As a Facility Maintenance professional, your main focus is likely on:

• The declining lifespan of the buildings and equipment that you’re responsible for.
• Preventing subsequent building and equipment failures.
• Achieving the optimal ROI for all preventive and predictive maintenance operations.

Maintaining commercial buildings is a complex task and include everything from general building maintenance to re-fresh painting and parking lot maintenance. If a fragmented approach is taken, your facility maintenance program will require multiple contracted specialists and will cost your more in the long term. By hiring a professional facility maintenance company to provide those services you can be assured of quality services that meet industry standards. You can spend more time focusing on the daily operations of your business rather than on building maintenance.

5 Tips For Hiring a Commercial Building Maintenance Company

1. Hire a commercial maintenance company with a long-standing history of quality. Visit their website and make sure they have testimonials of other happy clients. If necessary ask for references. Take another step and go see with your own eyes how their work has stood the test of time.
2. Prioritize your needs and consider the extent of work to be done. Hire a maintenance company that is experienced in dealing with them.
3. Experience Speaks Volumes. Are they skilled in your field? For example, if your company is industrial, only contract a company with experience in that area to ensure proper maintenance, health-and-safety compliance, and correct disposal of project waste.
4. Are you looking for long-term or short-term contracts? Determine in advance whether you may need a long term contract for the daily upkeep of the building or a short term contract for areas that require less regular attention. You could end up prioritizing your job differently depending on you needs.
5. Ask for a proposal and discuss guarantees or warranty. Your proposal should outline the specific services you can expect, the standards that will be met, and offer you the best price for the quality job you require.

Some Important Services Provided By Commercial Building Maintenance Companies:

General building maintenance, which includes:

• Industrial Coatings
• Sandblasting & Media Blasting
• Carpentry
• Interior and Exterior Painting
• Preventative Maintenance
• Carpet, upholstery and drapery cleaning
• Re-imaging
• Handyman and Carpentry Services
• Pressure washing
• After construction clean-up
• Disaster Restoration & Preparedness Services
• Sign Maintenance
• Safety Stripping
• Waterproofing

Make sure you protect your investment.

Commercial Property Management and Investment in Southern California: How to Make Sense of the Letters

Regulatory agencies and associations that provide requirements and knowledge sharing exist in nearly every industry. Commercial real estate investing and management is no exception. An array of organizations covers the field that provides everything from safety guidelines to business networking. Tenants, landlords, owners, managers, and vendors are all stakeholders in property management and ownership.  These diverse interests need organizations to help set standards to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Let’s review three organizations you will likely encounter so you can make sense of the jumble of letters.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal agency focused on you guessed it, safety:

• Founded 40 years ago to address the severe lack of workplace safety standards. Two years prior to formation, 14,000 workers died each year from workplace accidents. 
• An array of safety concerns including exposure limits to chemicals, requirements on use of protective equipment, process safety, and asbestos exposure. 
• Levies fines against non-compliers who do not remedy incorrect safety situations.

Are you protecting your commercial property investment?

Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) is a nonprofit group that aims to advance all facets of commercial real estate:

• Advocacy –campaigns regionally and nationally to promote interests of the commercial real estate industry, including lower taxes and sensible building codes.
• Events – produces an annual conference that brings together experts in commercial real estate.
• Education – Seminars and other continuing education, every topic from “Mold in Commercial Buildings” and “Property Conditions Assessments.”

Building codes and related safety are covered by the International Code Council (ICC). This membership organization provides the basis for building construction and related safety codes. Main activities of the ICC:

• Green initiatives through its International Energy Conservation Code focusing on the real economic benefits of such policies.
• Of course the ICC has complete code information. Codes are presented annually, and are continually improved through a collaborative process involving proposed changes and review by action committees.
• ICC certifies and trains individuals to become Certified Code Safety Professionals. The organization offers regional certifications, for example for the upcoming CalGreen certification based on the California Green Building Standards Code.

There are of several other national organizations that are of interest to the commercial real estate industry. At the regional and city level, there are even more associations and groups that provide local expertise on the marketplace.

It’s important to consider the agencies and organizations we discussed as partners. Even when pressed to make code changes or to comply with regulations, consider the reasoning behind such regulations which might include improved safety or decreased liability Additionally, organizations such as BOMA are great providers of continuing education tools and offer networking opportunities to connect with fellow investors and numerous facility management professionals.

Lawrence Allen & Associates is a commercial brokerage and property management services’ company located in Huntington Beach, California. The company manages more than 450,000 square feet of commercial space throughout Southern California. It offers brokerage, property maintenance, reporting, and tenant retention services to customers.

Make sure you know how to select the right property management team for your investment.

There is more to real property management than hiring a landscaping crew to occasionally mow the grass or hang up flyers to announce vacancies. Let’s explore the basic tenets of property management, with a focus on commercial and industrial properties. We’ll outline the duties that companies perform and provide guidance for choosing a reputable firm.

