CREJ - Property Management Quarterly - April 2017

Why do we need brokers?

Our ultimate job as property managers is to take care of the building tenants and make sure they are happy in their space. Daily contact ensures we are serving to the best of our abilities and understanding of the tenants’ needs. Our end goal is to make our service the best so tenants renew their lease and feel at home.

With all the interaction with property management, why are brokers important? The answer is revenue. Brokers create R-E-V-E-N-U-E.

Property management creates the aesthetic value to our tenants but does not create revenue. Yes, if the property management team does its job, the hope is that the tenant will want to renew, but the negotiations that the brokers perform is what creates the revenue for the property.

Brokers can be great assets to property managers, and both parties can help the other succeed. Working side by side will ensure that the brokers have the correct information about the tenant, which will enable the broker to understand the issues or concerns and to transact a mutually satisfying lease.

Communication between the property management team and the brokers is key. Always work with your brokers and ask them to provide feedback. Brokers can offer insight about how your market-ready spaces look, what amenities a potential tenant is looking for and what new trends you should be focusing on. You should ask the brokers what a potential tenant said about your building after touring it. Any information brokers can provide will help you meet potential tenants’ needs and help the brokers sign these new tenants into your building and not the competition’s.

Remember your building needs to be immaculate, the bowels should look as good as the lobby. The tenants may not see these details, but it is a best practice for all managers to remember.

Often the brokers are not around on a daily basis to understand the complete story from your existing tenant. Instead, it seems like they show up about a year out from lease renewal. A good property manager should always be supplying information about the tenants to the brokers, regardless of whether the tenant’s lease is expiring. Leasing calls should be held a couple times a month to discuss issues and concerns from all the tenants in the building.

The property manager always should be involved in the lease negotiations to ensure that anything that is promised can be made possible. In order to accomplish this, property managers and brokers need to work as a team, whether they are coworkers or not. There needs to be respect and trust.

The importance of working together will benefit all parties involved. Better communication will lead to better deals, and better service will lead to greater satisfaction. Existing tenant satisfaction is key for the property manager. Always go above and beyond with your service to tenants, not only at lease-expiration time.

Both sides, property management and commercial real estate brokers, have their respective responsibilities when it comes to leasing and tenant retention. Both should work hand in hand to result in better compensation and future relationships.