be better served by a part-time property manager or specialist who can handle the most frequent problems.
On the other hand, if you do need a complete solution, make sure that the company can provide you with all the services you require. For example, if you need someone who is capable of light maintenance work in addition to rent collection, keep this in mind while you shop for a property management company.
Is the company trustworthy and friendly? Before hiring a property management company, do thorough research to ensure that it is reputable. If you are an absentee landlord, this is extremely important. You will be relying on this company to collect rent and represent you and you interests. Check references and talk to other landlords who have worked with this company. Make sure the representative of the property management company is level-headed and diplomatic. Just one bad interaction between tenant and rent collector can destroy goodwill that can take years to restore.
Hiring a property management company should result in more free time and less worry for you. If you hire a property management company and find that you are still constantly worrying about your property, you may need to restructure your schedule to spend more time at the property, or have more frequent communication with the property management company.
What services do you need? If you're looking for a small amount of assistance, such as monthly rent collection, a full-service agency may be too much for your needs. Since you'll need to budget in the fees charged by a property management company, this will cut into your profit margin. Therefore, instead of hiring a full-service company, you may be better served by a part-time property manager or specialist who can handle the most frequent problems.
On the other hand, if you do need a complete solution, make sure that the company can provide you with all the services you require. For example, if you need someone who is capable of light maintenance work in addition to rent collection, keep this in mind while you shop for a property management company.
Is the company trustworthy and friendly? Before hiring a property management company, do thorough research to ensure that it is reputable. If you are an absentee landlord, this is extremely important. You will be relying on this company to collect rent and represent you and you interests. Check references and talk to other landlords who have worked with this company. Make sure the representative of the property management company is level-headed and diplomatic. Just one bad interaction between tenant and rent collector can destroy goodwill that can take years to restore.
Hiring a property management company should result in more free time and less worry for you. If you hire a property management company and find that you are still constantly worrying about your property, you may need to restructure your schedule to spend more time at the property, or have more frequent communication with the property management company.
Should I Hire a Property Management Company for My Rental Property?
Managing Risk
Turning over a facility to a management company is convenient and the benefits are plentiful. But one should keep in mind that handing over the keys means handing over responsibility—which means potential risk. Even the most experienced professionals err on occasion. Before hiring a management company, you want to know it is prepared and properly insured if an incident should occur.
When hiring a management company, treat the situation similarly to that of hiring a vendor. Have the company listed as an additional insured on your current business owner’s policy. Next, check to see if it has an adequate property-management errors and omissions (E&O) policy in force. This coverage is designed to protect property management companies if they fail to render the professional services contracted and also provides the owner assistance with defense costs associated with responding to lawsuits and investigations.
Request a certificate of insurance from the management company as evidence it is insured by a financially stable entity and carries appropriate amounts of insurance for the type of services performed. The certificate should have information on the insurer, insurance agency, types of insurance, policy numbers, effective dates, limits, certificate holders and any special provisions it may have. Check to see the policy limits are equal if not greater than your facility’s limits.
More About E&O
Here are a few reasons property-management E&O coverage works. Let’s say you bring in a management company and its contracted services include paying property taxes on your commercial building. The property manager fails to make these payments in a timely manner, and you, the property owner, are slapped with a fine and a penalty. Since the management company breached its contract by not paying on time, you would most likely make a claim with the company’s insurance company, requesting it pay the fine and penalty on your behalf.
What if you authorize a management company to have maintenance work done at your facility? Let’s say the cost of the project is $500,000, and the repair company is to be paid in increments of $100,000 as each stage is completed. However, your property manager advances money to the repair company prior to completion and neglects to identify the licensing, bonding and insurance company of the contractor.
The repair company leaves the work site prior to repairing several buildings and, because it wasn’t licensed or insured, you now have to hire and pay a new company to finish the work. You want to ensure your management company has the resources and insurance coverage to allow you to recover amounts improperly paid to the first repair company. It is never easy to point the finger and cast the blame when mishaps occur; however, when everyone involved has proper insurance coverage, the end result is less costly all around.
