Finding a good commercial property landlord is the key to running a successful real estate business. Your landlord will take care of much of the day to day running of the properties and will have to deal with clients. In essence, the landlord is the public face (at least to the tenants) of your company. A bad landlord could also have a damaging effect on your business.
How can you make sure and find a good commercial property landlord? Here are some ways that you can find the best landlord for your properties.
Reputation
First of all, it’s important to see how any potential landlords maintain properties that they currently manage. After all, you (or your landlord) usually checks out tenants before signing any lease and you should do the same to to vet your potential landlord.
When you look at properties that the potential landlord currently manages, look for some tell-tale signs. For example, is the property in a good state of general repair? Is there evidence of shoddy repair work? Are there a lot of lease signs up? Of course, lease signs could be the fact that the economy in on a downturn; however, is it because the building is being poorly managed?
Interview Existing Tenants
Try talking to tenants in the building and you will quickly get an idea if the majority of leaseholders are happy in the property. You can find out if calls are returned quickly, if the landlord is polite, and if repairs seen to promptly. If the landlord looks after current properties well, then it is safe to say that he will look after yours in the same way.
Check Online Reviews
Another source of information on the reputation and standards of service offered by your landlord is to do an online search. Type into Google your landlord’s name, your city, +reviews, +complaints. You will quickly get to see what others are saying about the landlord online. One word of caution, make sure that the reviews are objective and not just a few people holding a grudge.
