The saying “The firm pays our salaries, but we are employed by the customer” is a good guideline in real estate business. The rent flow from tenants, i.e. customers, creates the basis for the entire business. Without the rent flow, there would not be any real estate investments, investment market and yield rates. To top it all off, estimates of the future rent flows will largely determine values of property holdings.
How do we then maximize the returns, while at the same time fulfilling the wishes of the tenants? The equation is not simple, but we notice in our daily operations that we can develop co-operation, service and in the end, the owner’s return in many ways. Here are some aspects:
- Do the premises serve the tenant’s changing needs – today and in the future? It must be understood that growth, downturn and change are normal business cycles.
- Can the tenant’s or the entire property’s use of space be made more profitable and cost-effective? Why not?
- Can the tenant “commit” to the property or the landlord? Co-operation and service create a customer relationship.
- Could the property owners contribute to the tenants’ business and how?
- Actively responding to tenants changing needs will inevitably lead to additional work. How will the service process be managed, especially if the property management is outsourced?
Luckily, not all actions are expensive. For instance, you can always afford regular communication with the customer – and the gains are often very high. Oversized and uncontrolled changes in tenant roster is a high extra price that you end up paying for an old-fashioned service attitude.
After all, the owner owns and of course, is still the boss in the house.
The status of the tenant must thoroughly be upgraded – they must be raised from a minion to the honored guest of the house!
– It’s worth it.
This is our general view of the Finnish Real Estate market.
