When it comes to managing commercial property today, there is a huge difference in the services and skills of the property managers available. Unfortunately many landlords choose property managers based on fee. Given the high value of commercial and retail property, this can be a very bad move and degrade the performance of the property over the long term.

Low fees typically mean poor management processes, lower net income, and higher vacancy factors. You get what you pay for today in management services.

Commercial Real Estate Agents that provide low fee alternatives to attract new management appointments usually do one or more of the following to compensate for the low fee:

Employ inexperienced staff to manage property that deserves better
Employ junior staff to do the job that should be done by more experience people
The agency principal has little if any idea about commercial and retail property management systems
Have not employed specialized people to take on facilities and maintenance issues
Load the property managers with far too many properties and tenants for the job to be done correctly
Do not give true and accurate service at month end, hence providing unchecked or inaccurate income, expenditure, lease, maintenance, and budget reports.
Have accounting and lease management systems that are not optimized for the special property type.
Have little in the way of emergency response systems for maintenance failure out of hours
Have little or no professional plan to optimize lease occupancy and lower the vacancy threat for the landlords that they act for
When it comes to choosing a commercial or retail property manager, the landlord should give due regard to the following:

The experience of the individual property manager with the property type concerned. Meet with the potential property manager to ascertain what experience they have with the property type.

The financial control systems of the property management office in handling income, expenditure, tenant leases, and rental negotiations. There are many computer based systems for this. Importantly the system has to match the needs of the landlord.

The knowledge and experience that the office has of the managed property type will be critical. Does the office have leasing support teams to back up the managements with a dedicated leasing service?

The history of the office and its management staff in providing proactive strategies and solutions to complex lease challenges and vacancy factors should be explored.

Experience in optimising tenant mix matters and choices should not be forgotten. The income of a property has to be protected and set to the plans of the landlord.
Managing commercial property is not an experiment. Landlords deserve the best managers providing the best service; on that basis a fair and reasonable management fee should be paid.

The best time to pick up new managements and landlords is at the time of property purchase. A proactive Commercial Property Agent can do this easily and grow the income opportunity from new managements over time.

When looking for a Home Based Business there are 5 very important questions you must ask.They are:Question #1: What is the product or service being sold?If you cannot clearly identify a specific product or service being offered for sale through the Home Based Business, it may be a Pyramid Scheme or a similar type of Scam.Here’s the reasoning behind it:If there’s no product or service being offered to the public for sale, how can the company promoting the Home Based Business generate a profit? Where’s the money coming from to pay you a commission or a bonus?If they’re not making a profit from sale to the end consumer then they’ve got to generate that income from you and other members like you just recruiting other people who are usually asked to pay some outrageous Application/ Registration Fee, even if they call it by a fancy name.This is nothing more than a Pyramid Scheme and NOT a legitimate Home-Based Business. A popular example is Gifting Programs, there are no Goods or Services being sold, it’s just people exchanging money with other people. Sooner or later somebody is bound to get hurt!Question #2: How stable is the company?Why is this important?Well suppose you found what seemed like a really great company and started building a Home-Based Business with them only to find out 2 to 3 years later that the FTC swooped down on them for illegal practices and shut them down for good?This actually happened with one company I was working with many years ago.People became millionaires with this company in a matter of months. It was the fastest money I’d ever made in Network Marketing up to that time, but within months of joining the company it all came crashing down because of problems with the structure of the company and certain practices that displeased the FTC.I learnt my lesson.In checking out the company you’ll want to find out how long they’ve been in business and where their headquarters is located. You’ll want to ask about any other Companies they’re affiliated with, like their Parent Company, Sister Companies or Subsidiaries if there are any.There’s an old adage that goes; “Show me your friends and I’ll show you who you are.”That applies here.You can tell something about a company by the company it keeps (pun intended).In looking at how long a Company’s been in business be careful not to throw away the good with the bad, for instance, a particular program might be brand new but the Parent Company backing that program might have been in business for many years, giving it the stability you’re looking for. Look deep and don’t be afraid to check behind the curtains.Question #3: What is the quality of the company’s leadership?Dr John C. Maxwell, international Speaker, Motivator and Best-selling Author says, “Everything rises or falls on leadership.”It has been my experience that a Company usually takes on the characteristics of its leader(s) so, if you want to know what kind of business you’re about to join, look at the leadership.Practically speaking, you’ll also want to check out the business acumen of the person or people in charge because they’re the ones making the decisions that’ll impact the future of the Company – Your Company.Question #4: How good is the compensation plan?I think The O’Jays said it best; Money, money, money, money… monney!!!You’re going in business to make money not to look good in a business suit.And if you have a real Home-Based Business then you won’t be wearing a business suit in the first place, Right?There are so many different types of Compensation Plans; from the sublime to the laughable. There are 2-Ups, 1-Ups, Binaries, Unilevels, 5×7 Expanding Matrices. There are Spillovers, Powerlines, Breakaways and on, and on, and on.Here’s what to focus on:How much is being paid out in commissions?Too little and it’s not worth your time, too much and the company might not retain enough profit to sustain its continued growth and expansion.The experts say about 65% being paid out in commissions is the acceptable norm.Understand the difference between Bonuses and Commissions.Commissions usually form part of your ongoing residual income. Bonuses are usually temporary financial increases, paid on a specific action, performance or fulfilled quota and as such; do not form part of your regular ongoing income. Focus on good commissions as opposed to bonuses!Look for passive, residual income.This is the kind of income wise people seek after. It’s the type of income you keep getting long after you’ve stop working. An author writes a book once and keeps getting royalties from sales years after she stops writing.The Harry Potter Series made J. K. Rowling a billionaire and now here comes Stephanie Meyer and the Twilight Series – Go sisters, go!With a Home based Business the same thing is possible.You can do the work once and keep getting paid forever once you’ve selected a stable Company with good Leadership and the right Compensation Plan with an easily Duplicatable System.Question #5: Is it easily duplicatable?Even if you’ve got everything else going for you that’s mentioned above, if the system CANNOT be easily duplicated it’s not going to work.Your attempt at building a successful Home-Based Business will fail and here’s the reason why:J. Paul Getty said, “I would rather earn 1% of the efforts of 100 people than earn 100% of my own efforts.”This is the axiom upon which Network Marketing, MLM’s and Affiliate Programs are built. Zig Ziglar said it this way, “If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.”Either way you look at it, it’s going to take a team. Teamwork makes the dream work. So, if the system you’re looking at cannot be easily duplicated by the average person who wants to start a Home-based Business how are you going to ever build a successful team?There are over 475,000 people worldwide starting a Home-Based Business every week, 175,000 here in the USA alone. Most of them don’t know how to build a Home Based Business so if your system isn’t user friendly then, most likely, they’ll find another one that is.Keep these tips in mind:We live in the age of Video; this is the YouTube Generation so, if your program makes use of video to help sell the product or explain the benefits that’s a plus.People have become very wary of ‘meetings’; that’s like a four-letter word to most so, if your business presentations can be done online that’s a plus.We also live in the Digital Age; Digital Products are the fastest selling commodity on the Internet right now. If your business is involved with the sale or distribution of Digital Information Products that’s a plus because they’re instantly delivered and can cut overhead expenses by as much as 80% for the Company thus increasing the Profit Margin.This simply means… More money for everyone!There you have it; my 5 top questions you should ask before joining any Home-Based Business.