Darin Garman, CCIM - Top 3 Commercial Real Estate Investors Time Management Strategies

One of the questions I get asked a lot from clients is how do I manage multiple real estate deals projects all at once? "How to Succeed in Commercial Real Estate?" Here are some specific strategies for you to consider:

a) Who to spend time with?

You need to consider spending BUSINESS TIME on only those who are going to contribute to your bottom line and goal achievement. All else needs to get put into the "we'll get back to you" pile. It is easy to get locked up with people that do nothing but take up your time. Don't do it.
I constantly have people wanting to meet with me, talk with me, etc. that don't contribute to the achievement of my goals they get put on the bottom of the pile and sometimes I never get back to them.

b) Keeping away from time vampires.

Time vampires are those that call you, come into your office, and tell you the "whole story" constantly. You need to politely tell these people "adios". You ever notice that you have those days where you have a lot of activity and by the end of the day you really have not gotten anything done? Time vampires are the main reason why.

c) Having a clear objective in the first place.

What are your goals, your objectives?? Where do you want to end up? How do you plan on getting there? Without a plan you will be spinning your wheels and the cash flow and value of your will suffer because of it.

So, there you go. We did not reinvent anything today, but it is surprising how the use of your time is tied to your income and the results you want.

From Darin Garman, CCIM:

If you have not taken advantage of my special limited time 2 month complimentary "test drive" of the Commercial Investment Property Owners Association, here is another opportunity to see what you have been missing...

How to Succeed in Commercial Real Estate

Real Estate Property Management: Is There a Tenant in the House

You?re about to take the plunge and buy your first investment property. Should you buy something that you can live in, something you can develop and sell on, or should you buy a designated rental property? If you are going to choose the last option then you need to do your homework first. There are different types of tenancies and every one of them should be handled differently. If you do decide to opt for rental property investment then check out the property investment forum at http://www.singingpig.co.uk/articles.aspx#propertyInvestment
to find out more. It may be more complicated than you think. So before you make your final bid, or put your money on the table, you should ask where there is a tenant in the house.

Some properties that are sold at auction already have sitting tenants. Real estate property management is not for the beginner. To begin with you would need a substantial sum of money behind you if you have set your mind on rental property investment. Then, if you still think you are up for real estate property management you need to do your homework. The property investment forum will give you some insight on what you need to know. For a start rental property investment is not the same as other investments, real estate property management can be a big headache for the uninitiated. The market changes from day to day so what works for one person at a certain point may not work for you at another. You should make sure that your finances are such that they can support you through a period when property market prices go down rather than up.

So you take the plunge and you?re now in the business of real estate property management. You need to make sure that you?ve done your cash flow forecasts because you have to have sufficient funds for property maintenance. Landlords who don?t carry out proper maintenance not only upset their tenants, they could fall foul of the law and find themselves in a worse financial position. Rental property investment may be a good proposition if the place is empty when you buy it because sitting tenants may have a regulated tenancy which means that you could find yourself getting less than the market rental rate. This where the property investment forum can be really helpful because it gives a breakdown of the different types of tenancies.

Sometimes people are anxious to make money in property development but are not fully prepared for all the hard work that needs doing or the problems they may encounter. You shouldn?t be too quick to give up the day job. As this article has already pointed out the property investment market is not static and unless you have some money to fall back on you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. When it comes to rental property, as contributors to the property investment forum point out, if the property has sitting tenants then you will not make the money you might have anticipated. You may see tenants as your bread and butter but sometimes they are more of an expense than an investment.

Julie-Ann Amos is an international professional freelance writer/author and consultant, writing for www.singingpig.co.uk. She recommends their property investment forum at http://www.singingpig.co.uk/articles.aspx#propertyInvestment. For more information on her writing services visit www.exquisitewriting.com

Asset Management As A Tool In Beating The Odds

Asset Management seems like some arcane science practiced by brilliant experts at first glance. Although the expertise of most money managers may be outstanding, the techniques of asset management are available to any investor. The whole idea behind asset management is to create some kind of stability in an investment portfolio that can protect the investor, to a certain degree, from market volatility. Market volatility is only a problem because, try as we may, we humans cannot predict the future. Any investment software or tracking method can only offer approximations of what the market might do in the future.

