Entries by Martin Sommer

Loss to Lease: Don’t Lose Out

Loss to lease is kind of like a mythical creature. It’s not an actual loss of revenue but a loss of potential revenue that a property owner or manager may not even recognize because the bottom line adds up each month. There is no impact on cash flow since it’s not expected income. There’s also […]

How to Ensure Accurate Property Management Accounting: Management Versus Ownership

Property owners sometimes unknowingly fall into a trap of their own making. They buy a property to house their business and rent out a portion to other companies. As a result, they get some additional revenue and build their portfolio. So, where’s the trap? Businesses that aren’t real-estate savvy often don’t know the difference between […]

Lease Compliance Part 3: Audit-Proof Your Portfolio

This article is part three of our three-part series on commercial lease compliance:Lease Compliance Part 1: Understanding Lease TermsLease Compliance Part 2: The Tenant AuditLease Compliance Part 3: Audit-proof Your Portfolio In this third article, we talk about preparing your commercial property operations for potential audit scenarios. Interestingly, always being prepared leads to several habits […]

Lease Compliance Part 2: The Tenant Audit

This article is part two of our three-part series on commercial lease compliance:Lease Compliance Part 1: Understanding Lease TermsLease Compliance Part 2: The Tenant AuditLease Compliance Part 3: Audit-proof Your Portfolio What is a tenant audit? Very simply, the definition of an audit is a request for additional information to verify the information someone already […]

Lease Compliance Part 1: Understanding Lease Terms

Lease compliance covers many things. For instance, tenant compliance with their lease obligations for rent and upkeep. Not to mention landlord compliance with the building maintenance obligations and general accounting compliance in record keeping and reporting. This series will focus on three main topics: understanding lease terms, what you need to know about tenant audits, […]

Is This the Future of Property Management Events?

In an industry that has relied heavily on signed documents, in-person inspections and networking, property management businesses have had to pivot sharply during the pandemic to maintain connectivity with their potential and existing customers. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world of work upside down. People are not as comfortable in face-to-face meetings, social events […]

Commercial Tenant Rights: An Overview

As a landlord, it is important to understand commercial tenant rights as well as your rights and obligations. Commercial tenancy regulations are far less restrictive than residential landlord-tenant acts and tend to favour the landlords. This is because commercial lease agreements are viewed as contracts between knowledgeable business people. Therefore, the assumption is that they […]

When Should You Hire a Commercial Property Manager?

Owning commercial properties is an excellent investment, but managing it can also be a lot of work. Some owners prefer to manage their properties themselves, but you may find it makes sense to hire a commercial property manager to help you out once you scale up. When does it make sense to take that next […]

Choosing the Right Commercial Property Management Software

Migrating your business to commercial property management software can dramatically improve its efficiency, scalability and profitability. But with so many programs available these days, it can be challenging to know which will intuitively do what you need it to do. Take the time to do your research and carefully evaluate your options to find the […]

Every Successful Property Manager Knows These 3 Things

Do you think you know enough to be a master-level property manager? Here’s how to step up your game, reduce your risks and actually turn a profit. We have picked the top three areas where you need to have real skills in order to be successful. 1. It’s a business, and you’re in charge So you […]

Accurate Financial Reporting Helps You Make Better Business Decisions

2020 has been full of challenges. It’s probably even more important than ever to take a look at how your property management company measured up. Analyzing your data and looking at new ways to improve your financial reporting processes now can lead to more robust returns in the coming year. Here are some tips for […]

Data Protection: Now More Important than Ever

Data protection is increasingly more important for businesses as cyber attacks become more frequent and more destructive. The number of attacks has increased as hackers have taken advantage of the work-from-home model adopted during the pandemic. According to Fintech News, 80% of businesses have seen an increase in attacks this year. Without reservation, hackers look for […]

What are CAMs and How to Avoid CAM Slippage

What are CAMs? Before we dig into CAM slippage, let’s get clear on exactly what CAMs are. CAM stands for common area maintenance. Property managers of multi-tenant office, retail, industrial and warehouse properties typically use net leases. Such net leases recover from the tenants the operating costs for shared common areas separately from the base […]

Work From Home for Property Managers

It seems that to be truly relevant, back in 2020, every communication must include the words “unprecedented” and “global pandemic.” This has certainly been the case for news articles of recent. We sincerely hope that those words become less frequently used as time passes. With some pandemic life experience under our belts, we can now […]

5 Ways Software-as-a-Service Can Enhance Customer Service

If you are a small to medium-sized CRE PM business owner, no one knows your customers as you do. So, it should come as no surprise that technology is disrupting traditional customer service models – in a big way. Cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is making its biggest splash ever. But going digital does not mean getting […]

Changing Workplaces – Thoughts on Post-Pandemic Workspaces

We share a few thoughts on workplaces becoming non-tactile and managing environments in the post-pandemic period, and invite you to comment and share your insights. Assessing the scope There are two main areas of concern in workplaces: tactile surfaces and managing the air in the work environment. Both are directly related to containing the spread […]

This is why COVID Makes Remote Asset Management Essential

Virtual offices, rent deferrals, building closures. As coronavirus sweeps the globe, property managers face new daily challenges in a rapidly evolving economy and remote work requirements. Companies that haven’t already moved to remote asset management are experiencing significant disruption and inefficiency. How long this “new normal” will last is anyone’s guess. In response to COVID-19, […]

Commercial Leasing 101: Here are the Industry Terms You Should Know

Whether you’re a first-time investor or a veteran looking to brush up on your commercial leasing terms, we’ve got you covered. This article defines the various lease agreements and industry jargon to help you better understand what they mean to landlords and tenants – and the relationships between them. In the simplest terms, a lease […]

Formalizing Business Processes with Asset Management Software for Maximum Wealth Creation

Small landlords with just a few buildings own most commercial property. Often, these landlords share a similar pathway to becoming landlords. Initially, they purchase real estate assets for their business operations. Over the years, they add a few more properties as their business and personal wealth increases. Their idea is to use real estate assets […]

New Commercial Real Estate Investment Software – When to Make the Leap

What factors hold you back from making decisions on new business systems? Have you been holding back from upgrading to commercial real estate investment software? Let’s take a look at the common causes of inaction and how to address those fears. The case for leaping forward with specialized commercial real estate investment software Without a […]