As an investor, you have a lot of goals for your properties. From long-term leases to regularly rotating rental suites, there’s a lot to manage. And while the investment is your dream, the day-to-day work might not be.
That’s where commercial property management can, and will, make a huge difference in the future progress and success of your commercial properties. Bringing in a company to help you achieve your goals with their experience can be a huge aid in raising your bottom line.
Commercial property management companies in Toronto vary in three major ways that should affect how you choose the right company for your investments: knowledge, communication, and efficiency.
Key Factor #1: Knowledge
There are quite a few commercial property management companies in Toronto, and they can all start to look the same after a while. How do you choose between companies that offer similar services at similar prices?
The best route is to choose the company that has the most knowledge on their side. Because of the huge investment boom in GTA, a lot of companies were created looking to make extra money out of the growing industry. While there’s nothing wrong with that, the same level of experience doesn’t yet exist in those commercial property management companies in GTA.
Look for a company that moved into commercial property management after doing other types of real estate work, such as residential property management or property sales. The companies that have been in different areas of the real estate industry for a longer time have knowledge on their side.
They know people.
They know the ins and outs of property dealings.
They know where to get great deals, who is reliable, and what just won’t work in certain neighborhoods.
As a commercial property investor, you need someone with all this of this knowledge – and more – on your side as a property manager. Their cumulative experience will keep you in the green for years to come!
Assess potential management companies by asking the following questions:
- What does your company love about commercial property management?
- How did you get into property management?
- What types of commercial properties have you managed in the GTA in recent years?
- What type of connections do you have in the GTA to help with the management?
These questions and other specific questions that are more related to your property will help you gain an understanding of how much potential management companies know about your specific goals and needs. Choose the company that understands how to help you achieve them.
Key Factor #2: Communication
As in any business, communication is very important in commercial property management. Any company you choose to work with should be skilled in three communication with three main groups: investors, tenants, and local businesses.
Investor Communication
Ensure that the companies that you are choosing between are ready to connect with you regularly to discuss the following:
- Your short-term goals
- Your long-term goals
- Potential conflict points with tenants
- Local area issues that could affect your properties
While they are managing the property, you are the owner and the one with a dream. You will be paying them to help you achieve your goals, so any company you work with must be ready to communicate regularly and freely with you about problems, successes, and anything in between.
Tenant Communication
As the company managing the leases and day-to-day functions of the property, you want a company that is both professional and strategic in how they deal with tenants.
Tenants are very important to your business, and they will be more likely to continue their leases with you if they are comfortable with the property managers they work with. Avoiding conflict, solving issues before they get out of hand, and being openly available to all tenants are essential in a good property management company.
This aspect is especially important if you are a large-scale investor who does not have much time to meet or form relationships with each individual tenant. The property manager should be able to act as your face in the tenant-landlord relationship without causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
Local Business Communication
Your property manager will be working with many local businesses for the following activities, among others:
- Snow removal
- Refusal removal
- Landscaping
- Common area cleaning
- Finance processing
For the best deals and best service, a company that has local connections and keeps up a friendly relationship with such businesses is a huge help. This connection will ensure that your property is being looked after properly at a great cost.
Key Factor #3: Efficiency
The final and possibly most important factor to check out when considering your management options is their efficiency. It’s an oversaid adage, but it’s still true: Time is money.
You do not want a property management company that takes three days to get back to you about urgent issues without any updates. You don’t want a company that allows properties to go without tenants or interest for weeks on end.
Efficient management is key to keeping your profit margins up, and the best management companies will have their system running smoothly. When issues do arise, they’ll keep you updated and work as quickly as possible to keep things moving.
Efficiency in commercial properties is about more than just going quickly:
- Setting up systems for rent payment processing that work
- Finding tenants who will stay for longer periods of time
- Advising investors on when to expand their properties and when to hold out
- And more!
The key point here is that every minute of work that you pay your property company management for should be giving you a large return on investment, and that is only possible when the company has set up efficient processes that work even in times of crisis.
Managing commercial properties can be a headache, especially when you are trying to fit all the moving pieces together alone. A management company like Buttonwood can make the entire process enjoyable and successful. From knowledge to communication to efficiency, the right property management company will help your investment dreams become a reality.
