4B — February 10 - 23, 2012 — Property Management — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
P ROPERTY M ANAGEMENT By Sheldon Gross, Sheldon Gross Realty Net leased/single-tenanted buildings require smarter property management
O
wners of net leased buildings, especially single-tenanted build-
leased properties sometimes have a tendency to not be as concerned with the way their space is being managed, but in the end this can come back to haunt them in the future. Net leased buildings place a lot of regular maintenance responsibilities on the tenants’ plates--things that are tradi- tionally the responsibility of the landlord or owner in any other building. In these scenarios, the property management team needs to be much more hands- on and proactive on behalf of the landlords. An effective
property management team for these types of properties must work harder and smarter to make sure each lessee is per- forming all their obligations. To save owners time and money, the best property man- agers send a team to every property on a monthly basis to ensure each and every ten- ant is maintaining its space in accordance to the lease and to the satisfaction of the building owner. And, because all leases are unique, they need to be carefully monitored. Monthly inspections, reviews of lease
obligation, maintenance and insurance policies need to be made with tenants. The best property managers will offer tips to reduce energy use and costs through things such as lighting upgrades, alternate energy sources and recycled materials. When these issues are targeted on a frequent ba- sis, the end result is a win-win situation for all involved. In single-tenanted build- ings, one of the most common mistakes of building owners is to neglect the maintenance of the HVAC systems, as well as the roofs, gutters, drains and downspouts. What owners do not realize is that while the tenant pays for repairs to these items, it is usually the build- ing owner’s responsibility to replace them. In every property management assignment we undertake, the first thing we do is inspect the HVAC’s, roofs, gutters, drains and downspouts to make sure they are all func- tioning properly. Immediately, we have the tenants make all necessary repairs to these systems to avoid the owners having to completely replace them in the long run. Additionally, while owners and landlords mostly know the status of the buildings as a whole, but not of each indi- vidual tenant’s space, effective property management teams should know everything about all tenants. The best property management teams have ac- cess to computer programs that make tracking of leases, repairs and other aspects of management extremely simple. In addition, top-notch property managers create in-depth, real- time reports for landlords and owners. When you own or run a net leased building you must strict- lymonitor your tenants tomake sure they are meeting the obli- gations of their leases. The first step to maintaining your prop- erty is to hire an experienced, smart property management team. These teams can help effectively manage a property and also solve repair, insurance and energy problems before they spiral out of control and wind up costing landlords and owners more time and money than necessary. It is generally cheaper to have it done right. Sheldon Gross is presi- dent and CEO of Sheldon Gross Realty of West Or- ange, NJ. ■
ings, in many instances believe that they are not in need of a propertymanagement company to assist them in the handling of their property. Many tenants in these situations are respon- sible for obtaining and paying for all operating expenses such as utilities, cleaning, landscap- ing, repairs and taxes, lead- ing owners to feel they have nothing to be concerned with other than collecting the rent. Landlords and owners of net
Sheldon Gross
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