At a time when sellers have found the point at which buyers are willing to make a decision which has been described as leading to sales of vacation and second homes to foreign investors at full asking price in Barbados, at least one of the largest real estate and property management firms in the island is advocating that property management goes beyond simple caretaker services.
Andrew Mallalieu of Terra Caribbean highlights the importance of property management to the foreign market in Barbados, while acknowledging that it is growing in importance to the local market.
He notes, in the April issue of firm’s newsletter “For most owners, rental of the property is, inevitably, the best way to recover at least the running costs, and can usually yield some profits. But success is often realized over the long-term by appointing a property management professional to achieve the objective(s) of the owner, in terms of income generation and value enhancement.”
According to the real estate executive, “Property management is about more than being a mere caretaker, but rather is the ability to proactively execute tailor-made plans to suit the unique need of individual owners.
Furthermore he argues that property managers will be called on to identify the strategy for the properties under their purview. He said, “Qualified and experienced personnel must identify opportunities that fit the owners’ objectives, and manage the balance between short term financial reward and long term capital appreciation.”
Mallalieu explains that Terra has identified three main areas for excellence in service delivery – property maintenance (preventative); financial management and reporting; and tenant management. He notes that within any given year general maintenance is required – the extent of which varies depending on the age and condition of the property. Having a partner that is experienced in this area, works with qualified suppliers and has a team of preferred professionals with which to negotiate and execute the job, will always be more beneficial to the owner than a one-off situation. Overseeing maintenance projects takes understanding of construction and attention to detail; all the while ensuring that budgets and timelines are controlled.
The Terra boss argues that any investor, be it in stocks, bonds, or real estate, has the expectation that they can monitor the progress of their investment over time. He notes that the objective would be for the expenses to be less than the property’s income and appreciation. For this reason careful financial management and reporting must be an integral part of the services provided by a property manager.
Understanding the balance of expenditure needed to maintain and improve asset value, vis a vis the income required to cover costs is a skill that an owner should expect as standard from their service provider. Having a team of qualified professionals working together to ensure an owner’s ultimate return should be a prerequisite in this discipline within the real estate industry, he explains.
Further more the real estate executive notes that the skill-sets of a firm providing property management services must be integrated to offer the most suitable resources for each of these key areas. Working together as a well functioning team, an efficient and effective service provider should have the systems in place to ensure that properties deliver the expected returns of owners / investors.
He also explains that these professional services are not only for the benefit of foreign buyers with non-resident status; but are quite often engaged by locals with an astute desire for effective management of their property portfolio.
