Huntingford explains that outsourcing the management of properties allows owners and landlords to focus on their core business without having to collect the rent, haggle with tenants and attend to maintenance issues.
He outlines some the ways in which professional property managers add value:
“Keeping properties fully let is a critical function in property management as rental income is the basis of the investment return on a property.” Huntingford notes that at Spire the focus is on maximising income by ensuring that vacancies are kept to a minimum with a creative dealmaking ethos. “We aggressively let space where it becomes vacant, and we look to retain existing tenants by proactively approaching them when leases are set to expire.”
"Property operating costs need to be carefully observed to ensure that the most competitive price is being paid for the best possible service. Effective property managers can ensure that service levels of soft service suppliers are carefully monitored and managed to ensure the highest possible service level is provided to the tenant and their clients. In particular, utility costs and means to keep them low are increasingly pertinent at present."
"A reduction in the costs makes financial sense, driving a reduction in the cost of occupancy that tenants are faced with. The result is a reduction in vacancy levels and ultimately increasing the value of a building.”
These are a few examples of ways that effective property managers add value to a building in the short, medium and long term. Although, in a bid to save a buck, it might seem worthwhile to “go it alone”, in the long term this misses the many opportunities to create additional value that one can find by partnering with a good property manager,” concludes Huntingford.
