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Smaller but consistent sources of income are often overlooked by property owners. From parking to vending machines, these profit-boosting assets can add up to millions in net value.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In commercial real estate, smart owners exploit every available opportunity to maximize their net operating income (NOI) and create new, leverageable equity. Over time, small changes can generate millions of dollars in cash flow and added value, which will be critically beneficial as you grow your CRE portfolio.

Since transacting my first deal at age 18, I’ve built an 18-year track record of success as a professional CRE investor with the help and guidance of mentors who are legends in our business. Here are some of my favorite and most effective insider tips to help boost your numbers.

1. ATMs

Nearly every type of property has an area of 24 square feet that can be carved out with minor modifications. If you own property that has any commercial frontage or is located in a heavily trafficked pedestrian area, consider creating space for an ATM.

In most markets in the U.S., average ATM space will typically lease for $500-$1,400 per month (as of the date of this publication) and requires an area of approximately 4’x6′. That is at least $6,000 in annual income for 24 square feet (or $250 per square foot).

In areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, an ATM lease could bring $1,200-$1,400 per month, translating to an equity increase of up to $420,000. Talk to your local bank about placing an ATM in your location. Property owners may also choose to install an ATM machine of their own and collect fees on cash withdrawals, but such an operation requires hands-on management.

2. Vending machines

While the cash flow may seem negligible, vending machines can add a surprising equity boost to a property’s bottom line. Newer, more automated machines with card readers are more desirable. It’s easier to track income and profit with credit-debit purchases than with cash.

You can either purchase machines or lease them. Monthly leases can begin at around $50 per month. For most products, profit is around 50%. With two machines, one for snacks and one for soft drinks, you could expect to sell approximately 300 items per month at an average profit of $0.75 per item. That’s a gross income of $225 per month and a net income of $125 per month (minus the $100 lease). While a net annual income of $1,500 seems hardly worth the effort, that’s a potential net equity gain of $20,000 for the property.

There are many manufacturers that will either sell, finance or lease the equipment. If you choose to purchase or lease, there are reputable vendors offering state-of-the-art machines with favorable terms. Third-party vendors will also lease space in your property and handle all the stocking and maintenance for you.

3. Coin-operated laundry

In older apartment buildings without washer and dryer connections in each unit, property owners can potentially convert ancillary or otherwise unutilized space in the building (like a basement) into a coin-operated laundry facility.

During the renovation of an old student apartment building close to NC State University, we converted an empty crawl space into a laundry room with four coin-operated washing machines and four dryers. I had 24 units in the building, most of which were two bedrooms, so approximately 48 residents. This simple amenity generated more than $1,000 per month. The extra $12,000 per year meant an instant equity gain of over $200,000.

Most suppliers will offer financing or lease options for laundry equipment so you can get started with little capital out of pocket. Coin-operated washers and dryers can also be purchased from major home supply retailers, through Amazon or directly from equipment manufacturers.

4. Parking

I’ll give you a personal example: I purchased a church building a few years ago for $860,000. The building is 6,000 square feet and sits on a busy corner near lots of retail and where parking is scarce. I purchased it for the land value with the intent to demolish the building and develop a five-story mixed-use property. The existing building came with something unusual for the neighborhood: an underground parking garage with 21 spaces.

Knowing the new development would take years, we rented out the parking spaces to pay the property taxes and carrying costs. With 21 spaces rented to nearby businesses at $100 per month per space, we generated $2,100 in monthly revenue, covering nearly half of the $4,500 mortgage.

If we were to keep the building as a rental property, the extra $25,200 per year translates into $560,000 of additional equity in the building (at a 4.5% cap rate) — making up two-thirds of the $860,000 I paid for the entire property. While it may be difficult to purchase a standalone parking lot due to the demand for land, you can look for properties in infill locations that come with extra off-street parking. This additional revenue source can provide a welcome boost to your bottom line.

 
5. Rooftop cell towers

A cell tower requires as little as 50 square feet for installation. One rooftop tower can support as many as five carriers and 15 other digital antennas, generating up to $12,000-$15,000 in gross monthly revenue. That’s $6,000-$7,000 in monthly income on a 50/50 split with the supplier. The extra $72,000-$84,000 per year would result in an equity increase for the property of $1.4 million to $2.1 million, often with no out-of-pocket cost.

Start by contacting American Tower, SBA and Crown Castle — the largest tower suppliers in the U.S. — to gauge demand for a tower on your property and try to get competitive offers. Most will structure their lease payments as a revenue split on the income from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and other carriers.

6. Freestanding cell towers

Nearly all suburban developed properties have a 100’x100′ space where a freestanding cell tower can be placed. I’ve even seen some on footprints as small as 50’x50′. Dimensions, location and zoning are dictated by local ordinances, but if you can carve out a 5,000 to 10,000-square-foot section, a cell tower can potentially generate more monthly income than the property itself.

Rental income or profit sharing on a traditional cell tower can range between $3,000-$8,000 per month based on population density. Even nominal income from a cell tower lease can have a major impact on your equity position and recapitalize in the event of a sale. As with rooftop antennas, cell tower installers and operators can tell you if there is a need for additional coverage where your property is located.

