Page 234 - Trump University Commercial Real Estate 101
P. 234
TRUMP UNIVERSITY COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE 101
you ’ ll have independent validation of how much revenue is
coming in, and when.
Fill your property with good tenants. Your manager must give
you a written marketing plan that shows what they plan on doing
to get traffic into your property. They should have proven closers
on site who have the ability to convert applications into leases.
Also notice that I say “ good tenants. ” Any idiot can fill a property
by low - balling rents and banging up a sign that reads Free Beer .
I trust that this is not your target market.
Keep your property full. Tenant turnover will be your biggest
expense. Your manager must keep good tenants as long as possi-
ble by treating them like the gold they are. This will happen
when the property is well - maintained, rents are a good value for
the amenities, and tenants are treated with courtesy and respect.
Your manager should give you a detailed tenant retention plan
that identifies monthly activities focused on keeping tenants
happy and in the property.
Effectively handle tenant problems. A tenant may violate a
clause in the lease, or not pay all the rent on time. Your manager
should work from a set of written policies on how all these cir-
cumstances will be handled. Many of them can be handled with-
out any involvement on your part. Sometimes the manager should
escalate the issue and at least make you aware of it. If the police
are called to a property repeatedly, you want to know that — after
the management company has handled the immediate situation.
Oversee repairs and maintenance. Your manager must ensure
that tenant work orders are being done in a timely manner. As
you now know, lack of response on tenant work orders is the
number one reason that good tenants leave. A maintenance log
will show what repairs were done when.
Even on the first day that you own the property, you will have
a pretty good idea of the correct pace of repairs and improve-
ments to the property, based on your budget and marketing plan.
214
10/14/08 11:28:26 AM
c11.indd 214 10/14/08 11:28:26 AM
c11.indd 214