Common Commercial Property Preservation Mistakes
When it comes to preserving and managing commercial properties, there’s a lot of room for error — especially when it comes to REO properties. Whether you’re a multi-property real estate investor or a single-property owner, understanding property preservation mistakes is key to ensuring that you can prevent them. Here are some common commercial property preservation mistakes that you may see, and here’s how to avoid them.
Property Preservation Mistake #1: Not staying in compliance.
When managing REO properties, there are many things that must be considered when it comes to rules and regulations. By not staying in complete compliance, you can face some hefty fines and even risk losing your property. As a REO property, the property you’re preserving is going to have rules that it needs to follow — whether it’s a certain code required by the owning bank or it’s HOA requirements in the area. If you don’t stay in compliance, you can find yourself quickly in the hole.
Property Preservation Mistake #2: Not focusing on tenant retention.
REO properties — whether commercial or residential — are often going to be rented out, especially if you’re investing in property preservation. However, thinking short-term when it comes to tenants may not reflect well on your property. Instead of focusing heavily on short leases, ensure that your property is being well-preserved and well-managed enough to retain longer leases and great tenant relationships.
Property Preservation Mistake #3: Not covering your bases.
Here’s the thing: property preservation is a great investment — when you’re ensuring that your property preservation services make sense for your actual property. Whether you’re just looking for seasonal maintenance or you need to board up windows, everything matters. Here are some common areas you need to consider in choosing the right property preservation provider:
- Re-keying and securitization
- Boarding to prevent vandalism or other risks to the property
- Complete or partial board-ups as requested by client or as required by local authorities
- Eviction lockouts
- Personal property and debris removal with complete documentation and photographs
- Preparation for sale or conveyance
- Initial janitorial and landscape services including clean-up, mow and trim
- Winterization/de-winterization and snow removal as required
- Initial pool servicing or securing
- Safety repairs, and ongoing, client specific maintenance
- Vacant property registration
- Relocation assistance program for previous owner
At VRM Mortgage Services, we partner with top-notch, compliance-first vendors to provide property preservation services for REO and commercial properties across the country. Contact us today, and we can start discussing how we can help to preserve your property.
