Posts in category: Property Management

As a property manager or building owner, are you doing what it takes to get the most out of your investment? Many property managers in the Portland area are falling prey to some surprisingly easily avoidable errors. Find out what they are!

Not emphasizing sanitation and sterilization

Your tenants’ and residents’ health and safety should always be your top priorities. However, during this challenging time, you must pay particular attention to how you are providing peace of mind and protection against COVID-19.

If you’re like most property managers, you aren’t trained or experienced in disinfecting procedures and you don’t have access to the equipment available to specialists like the team at Cascade Building Services.

As office buildings and other facilities reopen, it is time to put a plan in place. Our approach is simple. We use a safe and effective hospital-quality and food-safe disinfectant to sanitize key touchpoints and high-traffic areas in your office.

We also use a proven fogging disinfectant (also used by Delta Airlines!) that cleans and sanitizes EVERY surface.

Keep reading about how we help property managers fight COVID-19.

Spreading themselves too thin

You only have so much time and can only do so much. So how do you prioritize the most important tasks that need to get done? One of the biggest mistakes we see property managers make is to spread themselves too thin and to try to take on too much.

You have to find a partner you can trust. At Cascade Building Services, we act as a 1-stop shop, offering a wide variety of services to property managers, including:

• Janitorial services, cleaning and sanitation
• Maintenance, repairs and construction projects
• Carpet cleaning and floor maintenance
• Window washing

That’s right — instead of finding, vetting, and hiring multiple contractors, we help our clients get all the property management, cleaning, and maintenance services they need. Everything is done by our in-house team of experienced professionals.

Haphazard cleaning and maintenance schedules

Consistency is key to providing a great experience for residents and tenants. Regular, scheduled maintenance and cleanings provide a much better experience than irregular bursts of activity.

By chipping away at maintenance and cleaning on a schedule, you can reduce interruptions to your tenants’ lives and businesses. Doing too much all at once can be stressful, noisy, and challenging to coordinate.

Remember, property management is a marathon not a sprint! Slow and steady wins the race!

Fixing problems instead of preventing them

As we talked about earlier, we know that most property managers are verybusy people. It can be easy to fall into the habit of fixing problems instead of preventing them. What do we mean by that?

• Fixing leaking roofs as they occur instead of investing in roof inspections and maintenance
• Waiting until parking lot stripes are worn away to nearly nothing instead of touching them up regularly
• Letting dirt and grime build up on windows and only investing in window cleaning when tenants start to complain

Preventive maintenance not only makes your residents happier, but it can be a lower-cost investment in the long run!

Ignoring ADA requirements

Make your building accessible and inviting to all people. There are many often misunderstood (or just flat out ignored) accessibility requirements that your property must meet. For example, parking lot striping might not seem like a big deal, but it’s an ADA compliance requirement.

Making mistakes or not taking ADA compliance seriously can expose you to legal liability. 

Fully understanding how the ADA’s guidelines affect your property is essential. Examples of what you might have to consider include:

• Ramps and railings
• Doorways
• Bathrooms
• Pet and animal requirements

Focusing too heavily on one area

As a property manager, you may be tempted to focus your efforts on a specific area of your property. Maybe you want to increase curb appeal and invest time and money in landscaping — but at the expense of your indoor common areas. Maybe you keep your marble floors sparkling, but neglect much-needed roof repairs.

Time and again, we’ve seen property managers make the mistake of getting fixated on one area while letting another languish. Balance in all things! You mustn’t allow your desire for a great looking building to come before completing structural repairs and maintenance.

How do you find the right balance? That’s where the team at Cascade Building Services comes in. With our wide variety of property management services, we can help you create a custom cleaning and maintenance schedule. We’ll help you take care of all the little repairs and chores you’ve been putting off while still focusing on the big picture of making your building shine!

Not asking tenants and residents for feedback

Remember: at its core, property management is a service business. While maintaining your property is key, where would you be without happy tenants and residents? We recommend that property managers ask their tenants and residents for feedback and ideas for improvement. Consider a quarterly or yearly survey asking about:

• Their overall impression of the building
• Any maintenance issues they’ve had recently
• Timeliness of maintenance requests
• Anything that they think is being overlooked
• Concerns they have about the building
• New features or improvements they’d like to see
• Whether they would recommend the building to a friend

Their answers will provide valuable information you can use to plan upcoming maintenance projects or changes to how you manage your property.

Missing opportunities to improve property value

Just keeping up with the maintenance needs of your property can be a huge challenge. How could you ever hope to actually get ahead and add value to your property? This is the question many property managers ask themselves. They’re too busy with the little things to ever consider the big picture.

Ask yourself,

In 5, 10, or even 15 years, will your property be as appealing to tenants as it is today?

The best time to start planning for your building’s future is right now. At Cascade Building Services we are not just the Portland area’s most trusted property managers and janitorial service company, we’re licensed contractors, too. We can help you stay on top of everyday maintenance and help out when you need emergency repairs. Plus, we can even tackle the bigger renovation projects you need to get ahead in Portland’s ultra-competitive real estate market.

Call (503) 691-0776 today to learn more.

