There is no doubt that commercial property management is often the most challenging aspect of getting into this type of investment. Unlike residential investment where there is one property and one tenant, commercial real estate may involve hundreds of tenants in a single building, particularly when investing in multifamily dwellings. Even with retail or office commercial real estate management, there are multiple tenants in most buildings. In addition, each tenant may have negotiated a slightly different lease agreement, which means a lot of potential for problems if the property management is not focused on adhering to the terms of the lease agreement. One solution is to hire a property management company to provide the day-to-day aspects of managing the investment. However, with this approach, it is often challenging for the owner to have immediate access to information to make the best decisions. A solution for this is to invest in the right commercial property management software that provides transparency, automation, and increased efficiency for both the owner/investor as well as the property management team. There are several commercial property management software platforms and solutions on the market today. Not all offer the same features and options, and there is a significant difference in price between the basic and the advanced levels of software solutions.
Know Your Management Needs Now and In the Future
It is a good idea to talk to other commercial property owners and find out what features they use, what they wish they had, and what features they do not use on their current software systems. It is also important to talk to your property management team or to review what you need to have in the software. Some things to consider include how the leases are structured, is common area maintenance a factor in the agreement, and who is involved in the leasing process from listing the property to closing the deal and completing the terms of the lease agreement. The software should be designed to allow access to the system based on a hierarchy or access restrictions to enhance security and prevent sensitive information from being accessed.
Integration with Current Processes
It is important to consider that, even with customization and options, there may be a need to integrate a current software system or program into the commercial property management system. The top software programs can accommodate this option, which can reduce the cost and the time of migrating data from one software program to another.
Automation Potential
Ideally, look to any commercial property management software to automate as much as possible through the system. Automation helps to eliminate errors, missed deadlines, and strategic business processes. It is also critical to ensure the information you have when making decisions is accurate, timely, and free from omissions that may delay your decision-making ability at critical times.
Other factors may include standard reporting functions, customized reports, document management, budgets, expense management, searchable data records, and full lease management solutions.
