The commercial lease process is one of the most exciting activities for CRE professionals. It means that Tenants are expanding their portfolio, Landlords are adding to their tenant mix, and Brokers are increasing their list of business.
Some may argue that the word “exciting” should be replaced with “stressful.” The leasing process is intricate, involving lots of time, money and risk. While it’s true that the leasing process is no walk in the park, it also doesn’t have to be all that daunting when you have sophisticated software to support you along the way.
Lease management software can be the knight in shining armor there to save the day and offer support in three main areas:
Reflection
Before the leasing process even begins, each party involved has to take the necessary steps to reflect on the current status of their portfolio. Lease management software strategically organizes your leases so that all of your critical information is right at your fingertips.
For Tenants – lease management software guides you through the lease abstraction process so that all of your options, critical dates, income/expense schedules, terms and square footage are saved in one spot. From there, you can produce reports that help you see your data in terms of metrics like space utilization or location, and then compare with your organization’s goals and determine where you want to go next with the leasing process.
For Landlords – reflection is one of the most important steps in your leasing process. During this time, lease management software is the tool that gives you a complete overview of key elements in your portfolio, like occupancy vs. vacancy. You can use this overview in comparison with current market rates and trends to devise a strategy for marketing your space and identifying tenants.
For Brokers – lease management software provides you with two points of reflection: tenant and market. Adding lease management software to your client services strategy allows you to better guide your clients and gives you a platform to store all of the market intelligence you collect throughout your research. So, when the time comes to start the leasing process with a client, you can quickly analyze their current portfolio, compare it to the trends you have identified in the market, and provide them with expert analysis.
Project Management and Lease Management Software
The leasing process is a detailed project that typically involves a long list of contacts, critical dates and unique tasks. Some professionals even juggle multiple at a time. Lease management software is the key to ensuring that you stay on top each of your projects from start to finish.
For example, Quarem Vantage has a project management feature that seamlessly connects each lease to a project. With the software, you can create a detailed task list, email custom task reminders, and invite each of your contacts in for easy collaboration.
For Tenants – the project management capability helps you keep all of the details organized once you start the leasing process. Take building tours as an example – with the project management capability you can set up each tour as a task, take detailed notes throughout and after the tour, and store any related documents, like images or space plans.
For Landlords – the project management feature is like a CRM – it allows you to keep track of all of your interactions, appointments, and marketing efforts during the leasing process. This timeline of data not only keeps you on track, it provides you with metrics to analyze when it comes time to evaluate your branding and overall business strategy.
For Brokers – projects are central to your business. Like landlords, the project management function acts as your CRM throughout the leasing process. Serving multiple clients means managing a plethora of unique dates and situations. The task reminders help you run your tight schedule, while the project reporting provides you with a timely and custom overview of the leasing process organized by client.
Collaboration and Maintaining Relationships
The leasing process is sure to provide you with a long list of important contacts that range from contractors to project managers. Cloud-based lease management software helps you maintain these relationships by supporting all points of collaboration related to your leases.
For Tenants – the leasing process will include constant communication with your broker, project managers, contractors and potential property managers. While email and phone calls are handy for keeping you in the loop in the moment, lease management software supports your conversations long term.
For Landlords – one of the biggest benefits of lease management software is that it helps maintain relationships at every step of the leasing process, even after the lease is signed.
For Brokers – while you actively serve and support your clients, you also work hard behind the scenes to expand your business. The contact management feature allows you to keep detailed notes about your client interactions, and it supports all of your networking activities for future deals.
No matter which stage of the leasing process you are in, lease management software like Quarem Vantage can be the tool that can help you develop strategy and save you time and money. Schedule a live demo of the software with one of our team members today!
