Commercial property management is a tough business that requires a great deal of expertise, thick skin, and no shortage of hard work. Whether you’re a business tenant with one or more offices or retail spaces or a leasing agent looking to find a good match for your client, you’ll be dealing with property managers as a reality of your work.

With over 30 years of experience in the industry, we at Leasing and Property Management. have dealt with more than our fair share of commercial property managers. The best ones, we have found, tend to have the following five qualities, in addition to the qualifications and credentials required of the role:

  • Empathy: Property management is as much about people as it is about property. Your tenants, the leasing agents, maintenance crews, city officials: they are all human beings. If you can listen to their concerns while seeing their point of view, you will be more able to come up with solutions that create a win-win for everyone involved.
  • Honesty: In these challenging times, it can be difficult to know who to trust, but if you can conduct yourself with the highest of transparency and integrity, you will quickly gain the trust of your tenants, partners, and other stakeholders.
  • Organization: One of the most common “misses” we have observed in property management is simply a lack of organization. Whether it’s not responding to service requests in a timely fashion or something as simple as being late for meetings and calls, being disorganized reflects poorly on your reputation and job performance. An organized property manager is widely respected by others in the industry and can get more done.
  • Communication: Commercial property management is not known for vibrant communication and engagement. Most commercial tenants, for example, will only contact the property manager or landlord if there is a problem. This can lead many property managers to conclude that they don’t need to communicate with their tenants. However, checking in every so often to see how things are going is not only greatly appreciated, but can lead to longer leases and even help catch potential maintenance issues before they become large and expensive.
  • Experience: Finally, the most successful property managers have many years of experience and engagement with very facet of the field. They are not only certified and hold diplomas in real estate, project management, and other subjects, but they have dealt with a wide array of people, properties, and situations over time that provide them with a large toolbox of solutions.

Elizabeth Whitton, the founder and principal consultant of Leasing and Property Management,  has over 30 years’ worth of experience, she can help you deal with almost any commercial property management issue, and will do in a way that creates a “win-win” for everyone.