Buildings and property

Property management encompasses four major areas of responsibility:

1. Marketing and financial
2. Tenant and occupancy
3. Facilities management
4. Administration and risk management

To manage a building involves good understanding of operating expenses and budgeting, particularly as they pertain to running costs and energy management. Buildings typically consume 42% of all electricity, more than any other physical asset, and property costs are generally the second largest cost for many businesses.

Understanding the requirements of the tenants is also a major factor, be they renting the building, or simply the employees of the organisation that owns the building.

Facilities management refers to the physical management of the building structure and outdoor areas. The property manager must maintain relationships with contractors and repair companies, budget capital expenditures, and monitor the quality of repairs and maintenance.
The use of Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) and Building Information modelling (BIM) can help here. CAFM is software and systems that enable FMs to increase the utilisation of space and facilities, plan preventative maintenance, efficiently execute reactive maintenance, standardise services, and streamline processes. Ultimately, information from CAFM software allows managers to improve long-term planning of space, facilities, maintenance, and service requirements against budgets to alignm with core business needs.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a facility. BIM provides information about a facility from many different sources, from its earliest conception right through to demolition.

Finally, administration and risk management is a key role in running a building. A property manager has a duty of care to the tenants within the building he manages, and meticulous records must be kept of all activities that pertain to the health and wellbeing of people who use a building.