One of the key concepts of asset management is diversification. Diversification between types of investments, such as stocks and bonds, as well as diversification across a number of industries and countries can offer a buffer against volatility in any one investment, industry or country.

For the individual investor, this aspect of asset management can cause some confusion. The first question that comes to mind is; How much diversification is enough to offer protection against volatility? There is no easy answer to that question. The individual investor realizes that they don't have billions of dollars to work with like the mutual funds do. As a result, the investor has to limit their purchases.

The best approach is to educate yourself about the risks and rewards of each investment and sector. The next step is to select a basket of investments that are best suited to your risk tolerance as well as your investment goals. Also realize that as your portfolio grows, you can diversify more. Remember that the aim is to select good quality investments, but also to protect your capital as well.

Diversification within a sector can also offer protection against volatility. For example, in the consumer sector, investing in a supermarket chain that sells to basic consumer needs could be complimented by investment in a more diversified, higher end supermarket chain that situates itself in upscale neighborhoods. In this case, one would expect the high-end company to have higher profits, but in an economic slowdown, the basic supermarket chain might see less of a contraction. If possible, viewing data about how one performed in comparison to the other during past economic contractions may give a hint of future possibilities.

The speculative view of investing, whereby an individual hopes to make a large amount of money quickly, tends to be at odds with the diversification model of investing and asset management. There are two reasons for this; the first is that speculative investing is high risk, where as the diversified approach tries to limit risk and secondly, the concept of asset management aims at protecting capital, thereby ensuring survival and long term profits. One of the predictable outcomes for many speculative investors is to run out of capital and be forced out of the market.

There are three components to a realistic goal in investing; the first is a accurate idea of what can be earned through a particular kind of investment; the second is to know what you want to earn through investing; and the third is to decide when you will abandon an investment that is falling in value. All three of these issues call for some study and thought. It's easy to make an unrealistic judgment in this area. Once again this is where careful asset management can help you. If you are diversified, a mistake on a single investment won't be as devastating as it would be where there is only one investment.

The whole idea behind asset management is to give the investor the best possible chance of survival, which in turn will offer the best odds of ultimately succeeding in achieving their investment goals. Nobody can predict what the markets will actually do, but if you have a system that will protect your capital and keep you in the game longer, your odds of winning will improve.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Asset Management

Asset Management Software Methodology

The term asset management usually refers to the management of an investment portfolio. However for a business, assets may include real estate, plant and machinery, vehicles, furniture, computer hardware and software besides financial assets. Human resources are also a form of assets for a company. Companies depend on all these assets as being key drivers of the business; however, they often do not have a comprehensive asset management system in place to optimize their utilization.

Companies are now increasingly recognizing the need to manage assets from a strategic perspective across the entire organization, rather than solely from a purchase or maintenance point of view. From the shop floor to the executive suite, the responsibility of maximizing the value of assets is a responsibility that extends to all.

Asset management software is a software application that helps a company optimize the purchase, maintenance and utilization of assets that are critical to business and financial performance, throughout their life cycle. This is an important source of cost savings for company and also provides productivity enhancement and regulatory compliance.

Asset management methodology has four inherent characteristics. These include asset management strategy, practice, project management and benefit realization. Asset management software methodology is the delivery framework related to asset management software that incorporates these four characteristics and brings together deliverable components that are priority-based, gradual, and progressive.

Asset management software applications generally follow a modular and scalable methodology that allows the application to be customized to the meet the differing needs of individual companies. Depending on their scale of operations and assets involved, a customer company can choose which modules will be best suited to meet its requirements in the implementation of an asset management solution.

