There are some places in life where it makes sense to cut corners to save a few dollars. For example, a DIY project such as painting your own living room or installing that shower head has little downside if things go horribly wrong. Worst case scenario, you call in a professional painter to fix that ceiling flub or a plumber to correct your leaky fixture.
When it comes to maintenance, management and growth of your CRE portfolio, however, compromising on quality to save a couple of dollars in upfront costs can lead to big long-term consequences. From costly errors caused by a lack of a property management system to waisted time and resources from picking the wrong one, experienced property managers know all too well the price of not investing in the right CRE management tools. Want to avoid these common mistakes and learn about how an initial investment can show big dividends? Read on for these answers and more.
Small Errors Add Up Fast
When it comes to the not so hidden costs of not having the right property management tools in your arsenal, mistakes rank up there with some of the most common and costly. A lack of a sophisticated and efficient property management system can lead to missed deadlines, misquoted fees or terms, or bigger mistakes that could see your business on the wrong side of a breach of contract claim. A simple system of spreadsheets or index cards will only get you part of the way there. Property management software, such as that offered by Quarem, can properly store, index and cross reference important details of your individual portfolio property and set up automated alerts and reminders, ensuring you’ll never miss an important deadline or overlook a contract clause again.
Some Solutions are Cheap for a Reason
Another common cost cutting measure for CRE professionals can come when they realize they need a software solution but choose an inferior product for the sake of savings. While higher price doesn’t necessarily equal higher quality, in the property management world there are a host of fly-by-night companies offering quick and easy installation, or that they can have you up and running on their platform in as little as 15 minutes.
What these companies fail to mention is that their platform is the same generic set up and modules that you would use to manage your weekly grocery list or the local PTA club. To reduce price, few if any of these “cheap solution” type of programs are designed with real estate in mind. In addition, once that “lowest price guaranteed” software is installed there is little to-no-human support to help integrate into existing systems or train you and your staff on roll out. Spending just a few extra dollars initially will not only get you a program designed with managing a busy CRE portfolio in mind, it will also save you countless hours of stumbling through a learning curve.
Think of Expenditures in Terms of Long Term Value
The common theme among each of the cons to considering CRE property management software in terms of value savings is that most analyses fail to consider long term savings from getting the job right the first time. Platforms such as Quarem’s selection of property management solutions, are competitively priced and will help you see exponential savings over time. Having the right tools on hand and the knowledge of how they work and serve your business buys you something more valuable than any savings you’d see upfront with an inferior product: peace of mind.