Turning over a facility to a management company is convenient and the benefits are plentiful. But one should keep in mind that handing over the keys means handing over responsibility—which means potential risk. Even the most experienced professionals err on occasion. Before hiring a management company, you want to know it is prepared and properly insured if an incident should occur.
When hiring a management company, treat the situation similarly to that of hiring a vendor. Have the company listed as an additional insured on your current business owner’s policy. Next, check to see if it has an adequate property-management errors and omissions (E&O) policy in force. This coverage is designed to protect property management companies if they fail to render the professional services contracted and also provides the owner assistance with defense costs associated with responding to lawsuits and investigations.
Request a certificate of insurance from the management company as evidence it is insured by a financially stable entity and carries appropriate amounts of insurance for the type of services performed. The certificate should have information on the insurer, insurance agency, types of insurance, policy numbers, effective dates, limits, certificate holders and any special provisions it may have. Check to see the policy limits are equal if not greater than your facility’s limits.
More About E&O
Here are a few reasons property-management E&O coverage works. Let’s say you bring in a management company and its contracted services include paying property taxes on your commercial building. The property manager fails to make these payments in a timely manner, and you, the property owner, are slapped with a fine and a penalty. Since the management company breached its contract by not paying on time, you would most likely make a claim with the company’s insurance company, requesting it pay the fine and penalty on your behalf.
What if you authorize a management company to have maintenance work done at your facility? Let’s say the cost of the project is $500,000, and the repair company is to be paid in increments of $100,000 as each stage is completed. However, your property manager advances money to the repair company prior to completion and neglects to identify the licensing, bonding and insurance company of the contractor.
The repair company leaves the work site prior to repairing several buildings and, because it wasn’t licensed or insured, you now have to hire and pay a new company to finish the work. You want to ensure your management company has the resources and insurance coverage to allow you to recover amounts improperly paid to the first repair company. It is never easy to point the finger and cast the blame when mishaps occur; however, when everyone involved has proper insurance coverage, the end result is less costly all around.
Managing Risk
Managing Risk
Turning over a facility to a management company is convenient and the benefits are plentiful. But one should keep in mind that handing over the keys means handing over responsibility—which means potential risk. Even the most experienced professionals err on occasion. Before hiring a management company, you want to know it is prepared and properly insured if an incident should occur.
When hiring a management company, treat the situation similarly to that of hiring a vendor. Have the company listed as an additional insured on your current business owner’s policy. Next, check to see if it has an adequate property-management errors and omissions (E&O) policy in force. This coverage is designed to protect property management companies if they fail to render the professional services contracted and also provides the owner assistance with defense costs associated with responding to lawsuits and investigations.
Request a certificate of insurance from the management company as evidence it is insured by a financially stable entity and carries appropriate amounts of insurance for the type of services performed. The certificate should have information on the insurer, insurance agency, types of insurance, policy numbers, effective dates, limits, certificate holders and any special provisions it may have. Check to see the policy limits are equal if not greater than your facility’s limits.
More About E&O
Here are a few reasons property-management E&O coverage works. Let’s say you bring in a management company and its contracted services include paying property taxes on your commercial building. The property manager fails to make these payments in a timely manner, and you, the property owner, are slapped with a fine and a penalty. Since the management company breached its contract by not paying on time, you would most likely make a claim with the company’s insurance company, requesting it pay the fine and penalty on your behalf.
What if you authorize a management company to have maintenance work done at your facility? Let’s say the cost of the project is $500,000, and the repair company is to be paid in increments of $100,000 as each stage is completed. However, your property manager advances money to the repair company prior to completion and neglects to identify the licensing, bonding and insurance company of the contractor.
The repair company leaves the work site prior to repairing several buildings and, because it wasn’t licensed or insured, you now have to hire and pay a new company to finish the work. You want to ensure your management company has the resources and insurance coverage to allow you to recover amounts improperly paid to the first repair company. It is never easy to point the finger and cast the blame when mishaps occur; however, when everyone involved has proper insurance coverage, the end result is less costly all around.
