Commercial Property Maintenance 101: Tips and Strategies

Property maintenance is vital to the owning and operation of a commercial property. If you don’t properly maintain your property, you could lose tenants, not attract new tenants, and even incur big repair or renovation costs. Making little repairs and adjustments as you go is much more cost-effective than waiting until something goes wrong. 

Good commercial property maintenance involves little things, like switching out the furnace filter and replacing dead light bulbs, and big things, like painting, renovating, and fixing the HVAC system. Doing the work regularly to keep on top of everything can save you time, money, and headaches. Make sure you outline in your leases what is expected of the tenant and what you are responsible for so everything will be understood. The question for new commercial property owners is, where to start? Luckily, here’s a quick guide to commercial property management. 

Inspect Everything on a Regular Schedule

Walk through the building and do a thorough inspection of everything. Check how your HVAC system is functioning, check your plumbing fixture, lights, and everything in between. You should also check for safety issues, such as loose tiles, carpets, or exposed wiring. Leave no stone unturned. You should aim to do this no longer than once every quarter, but once a month is ideal. There are certain things that you can inspect on a yearly basis, however. 

Make sure that you enter it in your calendar and block off time to do it. If you don’t make it a priority, then you run the risk of pushing it off as you deal with other business-related things. Before you know it, you have a leak in the plumbing, and you’re paying an arm and a leg for repairs. Have a detailed checklist with everything on it. Then, if something needs following up or repair, contact the contractor as soon as possible. 

If your property is in Colorado, for example, start by looking up Commercial Building Company Colorado Springs and reach out to a reputable company who can help you with inspections and maintenance. Also, make sure you keep a log of any maintenance or repairs done on the property. This can be helpful for future reference and even for tax purposes.

Get it Done Right Away

Take action if you see a problem. In the time from when you identify the issue to fixing it, it could get bigger. Or worse yet, someone could get hurt, and you'll find yourself in more financial trouble. For instance, if you notice that a piece of concrete is loose on your front walkway in your inspection, that’s a safety hazard. If you don’t fix it immediately and somebody trips, then you’ll have to deal with insurance and potentially a lawsuit. Don’t wait on minor repairs, either. Something you might consider insignificant can get worse or affect something else in the building, and you could end up with a costly disaster. 

Don’t Forget the Exterior

Maintenance isn’t just about what’s inside the buildings on your property. It’s also about the exterior. They must be inspected as well. A poorly maintained exterior will reflect poorly on your and your tenants. Check out the roof and see if there are any areas that are damaged. You might have worn-off protection or shingles that need replacing. If you have trees on your property, make sure there aren’t any branches that can hit power lines or might be in danger of breaking off the tree. 

Your parking area must be in good shape. You might have the most beautiful building, but if your lot is cracked and has potholes, it will still look terrible in a visitor’s view. Also, you don’t want prospective tenants to damage their cars. Hire a commercial paving company that can do the work for you. They will make repairs, do inspections, and repave when it becomes necessary. 

Keep Up To Code

While you should always build and renovate up to building code standards, it’s even more important with a commercial property. There are potentially a lot of people going in and out of your building, and therefore you have to be as safe as possible. Plus, commercial buildings are often near other buildings, and a fire or flood could cause massive damage to someone else’s property. By making sure that everything meets building codes, you will have the best chance of avoiding a lawsuit and keeping everyone safe. Also, your insurance might not cover you if something isn’t up to snuff. 

Hit the Spots With Higher Traffic

There may come a time when you are called to do other things when it’s time to do your inspection. While you want to avoid these situations, sometimes they can’t be helped. However, instead of not doing an inspection at all, try to take time at least to check out the most trafficked areas in your building. These areas have the most people walking through and therefore have the most potential for damage or wear and tear. These areas include your main lobby, the bathrooms, and conference or meeting rooms. If you have to do this kind of truncated inspection during one month, then make sure that your inspection is thorough the next time. 

Get Help From Professionals

You could be an excellent DIYer and have managed residential properties just fine up to this point. However, owning commercial property is a whole separate ball game. There is more money involved and also more potential for disaster. Considering all those factors and the fact that you need to keep your building up to code, it only makes sense that you hire professionals to do the work. They are the experts, and they will make sure everything is done properly and safely. 

Commercial property maintenance is a big responsibility. There are lots of things to consider and lots of components to a property that must be maintained. It’s tough to know where to start, but if you follow these tips, you’ll have a very well-taken care of commercial property.