Handling the physical maintenance and appearance of the property is a basic service that all firms should provide:

• Experienced property managers know multiple vendors, so repairs won’t be delayed.  For example, if the HVAC system or plumbing in your building breaks down, you will want to make sure experienced technicians fix it.

• Property management firms are familiar with code regulations that pertain to all of the physical aspects of the property. Working with someone “in the know” will prevent you from incurring unnecessary penalties and fines.

• A proactive company is essential for uncovering minor issues before they turn into major problems. Unless someone is responsible for overseeing your property, a tiny hole in the roof could potentially result in devastating water damage.

As with personal relationships, things don’t always work out between tenants and building owners. In this unfortunately event, an eviction is tricky and is best left to the experts:

• Check the law! Similar to statewide building codes, the rules for evicting tenants from commercial properties vary from state to state.

• Act fast! At the first sign of late or partial payments, firms can start working directly with tenants to stop the problem. A pro can readily determine whether the problem is a result of a temporary cash-flow problem or a sign that the associated business is in jeopardy.

• Make a decision! Is this a tenant will likely lease your property for ten years but just ran into some bad luck? If so, giving him some time to catch his financial breath might be the best solution. In such a case, you may consider reworking the lease.

• Attorneys are important. In-house or retained, lawyers should be available to advise you through your property management firm about the best course of action for filing notices and/or judgments.

Maintaining a comprehensive leasing strategy will help set you up for success as a commercial property owner. So carefully consider the following before choosing a property management company:

• Some firms try to arrange leases so they come up for renewal around the same time each year based on their lease-negotiation schedule instead of at your convenience. Ask prospective firms if they use a similar strategy.

• Innovative property management firms will possess strategies for both good and bad business climates.

Does your team have a plan for property owners whose buildings carry several vacancies? Will the property management firm consider micro-leases? Do you want them to do so?

On the other hand, when business is booming, is the property management team more selective—in screening applicants and by asking for premium pricing?

• Audits are an important consideration. Make sure tenants are aware of annual rent increases in advance. No one likes surprises. Most tenants won’t object to rent increases if the property is well-managed and maintained.

Remember the “investment” aspect of commercial property investing. As an investor, you should allocate sufficient capital for proper property management. Quality long-term property management results in satisfied tenants, a more attractive building, and better, ultimately…more cash flow.

Lawrence Allen & Associates is a commercial brokerage and property management services’ company located in Huntington Beach, California. The company manages more than 750,000 square feet of commercial space throughout Southern California. It offers brokerage, property maintenance, reporting, and tenant retention services to customers.

Lawrence Allen & Associates Property Management and Commercial Brokerage

Greetings!

Thank you for visiting our blog! Representing the Southern California-based property management and commercial brokerage company, Lawrence Allen & Associates, we broker deals and manage buildings throughout California.

Larry Kliger is the president of Lawrence Allen & Associates and is responsible for the brokerage elements of the business as well as the growth of the property management division. Through his efforts, he has added 350,000 in square feet of space to the company’s portfolio.

This blog will explore a host of engaging topics for a diverse audience including:

• Commercial property owners and landlords

• Building maintenance companies

• Commercial real estate brokers

What’s more, we will examine specific tactics and broader trends. It might also explore how to use the services of an attorney to handle smooth and efficient evictions, and then offer the latest data on commercial property occupancy rates in California.

Nationally, studies from the National Association of Realtors report room for expansion in the commercial real estate market.  The association conducted a survey of industry experts and gauged attitudes about hundreds of real estate markets. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents in the survey expect third-quarter improvements in industrial real estate.

On behalf of Lawrence Allen & Associates, Larry Kliger will explore the improvements he sees in the Southern California commercial real estate market, especially in the hard-hit Inland Empire. With 27 colleges and universities, a highly educated workforce, and a lower cost of living, the Inland Empire area remains an attractive location for business-growth.

Lawrence Allen & Associates has recently brokered exciting deals in the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley including:

• Redlands Spectrum: a 103,000 sq. foot condo complex in Redlands. Kliger represented both the buyer, Silagi Development, and the seller, Cathay Bank. The complex was a Real Estate Owned (REO) property.

• An18,000 sq. foot industrial building in South El Monte. This was another Cathay Bank-owned property represented by Larry Kliger.

• Leasing of a nearly 34,000 sq. foot warehouse in the City of Industry. Kliger represented the landlord, Currier Road Development, in negotiating a three-year lease of a 17,686 sq. foot portion of a 59,353 sq foot building. Additionally leasing two other units in the building totaling 17,101 s.f. . The building features both  dock-high and ground-level loading doors and two story offices for each unit.

The remainder of 2010 and 2011 will be exciting times for building owners and managers as businesses begin hiring and expanding. Attractive prices and rates will hopefully fuel some added activity throughout the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011.

Check in with us next week when we will share a brief history and projections for the future of the Inland Empire real estate market.

Lawrence Allen & Associates is a commercial brokerage and property management services company located in Huntington Beach, California. The company manages more than 750,000 square feet of commercial space throughout Southern California. We offer full service brokerage as well as property management services to customers.