Turning over a facility to a management company is convenient and the benefits are plentiful. But one should keep in mind that handing over the keys means handing over responsibility—which means potential risk. Even the most experienced professionals err on occasion. Before hiring a management company, you want to know it is prepared and properly insured if an incident should occur.
When hiring a management company, treat the situation similarly to that of hiring a vendor. Have the company listed as an additional insured on your current business owner’s policy. Next, check to see if it has an adequate property-management errors and omissions (E&O) policy in force. This coverage is designed to protect property management companies if they fail to render the professional services contracted and also provides the owner assistance with defense costs associated with responding to lawsuits and investigations.
Request a certificate of insurance from the management company as evidence it is insured by a financially stable entity and carries appropriate amounts of insurance for the type of services performed. The certificate should have information on the insurer, insurance agency, types of insurance, policy numbers, effective dates, limits, certificate holders and any special provisions it may have. Check to see the policy limits are equal if not greater than your facility’s limits.
More About E&O
Here are a few reasons property-management E&O coverage works. Let’s say you bring in a management company and its contracted services include paying property taxes on your commercial building. The property manager fails to make these payments in a timely manner, and you, the property owner, are slapped with a fine and a penalty. Since the management company breached its contract by not paying on time, you would most likely make a claim with the company’s insurance company, requesting it pay the fine and penalty on your behalf.
What if you authorize a management company to have maintenance work done at your facility? Let’s say the cost of the project is $500,000, and the repair company is to be paid in increments of $100,000 as each stage is completed. However, your property manager advances money to the repair company prior to completion and neglects to identify the licensing, bonding and insurance company of the contractor.
The repair company leaves the work site prior to repairing several buildings and, because it wasn’t licensed or insured, you now have to hire and pay a new company to finish the work. You want to ensure your management company has the resources and insurance coverage to allow you to recover amounts improperly paid to the first repair company. It is never easy to point the finger and cast the blame when mishaps occur; however, when everyone involved has proper insurance coverage, the end result is less costly all around.
Why a property management company ?
Why a Management Company?
Some owners who have owned and operated for years seek out management companies because having someone else run their facilities eases the strain of having to be on site every day. If they are close to retirement but not quite ready to sell their business, they can hire a management company to take over the day-to-day operations while leaving them time to relax, travel and start new projects. Other owners partner with management companies when their business is ready to expand to multiple locations. The work involved with acquisition and construction of new sites requires focus. Having the freedom to be away from a facility gives them the time they need.
If a facility has hit a standstill or the business is underperforming, seeking the expertise of a management company can benefit an owner’s bottom line. Most of these companies are run by seasoned industry professionals. Who better to hire and train a new staff?
Their status and training usually attracts higher quality employees, providing tenants the quality customer service they deserve. Management companies offer exceptional marketing strategies and know how to use appropriate mediums, such as signage and brochures, to increase visibility to prospects. They usually have connections to secure discounted advertising rates with print media as well, such as the Yellow Pages
Some owners who have owned and operated for years seek out management companies because having someone else run their facilities eases the strain of having to be on site every day. If they are close to retirement but not quite ready to sell their business, they can hire a management company to take over the day-to-day operations while leaving them time to relax, travel and start new projects. Other owners partner with management companies when their business is ready to expand to multiple locations. The work involved with acquisition and construction of new sites requires focus. Having the freedom to be away from a facility gives them the time they need.
If a facility has hit a standstill or the business is underperforming, seeking the expertise of a management company can benefit an owner’s bottom line. Most of these companies are run by seasoned industry professionals. Who better to hire and train a new staff?
Their status and training usually attracts higher quality employees, providing tenants the quality customer service they deserve. Management companies offer exceptional marketing strategies and know how to use appropriate mediums, such as signage and brochures, to increase visibility to prospects. They usually have connections to secure discounted advertising rates with print media as well, such as the Yellow Pages
Property management softwear selection
Managing assets given on lease can be quite a cumbersome task. Hence rental property management firms are taking the assistance of software for getting along with their work efficiently. There are many types of software available in the market today. Thus there are certain factors that an assets management firm should consider before selecting suitable software.