The software methodology followed by good asset management solutions begin by defining the revenue streams, connecting the assets to the revenue streams and helping in realizing improved asset utilization leading to enhanced productivity and reduction in costs.

Asset Management SoftwareFree Project Management Software

Rental Property Management - Ten Questions

Why hire rental property management? Because doing it all yourself is the surest way to make your real estate investment experience a bitter one. You also have more time to find the next deal when there is someone taking care of the details for you. Hire a good property manager, but first ask the following questions.

1. How much is the fee? Fees vary around the country from as low as 4% of gross rents for larger buildings, to as high as 12% for single family homes. Be sure the fee is clearly stated and understood.

2. What other properties do they manage? It is best if they handle rental properties that are similar to yours. It is also helpful to drive by their other properties to see how they are maintained.

3. Who will actually handle your property? It is best if one person handles your building all the time. They should also have some experience. Get their name.

4. What costs extra? Is it extra for showings? Do evictions cost extra (beyond the legal fees)? Any other extras?

5. How is the fee collected and when? Will you be billed, or will it be deducted from your account directly? Monthly? Quarterly?

6. What type of advertising? How do they advertise the units and what does it typically cost you?

7. Cost and time to prepare units? What is the typical cleaning fee on a vacancy, and how long will it normally be before it's rented out again?

8. What needs owner approval? What dollar amount needs your authorization, and is this negotiable?

9. Hours of operation? What are their business hours, and who takes weekend calls?

10. Accounting? What reports do they send? How often? How are accounts set up?

There are probably other questions you'll have as well, based on your particular needs and the particular property. Ask everything up front, and you'll have fewer misunderstandings. With good rental property management, real estate investing is a lot less stressful.

Steve Gillman has invested real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Property Management Spain

Property Management Spain

Would you hand over the keys to your house to a stranger in the street? I am guessing the answer would be no - unless you have a property in Spain of course!

100's of owners of Spanish property hand over the keys to their holiday homes to property management companies and letting agents on a regular basis. Many of these owners have been met at their own property by any of the increasing number of expats operating this type of service from home illegally.

Property owners can be sucked in by pretty websites or adverts in local papers, by people offering them all types of services - cleaning, management, maintenance, rentals - generally at a cheaper rate than legal companies offering the same services. Owners then presume that they are getting better value for money (ie a cheap service) and hand keys to these individuals along with the consequent risks.

Citrus Iberia Property Management has been operating since 2002, at which time there were very few companies offering these services to Spanish property owners. In the last two years, the market has become swamped with individuals designing websites and running local ads offering the same services - the difference is that a high percentage are not legal.

For owners of Spanish property who need someone on hand to take care of things in their absence, or require a rental and changeover service, it is advisable to contact several management 'companies' in the area in which your property is located. Many (including Citrus Iberia), will offer to meet you at your property when you are next in Spain. This is necessary as the company needs to see the property to give a quote on services and required, and to judge what income may be generated from rentals. However, at this stage do not part with money or keys. Insist on a follow up visit to the offices of the company, or perhaps visit their offices before they visit your property. Contract can be signed, keys handed over, and any monies paid once you are safe in the knowledge that you are dealing with people who are not going to disappear overnight.

Instead of wasting your holiday time, check out these services before you leave. Searching the internet for property management services in Spain, can reveal a vast number of results. Make enquiries to various websites offering the type of services you are interested in, ask if you can meet them at their offices when you are next in Spain.

I have already done this research myself - a staggering 85% of replies were from people happy to meet me at the property, but unwilling to let me have an office location! Try it yourself - many will insist on meeting you at the property - or even a local bar! Others will not reply when you become insistent, which I take to mean that they have no office.

You wouldn't dream of handing over your house keys to a stranger in your home country, so why do it in Spain?

I have worked in the holiday rentals business for the past 6 years and now run Spanish Villas Spain, part of Citrus Iberia (CB) a British Estate Agents, Property Management, holiday & long term rentals Company on the Costa Blanca.