4 Tips for Maintaining Your Commercial Property

Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.

Owning a commercial property comes with a lot more responsibility than simply leasing one. In addition to paying attention to short-term needs, you also have to take long-term maintenance and upkeep into account. Read on to discover some simple tips you can use to maintain your commercial property, protect your investment, and frame your business with credibility and authority.

1. Keep the Inside Clean and Updated

Whether you own office space, a retail store, or a warehouse, keeping the interior clean and updated should be one of your top priorities. This is important for a couple of reasons:

A modern and updated interior communicates a certain message to your employees and customers. It tells them that you care enough to invest resources into the business and keep it current.
A clean interior ensures you have safe working conditions for your employees. Not only does this give them peace of mind, but it protects your business from unnecessary liability and workers’ comp claims.

Unless you have a small building and lots of free time, it’s highly recommended that you hire a janitorial service to come through weekly. This will prevent you from falling too far behind.

Create an Exterior Maintenance Schedule

Depending on where you’re located and the type of weather and foot traffic you get in the area, your exterior will need semi-regular attention.

For example, if you have an asphalt parking lot, it’ll need to be repaired and sealed every so often to avoid premature deterioration (which could cause you to need the entire parking lot repaved).

It’s also wise to pay attention to windows, doors, siding, and the building’s roof. Setting up an inspection and maintenance schedule will ensure you don’t fall behind.

Spruce Up Your Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is important for every commercial building, but particularly if customers or clients visit on a regular basis. Many commercial property owners hire a crew to come by once every week or two throughout the year for minor cleanup and landscaping. Then in the spring, they’ll do one annual curb appeal “refresh” where they plant flowers, pressure wash all hard surfaces, prune back any overgrown trees or shrubs, and ensure all signage is in proper working condition.

If you’re starting from scratch, we recommend thinking about the big picture. Consider plants and features that will withstand the test of time. Local, hardy varieties will be much less expensive (and difficult) to keep healthy over the years.

Invest in Preventative Maintenance for Key Systems

Finally, don’t forget about your building’s main systems. This includes your HVAC system, which can be one of the most expensive systems in your building. It’s not enough to wait for something to happen, you need to invest in preventative maintenance at regular intervals.

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to have your system maintained at least twice per year – once at the start of fall and again at the start of spring. Find an HVAC company that you trust and listen carefully to their recommendations. While it might seem expensive to constantly replace parts and clean out the system, it’s much more cost-effective than experiencing a major breakdown at an inopportune time.

In addition to your HVAC system, pay attention to any business equipment that’s integral to your company’s production or efficiency. Again, regular preventative maintenance is a must.

Keep Your Property in Tip-Top Shape

Investing in your commercial property is important for numerous reasons. For one, it’s an extension of your business and says something about your organization and brand as a whole. Your employees, customers, and business partners will all make certain judgments about your business based on how your building looks, feels, smells, etc.

Secondly, your building is a real estate investment. There will most likely come a day when your business will outgrow the current building, sell the business, or close up shop. Either way, you still own the building. At this point, it has the potential to become an income-producing asset. If you’ve done a good of maintaining it, you’ll be able to squeeze out every dollar of value possible.

No matter your end game, a commitment to proper property maintenance will yield significant dividends both today and in the future. Take this responsibility seriously and make the most out of the resources you have.

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