• Feature enriched software are abounding the markets today. The managing assets firm should not be carried away by the number or the power of the features. Rather they should see if the features are actually being of any use to them. The rental property management firm should choose software that has got a lot of features useful for the assets managing firm.
• The assets managing firm should consider the hardware and software configuration of its automated systems before selecting software because many of the software are platform dependent. Many firms usually spend huge amounts of money in buying software that does not actually run on their machines. It is always better to buy software compatible with the existing hardware and software configuration than to upgrade the configuration to suit a particular type of software unless it is absolutely inevitable.
• The software that a rental property management firm chooses should have the capacity to maintain huge databases of client details. Hence the assets managing professional should have an idea of the amount of data that he is going to enter into the automated database. For this, he can take the advice of both the assets managing as well as the automation experts. It is no use taking software that has limited capability.
• It is always better to take software that can support a large number of users simultaneously. The automated system will be accessed by not only the management professionals, but by the owners and the tenants as well. Hence there will be a huge traffic accessing the networked sites. Most of the functionality is interconnected. The software chosen should be efficient and fast in yielding results.
• The data entry, management and retrieval processes should be user friendly. The owners and the tenants who operate these systems may not be computer savvy. Hence simple procedures are going to be understood easily. Otherwise, these people who are not comfortable with the online applications might turn away from the rental property management firm that uses such a complicated system. After all, people do not have the time to spend on process that they do not understand as there are many competing firms offering a very convenient automated ambiance.
• The software selected should handle details of a lot of tenancy processes well. Software that offers advanced features like, late payment recording and calculation of the associated penalty should be selected. The software programs should work on the same kind of logic that you understand and yield the expected criterion that you are looking for. For example, if you are interested in calculating the penalty that the defaulters have to pay after a six months period, the software that you choose should have a feature to calculate that. By having functionality for calculating the monthly defaulted amount only, the rental property management professional has to put the extra effort of making separate calculations which might prove to be quite burdensome and time taking when it comes to calculating for thousands of people.
• Feature enriched software are abounding the markets today. The managing assets firm should not be carried away by the number or the power of the features. Rather they should see if the features are actually being of any use to them. The rental property management firm should choose software that has got a lot of features useful for the assets managing firm.
• The assets managing firm should consider the hardware and software configuration of its automated systems before selecting software because many of the software are platform dependent. Many firms usually spend huge amounts of money in buying software that does not actually run on their machines. It is always better to buy software compatible with the existing hardware and software configuration than to upgrade the configuration to suit a particular type of software unless it is absolutely inevitable.
• The software that a rental property management firm chooses should have the capacity to maintain huge databases of client details. Hence the assets managing professional should have an idea of the amount of data that he is going to enter into the automated database. For this, he can take the advice of both the assets managing as well as the automation experts. It is no use taking software that has limited capability.
• It is always better to take software that can support a large number of users simultaneously. The automated system will be accessed by not only the management professionals, but by the owners and the tenants as well. Hence there will be a huge traffic accessing the networked sites. Most of the functionality is interconnected. The software chosen should be efficient and fast in yielding results.
• The data entry, management and retrieval processes should be user friendly. The owners and the tenants who operate these systems may not be computer savvy. Hence simple procedures are going to be understood easily. Otherwise, these people who are not comfortable with the online applications might turn away from the rental property management firm that uses such a complicated system. After all, people do not have the time to spend on process that they do not understand as there are many competing firms offering a very convenient automated ambiance.
• The software selected should handle details of a lot of tenancy processes well. Software that offers advanced features like, late payment recording and calculation of the associated penalty should be selected. The software programs should work on the same kind of logic that you understand and yield the expected criterion that you are looking for. For example, if you are interested in calculating the penalty that the defaulters have to pay after a six months period, the software that you choose should have a feature to calculate that. By having functionality for calculating the monthly defaulted amount only, the rental property management professional has to put the extra effort of making separate calculations which might prove to be quite burdensome and time taking when it comes to calculating for thousands of people.
