Colorado Real Estate Journal - September 16, 2015
How do you truly measure the value of membership in an organization? This is an important question, because as building managers it is our job to intelligently figure out how to maximize our dollars spent. If you don’t truly know the value of your organization, it is impossible to make that intelligent decision on which group to join. BOMA is one organization that offers true value to individuals as well as owners in the commercial real estate field. It provides advocacy on behalf of building owners on a local, state and federal level. It provides training and education to professionals, which allows us to take our careers to the next level. It also provides networking that increases the tools in our toolbox to solve problems and maximize value. Advocacy Advocacy is the most important function of Denver Metro BOMA. We back that up by putting a large part of our annual budget toward advocacy. Did you know that it is our largest single expense other than payroll and rent? While we do have some great events, the fact is that if you added together all of the out-of-pocket net expenses for our events, it is less than what we spend on advocacy each year. There is no other association that is as focused on protecting our assets and our industry. BOMA is on the front line for all sorts of different issues. These issues affect every aspect of our buildings and operations. We have partnered with the Governor’s office, Denver and other jurisdictions’ fire departments, building departments and other regulatory agencies to ensure that building owners have a voice. We review legislation and code changes to calculate what the possible impacts would be on our industry. BOMA’s lobbying efforts have been largely successful and have saved property owners millions of dollars. A few key examples follow. • BOMA is the only Colorado commercial real estate organization working on local issues and is currently working with the city of Denver on amendments to the 2015 International (ICC) codes as well as various issues related to permitting. • BOMA successfully represented building owners in the 2012-14 Xcel Multi-Year Rate Plan electric rate case settlement and, because of this, owners are seeing a decrease in their rates of approximately 1.5 percent starting Aug. 1 and continuing through July 31, 2016. • BOMA also intervened in the recent electric rate case • Savings of over $3.50 per square foot in direct costs and long-term revenues to commercial real estate because BOMA worked to eliminate or modify overly stringent and costly codes and standards requirements in the 2015 group of ICC Model Codes. BOMA is now working on the 2018 model codes. • On July 21, 2015, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved legislation that would extend 52 expired tax provisions for an additional two years (for tax years 2015 and 2016). Included in the “tax extenders” package is the 15-year depreciation schedule for leasehold improvements. BOMA continues to push for as early an extension as possible to help provide economic certainty to the industry. Education Another focus of Denver Metro BOMA is professional development. We accomplish this by providing several different educational options to professionals in the commercial real estate industry. The options are wide ranging from designation-based courses to single topic classes. Lastly, BOMA formed several different specialty groups that focus on specific issues affecting property managers, including medical office buildings. The bread and butter of BOMA’s educational offerings are the BOMI (Building Owners and Managers Institute International) designations for property managers, facility managers and engineering professionals. There are five different designations that can be earned through BOMI International. This year we are pleased to announce the BOMI HP Program was added to our offerings. These designations are internationally renowned and set the standard for overall operational knowledge and thoroughness. Denver Metro BOMA also offers topic-specific seminars to help advance our industry. Right now we are offering an educational series on LEED EBOM and in September there is a seminar on state water discharge revised requirements. Networking Denver Metro BOMA is an organization of more than 400 professionals all focused on the commercial real estate industry. Besides the educational sessions, BOMA provides several different opportunities to network with our peers throughout the year. We have monthly luncheons, a trade show, golf tournament, summer party, various happy hours and the prestigious TOBY (The Outstanding Buildings of the Year) Awards Celebration coming up on Nov. 6. Getting to know others in the industry increases your resources and knowledge. Our service providers can give expert advice on repairs and upgrades. Our owners and managers can help with trends in the market and solutions to problems. Overall, by having such a large group of industry specific members, we can assist in ensuring that your property is running efficiently and you are positioning it properly. It would be difficult to find another organization that offers as much as Denver Metro BOMA for the cost. Without our great group of members, none of the above is possible. It is impossible for us to continue all of the work we do without having such a robust group of buildings and professionals. We appreciate everything you have done in the past and look forward to continuing to work with you in 2016.