In working as a commercial property manager or retail centre manager, you will frequently need to choose contractors to assist you with the maintenance management of managed property or new property to the portfolio.
When you select the correct contractors, the task of property management becomes more effective and much easier. Well-chosen maintenance contractors can become your extra set eyes and ears in the property and will help to report things of an unusual nature that you may not see.
Have a Few Contractors to Call On
It is wise to have a group of two or three contractors in each maintenance discipline. This then spreads the workload when times are busy or when some contractors cannot respond in the timeframe required. Here are some tips in handling the decisions of contractor selection and placement in your management portfolio.
- The main maintenance disciplines that are commonly required in a commercial or retail property management portfolio are electrical, plumbing, cleaning, gardening, lifts, security, and air conditioning. As mentioned, it is wise to have two or three contractors in each of these disciplines.
- The trades people selected should understand and show experience with the plant and equipment to be managed. Do not select trades people or contractors based solely on cost; many a property manager has found that such short cut or cheap decision backfires when you need quality and timely response. Cheap contractors and cheap parts produce poor outcomes and invariably you spend more time in repair rectification. Repair the breakdown effectively the first time; the tenants will appreciate the efficiency.
- Choose your contractors based on their ability to respond in a timely and efficient way. When you have breakdown issues in the maintenance of a commercial or retail property, you need contractors on the spot within 2 or 3 hours. You will then require them to report back to you on the status of the problem together with an estimate on the time and cost of repair. Landlord approval may be required for the repair to continue.
- In matters of an urgent nature, establish an understanding with the selected maintenance contractors to ensure that they respond immediately. They should also agree to take remedial steps to mitigate the loss or damage, and implement safety measures to protect members of the public and tenants within the property. It pays to discuss urgent property repair strategies with the building insurer so that your claims and loss mitigation processes comply with their insurance and risk processes and expectations.
- Every maintenance contractor should have the necessary safety licenses and authorities to act within their trade qualification. Each year this information should be updated and supplied to you as part of the risk management procedure and controls within the property.
- Your property management office should have an established accounts approval and payments system incorporating order numbers relative to the maintenance events. When the invoices are sent by the contractor to your office, they will make reference to the approved and issued order numbers for each issue of repair.
- The various landlords that own the properties you manage will set levels of authority and methods of communication for maintenance problems. Some landlords will only allow you to spend up to previously agreed limits. Understand the methods of response and maintenance approvals for each landlord that you act for.
Get to know the properties that you manage and the landlords that you act for. Set the maintenance response rules for each and every property within the management portfolio. In this way you can prevent ordinary or urgent problems getting out of control. The maintenance contractors you choose will help you here.