Steps to property management
Investment in land or assets for personal or business purposes can be profitable only when the asset yields good revenue. For that, the owner needs to maintain his assets in a top condition. But the owner might be busy elsewhere or he might not have the correct knowledge to maintain his assets well. Hence it is always advisable to take professional help. There are many property management companies in the market today. There are certain guidelines for the investors to follow before choosing a property management firm.
These are
• One should always prefer to select well established assets managing firms as they will already be acquainted with the local market. They will know the market value of a given asset and how much it can be sold or leased out for. These firms will be acquainted with the tenant mindset and hence are in the best position to advise the owner about the ways to enhance the value of a given asset in the eyes of a tenant. They will also be able to identify prospective tenants in a given area and will work towards attracting them. The established property management companies will also be well acquainted with the existing competition in a given area and new investors can take tips from them on how to tackle competition.
• Before finalizing the contract with an assets firm it is always recommended to meet the assets managing professionals face to face and layout a systematic method of managing the asset. The maintenance needs of properties are different for each asset. It depends on the physical characteristics of the asset, the intended purpose of its use and the amount of money the owner is willing to spend on its maintenance activities. Having a face to face interaction and discussing about how the asset is going to be taken care of can greatly help in establishing a smooth rapport between the property management companies and the owners.
• The owner should always try to take the feedback of the firm he wants to entrust the job of taking care of his asset. This he can do best by collecting information of the quality of services they provide from their existing clients. He can also read reviews of the firm in popular media and decide for himself whether he has the confidence that a given firm will take care of his assets well. Taking feedback from sources other than the representatives of the firm itself will give a clear picture about the positive and negative aspect of the property management companies that are under the purview of the owner.
• The owners should take the services of those firms that are committed hundred percent to their clients. The assets managing personnel should be honest in their dealings with the owners and not mislead them about any thing in their tenure. For example some assets managing professionals keep advising the owners to replace old parts like doors or pipelines etc. with minor defects. Usually rectifying the minor snag is enough but the assets managing team of the property management companies might ask for replacing it instead because the parts replacement firms promise to give them a percentage of their profits if they get deals for them.
Keeping these points in view will ensure the owner of a property some satisfaction from the firm that he is entrusting his assets with, at least at the beginning
These are
• One should always prefer to select well established assets managing firms as they will already be acquainted with the local market. They will know the market value of a given asset and how much it can be sold or leased out for. These firms will be acquainted with the tenant mindset and hence are in the best position to advise the owner about the ways to enhance the value of a given asset in the eyes of a tenant. They will also be able to identify prospective tenants in a given area and will work towards attracting them. The established property management companies will also be well acquainted with the existing competition in a given area and new investors can take tips from them on how to tackle competition.
• Before finalizing the contract with an assets firm it is always recommended to meet the assets managing professionals face to face and layout a systematic method of managing the asset. The maintenance needs of properties are different for each asset. It depends on the physical characteristics of the asset, the intended purpose of its use and the amount of money the owner is willing to spend on its maintenance activities. Having a face to face interaction and discussing about how the asset is going to be taken care of can greatly help in establishing a smooth rapport between the property management companies and the owners.
• The owner should always try to take the feedback of the firm he wants to entrust the job of taking care of his asset. This he can do best by collecting information of the quality of services they provide from their existing clients. He can also read reviews of the firm in popular media and decide for himself whether he has the confidence that a given firm will take care of his assets well. Taking feedback from sources other than the representatives of the firm itself will give a clear picture about the positive and negative aspect of the property management companies that are under the purview of the owner.
• The owners should take the services of those firms that are committed hundred percent to their clients. The assets managing personnel should be honest in their dealings with the owners and not mislead them about any thing in their tenure. For example some assets managing professionals keep advising the owners to replace old parts like doors or pipelines etc. with minor defects. Usually rectifying the minor snag is enough but the assets managing team of the property management companies might ask for replacing it instead because the parts replacement firms promise to give them a percentage of their profits if they get deals for them.
Keeping these points in view will ensure the owner of a property some satisfaction from the firm that he is entrusting his assets with, at least at the beginning
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