Best Practices for Management of Commercial Condominiums

How to Effectively Manage A Commercial Condo Association (and Increase Property Value)

Best Practices for Management of Commercial Condominiums

Key Points

  • A commercial condominium Association is responsible for the financial, administrative and physical management of a commercial property.
  • Commercial property management is focused on developing professional curb appeal and ensuring adequate building functionality to increase property value.
  • Commercial property managers alleviate the burden of property management tasks from building tenants, so you can focus on your business instead of the building’s maintenance.

This guide will describe what commercial management encompasses, including the three most important parts of commercial property management. We’ll also explain how property management services can help with your commercial condo so you and your fellow tenants don’t have to worry about day-to-day maintenance, but can work with a trusted professional to take care of those tasks.

What is a Commercial Condominium Association? 

If you work in a commercial building, chances are your office is part of a Commercial Condominium Association. The offices are typically owned by business tenants. That means, instead of families or residents living in the building, each suite or unit is an operating business. Whether they use the facilities for internal office work, medical offices, or even retail stores, the main consideration of a commercial condominium building is that the individual tenants work to generate income from their space.

In a commercial building Association, although an individual business operates from their own unit, as with a residential neighborhood or condominium Association, there are shared spaces that require regular maintenance, ideally according to best practices.

As a member of the condo building, your business is required to pay a monthly fee that goes towards these regular maintenance costs. Typically, individuals from each unit serve as a representative to participate in the buildings’ commercial condominium Association and help make decisions about the upkeep and management of the property. This group acts as a governing board of the property and inasmuch is known as the commercial condominium Association.

Understanding the Basics: Commercial Condo Association Property Management  

Condominium Associations are responsible for regular upkeep of the building as well as future planning. This includes caring for the building exterior, including parking lots, rooftops, and landscaping, and interior spaces such as hallways, elevators. It also includes topics like adherence to local coding requirements and state regulations, timely payment of taxes and electricity, and other general property management topics (below is a more detailed list.)

Maintaining all of these facets of day-to-day and long term operations for your commercial condominium building while also trying to run your business is no easy task. Just the building maintenance alone requires manpower and hours of effort on a daily basis from a variety of vendors or in-house team members. Perhaps the biggest benefit of working with a management company is that a commercial property manager is there to relieve the burden of property management work from the unit owners.

Typical Commercial Condo Management Topics

This list illustrates some of the most common commercial condominium management practices:

  • Budget Preparation
  • Curb Appeal
    • landscaping
    • parking
    • exterior maintenance
  • Facilities Management
  • Insurance
  • Maintenance and Repair
  • Mechanics/ Building Systems
    • electricity
    • elevators
    • energy
    • escalators
    • HVAC
    • plumbing
  • Vendor Management

Common Types of Businesses Operating in Commercial Condominiums

Although this list is not exhaustive, it can give you a good idea of businesses that commonly operate in commercial condominium buildings.

  • Medical Offices
      • Cosmetic Surgery Offices
      • Dermatologists
      • Mental Health Services
      • Specialized Clinics
      • Dialysis Clinics
  • Real Estate
      • Builders
      • Brokers
      • Investors
      • Property Analysts
      • Property Appraisers
      • Property Developers
      • Real Estate Agents
  • Law Firms 
    • Litigation
    • Defense Attorneys

In order to effectively manage and run your commercial condominium Association it is a good idea to work with a professional property management team. They’ll have experience in common property management practices and know how to get the work done the right way. Plus, by working together with a property manager, you can focus on your business instead of juggling your personal business AND maintaining the building.

Commercial Condo Building Management in Three Parts

Property management services typically encompass the big three: physical, financial, and administrative management. And, if you’re working with an experienced property management team, you’ll also get support in strategic planning so you can bring your property visions to life!

Physical Management

Proper physical management of your commercial building will facilitate increased real estate property value. Thus, this area of management is focused on developing curb-appeal and ensuring functionality of the property. Physical management includes everything from actual maintenance of machinery like HVAC systems or escalators, to pressure washing and painting exterior walls and roofs, to elegant landscaping. With physical property management support, owners and tenants of the building have a better work experience.

Financial Management 

While one of the primary objectives of a commercial property manager centers around ensuring that the overall structure and common areas of the building are well kept and looking their best. They’ll also be taking a proactive approach to keeping a balanced budget and maintaining healthy financials for the Association. This means property accounting, financial reporting, rent and CAM collection, vendor price negotiations, and preparing annual budgets.

Administrative Management

Your commercial property manager will work with the building’s Board Of Directors to ensure the building operations run smoothly. Since many commercial condos host businesses, the property manager’s goal is to make sure the investor’s assets are managed correctly This means setting a goal of safeguarding your investment, increasing property value, and providing a positive ROI. Topics like monitoring maintenance schedules and upkeep, organizing annual meetings, serving to support tenant needs, and ensuring building compliance and state code regulations are met.

Taking care of all of these aspects of commercial property management can be challenging for an inexperienced tenet or group of tenants attempting to take on the entire management burden alone. To alleviate this burden, it is a good idea to work with an experienced management team.

Working with a Commercial Property Manager Company to Simplify for your Commercial Condominium Association  

Don’t spend countless hours reinventing the property management wheel while you could be growing and expanding your own business. By partnering with a local property management company, you can trust that they’ll bring expertise and experience to the condominium management process so you can focus on your own work.

Not sure what the scope of your commercial condominium property management might be? Call us today, we’ll help you assess your building’s needs and determine how a commercial property manager can help you.

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