CREJ

Page 2 — Property Management Quarterly — April 2019 www.crej.com Letter from the Editor T he balancing act of attracting tenants and hitting financial goals for owners is nuanced and requires managing a mul- titude of different relation- ships in market conditions outside one’s control. At the Colorado Real Estate Journal property management conference, brokers discussed cur- rent tenant pools and shared insights into what they expect from a broker- manager relationship. For industrial, this year will see most of the absorp- tion driven by small to medium-sized tenants. While some developers are anticipating construction head- aches due to the Interstate 70 proj- ect and may be looking to Interstate 25 for other options; expensive lease rates along I-25 are expected to keep many of the northeast industrial ten- ants in their current locations. For office, while Denver continues to woo tech tenants, there’s also rumblings that our desirability is decreasing because of the limited available space for larger compa- nies to move into today. Meanwhile, coworking companies are impact- ing property managers as design expectations are shifting. The design threshold, coupled with rising con- struction costs, is exerting pressure on property managers of older assets. The cover story dives into why costs continue to climb, while articles on Pages 11-13 share creative ways to provide building upgrades to attract future tenants and investors. Helping to attract future tenants and investors is an important part of a property manager’s role.While mar- ket conditions often are out of a prop- erty manager’s control, there are ways property managers can play a role. Property managers are expected to be the boots on the ground for an asset, so strong communication is the most important thing a property manager brings to the relationship. Also, as operating expenses continue to be a thorn in the side for many potential tenants (rising taxes are causing prospects to look outside of their ideal locations for a price break), brokers plead for managers to not pad these numbers. When preparing an asset to sell, a property manager’s role during due diligence is critical, Laura Cain writes on Page 8. According to the confer- ence panelists, the most important aspect of a property manager’s role when it comes to selling an asset is to be organized. Common area mainte- nance reconciliation questions always come up, as do tenant payment histo- ry questions, so a manager’s availabil- ity to disclose this type of information during the tour makes the whole pro- cess more fluid. Additionally, prior to a tour, the manager should understand the story the investment broker is try- ing to craft, ask questions and not be afraid to correct the broker to make sure everyone is on the same page before the process begins. Michelle Z. Askeland maskeland@crej.com 303-623-1148, Ext. 104 Honing broker relationships Contents Avoid subordination agreement misunderstandings Steven S. Sessions and Amanda H. Halstead Part 3: The promise (and peril) of digital signage Sarah Mercer and Tai Palacio Managers’ critical role in the due diligence process Laura Cain Managers shape the next generation of leadership Heather Sutton Opinion: Why I’m voting no on Initiative 300 Dorit Makovsky Fischer How to bring roof decks to existing buildings Mark McPherson Rebranding with color and creativity to add value Jim Diaz Future proof assets for electronic vehicle adoption Angie Fyfe Refrigerant reporting rules shift onus to owners Danny Sprague Pass or fail: Does your roof meet the standard? Brian D. Beatty and Drew Houser Proactive maintenance key to roof’s longevity JasonWood Building analytics increase asset functionality Scott Papay Virtualization technology enhances management Megan Lubaszka The challenges of sand as a snow removal tool Jerry Konst Improving energy efficiency in historic buildings Kathryn Foster 4 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20