Community Forum

What opportunities do you think will be available to real estate management professionals during these troubled times? How can you take advantage of them?

As Reggie said, "Amateur Hour is over!". I think this current crisis will help weed out the professionals in our business from the rest of the crowd. Those who hold designations will be sought out. Those who have a solid grasp of financial operations and analysis will be in a great position to assist the financial institutions who will be facing portfolios of property they are in no position to manage themselves. This will be a great time for those who want to stand out and shine to do so. Lots of opportunities await those who have the strength to weed through the mess to bring properties around and help those institutions work out loans and turn properties.

There is no question that this uncertain economy creates opportunities for property managers. The real estate doesn't go away, so a property manager is sure that jobs will always exist. And real estate with problems equates to opportunity for a property manager to show their skills. Fee managers are wise to keep in close touch with their local lenders to offer up their services to deal with foreclosures occur.

As an independent consultant I am amazed at the inquiries I've gotten for my services recruiting quality property managers. With the loss of jobs everywhere else, property management is still a growing field, particularly for property managers experienced at handling "turn-arounds" and receivership management.

Always look for ways to turn lemons into lemonade. Opportunity abounds for those with creativity to find a niche in the changing real estate market.

We have already seen an increase in investors looking for professional management. Additionally we have started working for receivers. Great fees, although not long term assignments

We have had many new opportunities in the last quarter. large commercial owner operators looking to out source real estate management, investors are picking up small investment properties like apartment buildings and bulk purchases of foreclosed single family homes, some small retail centers which in the past may have chosen to be self-managed but have chosen to hire a professional; the CPM. Also, there are are a lot of very good employees in the marketplace.

Fee management opportunities have been on the rise.

Hi I am in NYC and we have seen several large trophy buildings go into foreclosure . They are distressed because of overleverage of debt. Macklowe in NYC lost the GM building. Many people expected markets to keep going up and up and did not focus on the core competencies of management costs, operation and energy efficiency, project management in capital improvements and just got caught in the financial downturn.
I would start a fund that would buy cash for the foreclosures and maintain the discipline of the management fundamentals.

We own and manage, as well as provide consulting services, for student housing. It may not be completely recession-proof, but enrollment is still strong at most schools and growing at many others. Balancing a high-quality student resident experience with a high return to investers is both an art and a science, which we find very rewarding (personally and professionally).

I think a major sector that wil be in trouble will be affordable housing. Retail will probably stay strong becuase of the net lease agreements, offices may get bailed out by goverment and corporate. Hotels will come back with the cycle. However, I don't see how affordable apartments will stay affordable given the higher costs in fuel and operations and maintenance.

We have an opportunity to act as a receiver for an extended stay hotel. While we do not manage hotel assets my perception is we would apply the same property management skillsets as our commercial properties that we manage. We asked for a fee of $200 per hour. Any advice would be appreciated. Roy Hanlin

As we look for opportunities for troubled assets, not only should we be marketing ourselves to lending institutions but attorneys as well. Attorneys who handle troubled assets refer and recommend companies to act as management and leasing agents during the receivership period. While some feel this is a short-term assignment, don't sell short the opportunity to sell your services to the eventual buyer. Turn the property around successfully,and hopefully you will have the property for quite some time, from one owner to another! It is all about the quality of service - CPMs rule!

Beth Machen, CPM, LEED AP

Be careful and tread carefully as to how deep you are to sink into the quagmire of a troubled property.

It is inappropriate to discuss and quote fees on this website. Please do not ask questions or quote fees you are charging as that is breaking IRS rules. You must determine your costs and expense point based on your operation. Before you get stars in your eyes, think about how much worse it might get and make sure you have the staff to deal with the 24/7 operation many foreclosure management opportunities can be expected to require.

there are many opportunities during these troubled times. for the past year i have been involved with troubled properties. there have been days that properties were falling into financial distress by the hundreds. no this is not an exaggeration its florida. it was easy to get caught up in the dynamics of the downward spiral. many friends and co workers from all economic levels were impacted filing bankruptcy or experiencing foreclosure. lenders were no longer lending money for condos in certain zip codes or along coastal communities. the depth of inventory began to build up.

so where's the opportunity? florida sunshine. it is still a great place to live and work. there are management and buying opportunties throughout the state. you might already know that you can search florida public records for distressed properties. some counties have set up online auctions. it seems that when clouds are at their darkest there is a silver lining.

Opportunities abound! As management and ownership changes occur, there will be continued opportunities to manage assets and apply our expertise... on behalf of lenders, bankruptcy trustees, the courts and new investor/owners. It is critical that we recognize that the goals and priorities of these diverse parties will vary and that we're flexible in apply our skills, talents and resources. Some assignments will be short-term, so propose your services and plan accordingly.

I agree with Joe's sentiments completely. Over the past 60 days we've been approached with a number of different types, acquisitions, management of mixed portfolios (commerical/residential), management of self-managed residential, lots and lots of single family management opportunities. As Joe mentioned, some may be short lived but... sitting on the surf board's not a bad place to be.