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Lease administration is a fundamental task for corporate real estate departments. It's extremely time-consuming and requires steadfast attention to detail. While moving quickly and maintaining a high degree of accuracy are usually mutually exclusive, carefully planning lease administration the right way can help you achieve both goals at once. Here are five tips:
Pre-scheduling lease administration tasks might seem like a way to consume time instead of saving it, but the opposite is the case. The more that you can put assets in place before you need them, the less time you will spend scrambling for them or for staffers to help you when a deadline is looming. This is especially important with time-consuming tasks like planning relocations or move outs.
The more that you can standardize your lease administration, the more enhanced it will be. Standardizing your internal processes is relatively simple since they're under your control - it's just a matter of execution.
Standardizing your lease documents can be more challenging. Look at the relationship in size between you and your landlord. If you're a large organization with a small landlord, you will probably be in a strong position to require that your (standardized) documents be used. When your landlord is larger, you may not have that option.
Take what you can get. Even if you can only standardize 30 or 50% of your leases, it will still make administration easier. Bear in mind that when you have the same information in the same place, you're less likely to make a mistake when you look for it.
Busy? Here are even more ways to save time: 5 Awesome Time-Saving Tips for CRE Directors
Whether or not you can standardize your lease documents, writing them so that the business and legal terms are separate makes them easier to work with. The more data that you can move to a "definitions" page, the easier it will be to move through that lease, pull out the information you need, and move on to your next project. If you choose to use this strategy, consider having your leases professionally abstracted as well. This will ensure that you don't lose track of any important data that gets hidden in the legal areas of the document. Lease abstracting will save time by making your leases more accessible for new projects.
Using computer software that is specially designed for lease management will save you more than enough time to make up for the learning curve associated with implementing it. A good corporate real estate management and lease administration program should offer robust critical date management capabilities as well as real estate benchmarking tools that automate the process of reporting on your portfolio's performance. When software handles tasks for you, it doesn't just save time. It also reduces the risk of simple human errors.
Lease administration isn't something that you have to do alone. While software is a virtual third party, having partners in the process can also help you to be more effective. Your corporate real estate brokerage team can't administer your leases for you, but they can serve as a partner for market research. In addition, you can off-load much of the work of handling renewal negotiations or discussions with prospective new landlords to them, saving you time and gaining you the benefit of their expertise.
When time is an issue, reach out to partners who can help make the lease administration process smoother. It is crucial to work smarter, not faster.
Whether you're working smarter, using software or letting a third party help you, lease administration shouldn't have to be a daunting task. Strategic time management can reduce your labor investment and provide rewarding results.
In 2011, the green building industry experienced a fundamental shift. For the first time, LEED-certified retrofits of existing buildings outpaced LEED-certified new projects. While LEED benefits for office buildings have existed for years, the LEED v4 standard that is currently approved and awaiting formal launch, includes customized adaptations for industrial real estate properties including data centers, warehouses and distribution facilities.
Continue ReadingA major challenge for any broker or corporate real estate professional involves commercial real estate utilization - identifying the actual use of individual rooms or spaces. Studies have shown that traditional offices have a utilization rate of 48% due to a variety of factors, including vacations, travel and sick days.
Continue ReadingLease administration is a major challenge for dedicated corporate real estate departments. When you have to take care of your company's corporate real estate and you either don't have a staff or it's part of a larger group of duties, lease administration can quickly become a burden.
Continue ReadingA tenant improvement allowance is a significant expenditure for landlords. Even on smaller spaces, it's not at all uncommon for landlords to cut six or even seven-digit checks. With this in mind, there is a lot that gets said about the value of TI allowances. Unfortunately, much of what gets said isn't true. Here are three myths that come up in the industry and why they aren't true:
Continue ReadingUndoubtedly, a landlord will only enter a lease with a tenant that returns him a profit. With this in mind, wouldn't it help to know how he will meaure his profitability with you as a tenant?
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A company can save thousands of dollars per year by simply making changes in the office they work at everyday. One of the most important aspects of office space planning involves the creation of an energy efficient environment. It's estimated that tenants control 70% of the energy used in an office building. According to the EPA’s ENERGY STAR, the most energy-efficient buildings use 35% less energy.
Reducing energy costs requires the deliberate integration of multiple strategies and systems. Here are 3 office space planning tips that can make your office setting environmentally-friendly and cut costs simultaneously.
Use an automated logic control (ALC) system along with compatible control equipment to operate the HVAC and electrical systems. An ALC system provides greater zone control because it constantly monitors HVAC equipment. It also adjusts lighting levels according to occupant densities and other environmental dynamics.
At the very least, install a programmable thermostat or standalone controller, which allows you to automatically turn off the HVAC system when the space is unoccupied or closed.
Traditionally, office lighting consists of suspended pendants or overhead fluorescent troffers, desk lamps and energy-intensive fluorescent under cabinet fixtures for task lighting needs. Lighting consumes approximately 40% of energy usage for an office setting.
This can have a significant effect on your company’s profitability. For example, if you operate on a 10% profit margin, your company will need to generate $10,000 worth of revenue for every $1,000 increase in energy costs.
Make use of natural daylight with windows and skylights where possible. In addition, there are many excellent technologies that can lower the amount of energy required to light an office space and workstations, including ACL, LEDs and Personal Lighting Systems (PLS).
Since office workers perform most reading and writing on the computer, a PLS makes the most sense. This category of lighting consists of adjustable under-cabinet lighting and high-quality LED desk lights. A PLS connects to a single power module and is controlled by an occupancy sensor.
These office space planning strategies reduce general lighting needs and ensure lights are turned off when not required. They also lower lighting loads without compromising occupant satisfaction and visual acuity.
You can save energy on computers by purchasing laptops. Beside the added benefit of being portable, laptops use 90% less energy than conventional computers. If you use PCs in your business, consider switching to LED monitors. They require less desk space and less energy to operate.Here are more tips for saving energy with office equipment:
Buy smaller monitors. A 14 inch monitor consumes 35% less energy than their 17 inch counterparts.
Purchase Energy Star computers and office equipment because they have mandatory power management features.
Purchase laser-jet printers, which are 10% more energy efficient.
Studies reveal that 30% of office workers leave their computers on at night. During the office space planning, remind workers to turn off computers, printers, copiers, printers and other equipment to save energy and money.
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