WORK & CO.

It’s no secret that the environment employees work in has a huge impact on their well-being. The right layout, lighting, and other features can make employees happier, healthier, and more productive.

But there’s not an easy, one-size-fits-all answer. Some of the best office designs are also the ones that reflect the unique culture of the company itself — whether it’s Pandora’s music-themed office or Airbnb’s internationally furnished headquarters. Your office design is a great way to showcase company values, like creativity or sustainability.

Every office is unique, but whatever your company’s culture, size, and industry, it’s hard to go wrong when your workplace is comfortable, clean, and aesthetically pleasing.

If you’re getting ready to remodel or redesign your workspace, keep reading and see if any of these 7 office design ideas inspire you!

1. Open spaces

PORTLAND PLAZA

It’s easy to see how the movement towards open floor plans has swept the professional world in the past several years. Of course, there are pros and cons to every layout, so not all companies will benefit from a barrier-free design, and many industries actually require solitary, separate workspaces. 

If you’re not on board with a fully open floor plan, a happy medium is often a great solution. If you have enough square footage in your office, consider incorporating some open spaces here and there. The right amount of empty space can make the whole office feel bigger, brighter, and more relaxing. 

Adding some communal meeting spaces also gives people the chance to collaborate, get advice, or simply move to a different setting to get a fresh perspective on a problem.

2. Natural light

TECH HEADS

Sunlight doesn’t just brighten up a room, it also brings in a long list of health benefits. Natural light has been found to increase productivity, reduce eye strain, and improve psychological health.

Unless you’re planning a full renovation, your focus will likely be on making the most of the windows you currently have. Think about installing curtains or blinds that can be easily adjusted. If you have a window that doesn’t get direct sunlight during the workday, you may decide not to cover that window at all.

Unfortunately, dirty windows also limit the flow of natural light. Getting your windows cleaned regularly (and skylights, if you have them) will remove dirt, oil, smudges, and other debris that might be coating the glass.

3. Plant life

SAND CREEK DENTAL

Like sunlight, indoor plants have many benefits for offices. Countless studies and surveys have reported that indoor plants can:

• Reduce psychological and physiological stress
• Increase productivity and attract new employees
• Reduce sick days

Plants aren’t just functional, though. They’re also a smart aesthetic choice. A plant that blends well with your space will improve the overall look and feel of your office. 

4. Art in the office 

INTEGRATIVE PEDIATRICS

Walls and other blank surfaces are opportunities to inspire and motivate everyone who works at your office. Art also gives you a chance to show who you are as a company and make a great first impression when you welcome guests, prospective employees, and clients or customers.

Not sure what to do with a blank wall in your office? Here are a few ideas:

• Old photos (or new ones)
• Interesting paint colors
• An accent wall
• A mural
• Framed art
• A display of the company’s past work and/or achievements
• Your company’s mission or values written on the wall
• An inspiring quote

5. Reclaimed materials

FLP Financial (a financial services company) renovated a former factory for their Connecticut office and used reclaimed crate wood desks to create a unique, industrial style space.

If sustainability ranks highly on your list of company values, it’s easy to incorporate eco-friendly designs into your office. 

• Use reclaimed materials
• Reuse what you can 
• Minimize energy used on artificial lighting and heating by being strategic about windows and desk placement
• Invest in good insulation
• Make recycling as easy as possible for employees
• Use energy-efficient appliances in the break room and elsewhere

You may also choose a professional maintenance company that uses sustainable cleaning supplies, especially considering that eco-friendly cleaning products are less likely to irritate your eyes and lungs.

6. Fun and games

PARLIAMENT

Ping-pong tables, dart boards, mini basketball hoops — you name it. More and more companies are adding fun, recreational activities to their break rooms in an effort to encourage employees to bond and get to know each other over friendly competition. 

Not only are games a great icebreaker for new hires, but they also encourage people to get up and move around instead of sitting at their desks all day. Even small bouts of mild physical activity during the day are great for employees’ health and energy levels.

7. Cleanliness

CARING SMILES DENTAL

As commercial cleaning professionals, we’ve seen the amazing difference that cleanliness can make. At the end of the day, a dusty, cluttered office won’t look as good no matter what decor or design style you choose. 

What’s more, cleanliness has many of the same practical benefits as plants and natural light. An office that’s clean promotes physical and psychological health, relaxation, and productivity. Considering how many hours most of us spend at work, a great office is one where you and your employees enjoy spending time and working toward your company’s goals.

How often do offices need cleaning?

Every office should be cleaned regularly, but the frequency really depends on the size of your office and how many people work there. For larger companies, nightly cleaning is the best way to ensure the kitchen and bathroom areas stay sanitary and fresh. For smaller companies, periodic one-time visits might be a perfect solution.

Plus, while certain tasks should be done daily or nightly (like taking out the trash), jobs like carpet cleaning can often be scheduled quarterly.

At Cascade Building Services, we do it all — no matter what cleaning services you need or how often you need them. We’ve been working in the Portland area since 1961, so we’ve handled just about every type of cleaning job out there, including janitorial services, window and carpet cleaning, floor maintenance, and recycling services. Tell us how we can help! 

