Managing a multi-family asset is no walk in the park. Successful multi-family commercial property management involves many moving pieces. Included among them are tenant satisfaction, rent collection, proactive maintenance, and financial reporting. In this article, an Atlanta property management company gives three tips for multi-family asset and apartment building owners to reduce stress and increase profitability.
1. Utilize Modern Technology to Streamline Operations
Commercial property management technology is the best way to simplify workflow, keep your team organized, and boost operational efficiency. An online tenant portal is one example of project management technology that we’ve found to be particularly successful. This portal makes rent collection faster and easier. In addition, it helps your team keep track of payments and ensures that all transactions are secure.
2. Focus on Communication
Tenants value Atlanta commercial real estate property managers who know how to communicate—whether it’s a community announcement or an update regarding a maintenance request. Communication is key to building trust and fostering a positive professional relationship between tenants and property managers. Stronger communication involves creating reliable, accessible communication channels. These include monthly community newsletters and/or online portals for rent collection, maintenance requests, and community announcements.
Taking the time to forge reliable communication channels with your tenants may be time consuming. Still, it does wonders to strengthen tenant retention rates. According to Apartments.com, turnover for one unit typically costs between $1,000 – $5,000, and those numbers go up if your unit stays vacant for an extended amount of time.
3. Prioritize Maintenance and Upkeep
Speaking of maintenance, it should always be top-of-mind. In our experience as experts of Atlanta commercial real estate, it’s a must to have a dependable and skilled on-site team and/or a network of trusted local contractors to rely on. That way, you will be able to not only quickly respond to and take care of maintenance requests, but you’ll also be able to conduct proactive maintenance measures to mitigate liabilities. Moreover, we strongly recommend developing a regular inspection and maintenance schedule to avoid costly repairs in the future.
One key thing to remember with Atlanta property management is to ensure that the system you utilize to receive and prioritize maintenance requests from tenants is reliable and accessible. The best system we’ve found to achieve this is an online portal. Maintenance requests that are addressed efficiently and effectively do wonders to up tenant satisfaction and keep the property in good working order.
When it comes to upkeep, make sure to speak with your commercial property management team to devise a budget for all maintenance requests as well as long-term property improvements. Investing in these improvements will increase tenant satisfaction, reduce tenant turnover, and enhance property value.
Atlanta’s Experts in Commercial Property Management
Holistic asset management from an experienced team is vital for the success of multi-family properties. From utilizing project management technology to bolstering communication channels and prioritizing maintenance and upkeep, there are many factors to consider. By partnering with our Atlanta commercial property management team at Julius Webb, Inc. Real Estate Services, property owners can enhance profitability, attract (and retain!) tenants, and ensure long-term success in their real estate investment.