Managing a property is a lot more than simply choosing a tenant and collecting rent. Between maintaining the building, managing relationships, and ensuring tenant satisfaction, there’s a lot to manage on a day-to-day basis.

In this post, we’ll offer some tips for managing a property. This will be helpful for anyone managing a property, be it a single property you own or multiple you’re managing on behalf of an organization.

Set aside time for each of your different hats

When you’re managing a property or properties, there’s a lot of work to be done. Everything from listing properties and tending to tenant concerns, to hiring contractors — it all needs your full attention and requires completely different skill sets.

We recommend blocking off time to ensure each of these tasks receives your full attention. For instance, having a consistent time where you post listings will help speed up the process and make sure this task gets your full attention.

This will not always be possible (tenant maintenance requests may need to be addressed immediately, for instance), but this structure will help your property run smoothly.

Know your properties well

A property manager that knows their property inside and out is good for everyone. When you know your property well, you’ll

• Easily answer questions potential tenants bring up when showing the property
• Know the benefits of the space, aiding in the sales and marketing process
• Answer maintenance requests more easily, as you’ll have a better idea of what your tenant is referencing
• Know potential “problem areas” of the property, allowing you to address these issues between tenants

Having this knowledge will help you save time, money, and hassle down the road.

Know the law well, too

Unless you’re a lawyer by trade, it will be impossible to have a full understanding of rental and real estate laws in Oregon and Washington. We still recommend you develop a basic understanding of the laws governing rentals in Oregon.

Knowing the basics is useful for three reasons:

• You’ll be able to answer questions asked of you from tenants. Not knowing the answer to some of these questions could give the tenant the impression you don’t know the law, and could cause them to be lackadaisical in their relationship with you as a property manager
• You won’t be taken advantage of. Whether they intend to or not, your tenants may attempt to do something they aren’t allowed to do. If you don’t know the rules they could attempt this under your own nose.
• You’ll know your rights as the owner or an agent of the owner. Bad tenants happen to every property manager at some point. Luckily, there are a set of protections that allow you to warn and evict bad tenants. In order to take advantage of these laws though, you need to know how they work.

Document everything

Make sure to keep a paper trail. Given the many different laws governing rental agreements, a good filing system to keep track of all paperwork could save you a major headache down the road.

We recommend scanning all important documents to create a digital copy of all major files in the cloud. This ensures that even in the event of the loss of physical copies due to a robbery, fire, or flood (or just misplacement), you’ll still have the files somewhere.

Be available and dependable

As a property manager, you should take an “open door” philosophy to management. This means making sure to always answer a tenant phone call and be there to answer questions or respond to maintenance requests.

Also, when scheduling a meeting with a current or potential tenant, always get there on time and stay on track. To do this, we recommend scheduling realistic meeting times.

While you may not work or live on the property, your tenants do. Making sure they feel like they can be heard whenever they reach out will go a long way towards gaining their trust.

Make timely repairs

Another great way to build this trust is through following up on maintenance and repair requests as soon as you can.

Not only will this increase the likelihood that these tenants will stay long term, it will ensure your units are kept in good condition and do not fall into disrepair. If units are not fixed in a timely manner, tenants may lose respect for the space and not keep the unit in as good of condition.

Develop relationships with your tenants

One of your chief responsibilities as a property manager will be to communicate effectively with your tenants and potential tenants. A great way to do this is through developing a good relationship with them.

While you don’t need to be best friends (and they probably don’t want that, either), make sure to get to know them, ask about their business, and say hello when you see them. This goodwill will go a long way when it comes time for them to renew their lease and when communicating about repair or maintenance issues.

Keep your building clean

Clean buildings equal happy tenants. People simply do not like living and working in dirty environments and can only take so much before finding a new solution. This means keeping your property clean and in good order will keep good tenants around.

Clean properties also need less serious maintenance, meaning clean apartments will lead to less maintenance request. This will lead to less time you need to manage the requests and less money the building owner will have to pay to fix the issues.

Other benefits to keeping a clean property include:

• Fewer injuries: Messy floors and work spaces could lead to slip and falls or workplace injuries. Slippery stairways or poorly maintained railings could lead to even more serious injuries.
• Better respiratory health: Without proper air filtration, dusts and vapors will circulate, reducing the air-quality and creating a potentially unhealthy situation in the space.
• Germs won’t spread as quickly: Particularly during flu season, making sure a space is sanitary is crucial for good health.
• Better light: When light fixtures or windows are dirty, light cannot get into the property.
• Less cluttered work spaces: When properties properly dispose of recyclables and trash, spaces will be less cluttered and dirty.
• Better productivity: In offices, clean spaces equal better productivity. Employees like clean spaces and are more productive when they are working every day in a space they feel proud of.

Hire a janitorial service that will make your job easier, not harder

Cascade Building Services has been cleaning offices and commercial spaces for over 5 decades. We offer service 24 hours a day, 365 per year, so you know we’ll be dependable and can provide service that can help your property strive.

Contact us today to learn how Cascade Building Services can help make your property all it can be.