This is the beauty of real estate: Small changes to cash flow create huge differences in property valuations, asset equity and the owner’s net worth.

The most reliable way to grow a successful real estate business is to keep all of your properties in top condition and maintain a pool of happy and satisfied tenants. Whether you are an owner or investor managing your own buildings or you manage on behalf of owners, then versatile, user-friendly property management software in can save you time, cut costs, mitigate risk and help you grow your business in 2023.

It’s no surprise that technology adoption is growing among commercial property management organizations and investors, and this is a telling sign of a shifting mindset.

While legacy property management systems and paper-based processes are holding companies back, leading organizations are boosting efficiencies, reducing costs, and quickly adapting in a fast-evolving market.

Here are 10 reasons why every commercial real estate business should implement property management software in 2023

1. Free up your time to focus on high-value tasks

Commercial real estate management involves many repetitive manual processes. Between chasing, checking, billing and paying, there are multiple plates you have to keep spinning.

Where commercial property management software comes to the rescue is by helping to automate the steps involved in these tasks. This can take the form of bulk expense processing, auto-generating and sending invoices and arrears notices, and handling maintenance and tenant communications.

Re-leased is a property management software designed to cut your admin burden and keep everything running smoothly. You and your team are freed up to focus on high-value activities – bringing on new business, delivering stand-out service, and acting on opportunities.

2. Never miss a task or event and sleep easy

What if you were able to see all of the important dates across all of your properties in one place? Imagine the time you would save by not having to dig up dates and also the risks you would eliminate by not missing those.

Whether it’s rent reviews, lease expiries, health and safety compliance or property inspections, today’s systems are now able to show what’s coming up and what’s been completed, all at a glance. Just log in and easily plan your day.

3. Lower costs and increase revenue without more staff

Automating your workflows and accessing information at your fingertips means you not only save time but you also save money by working more efficiently. And best of all, once you’re really leveraging your software, you’ll be able to take on more properties (and generate more revenue) without having to bring on more staff.

4. Freedom to access your information securely from anywhere

Cloud-based software is now a must-have for companies across all industries and commercial property is no different. The global pandemic has made remote working more widespread and that means it’s critical to have access to business systems when you can’t be in an office.

Cloud-based property management software puts your portfolio in the palm of your hands, meaning you have unrestricted access to your business and key stakeholder information from anywhere.

5. Enterprise-level security you can rely on

You might be wondering, “So how secure is my data in the cloud?” The good news is that cloud software providers use enterprise-grade security measures to ensure all of your data is protected. Cloud software will typically be hosted on a major cloud platform, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure, and because these platforms serve hundreds of thousands of businesses, their security measures are more robust than an on-premise server in your office.

6. Create true harmony between property and finance

Managing property information and your finances in different systems leaves you vulnerable to errors and wasted time having to enter data twice. When evaluating property management software providers, it’s important to look at platforms with built-in client/trust accounting capability or integrations with accounting software, such as Xero or QuickBooks Online.

With your property accounting needs covered in a central system, you’ll be able to set up automatic transaction matching and reconciliations, automate fees and payments to owners and creditors, and see your financial information in real-time.

7. Keep your finger on the pulse of your operations with real-time reporting

Get instant insight into the performance of your business and your assets with a suite of different reports fed by your real-time data. From tenancy, property, and portfolio reports to team performance reports, gain full transparency of how your business is running.

8. Improve regulatory compliance

Since cloud-based software houses all of your business’s information in one place, this gives you confidence that you’ll be able to reference information at any time to demonstrate compliance. This again eliminates the risks associated with not having a consolidated system.

9. Deliver better service on the go

Mobile apps have become a normal part of how we work, but many property managers aren’t yet tapping into their value simply because they don’t have access to them. Real-time information is taken to the next level with purpose-built apps that are connected to your software.

To give you an idea of what’s available out there here’s what Re-Leased’s suite of mobile apps can do:

1. The Property Manager app provides immediate and up-to-date access to important property and tenant data when on the road or visiting a client.
2. The Tenant app streamlines communication with your tenants about repairs and maintenance.
3. The Landlord app gives landlords quick insights into their assets.
4. This all enables your business to strengthen your relationships with key stakeholders and deliver world-class service.

10. Boost team morale

When you invest in systems that help make your staff’s lives easier, they’ll be more engaged, more motivated and more open to collaborating as a team. Without happy staff, your business won’t survive.

“The staff have embraced the software and believe in it and trust it will do exactly what they need it to do. That makes them want to wake up, and come to the office and be part of the business. We can now take on more properties because our team knows they can handle the workload.”

It’s time to explore your options and find the best property management system to help you manage maintenance requests, rent payments, tenant communication, and much more. Using property management software can help make property management easy and profitable.

Volatility in the stock market and significant increases in real estate sale prices have many looking on how they can diversify into real property. Those rising home values may be daunting for some, making investing in a condominium seem an attractive way to own something in this category, but with the smallest-possible financial commitment.

It may come as a surprise that investing in a condo or a townhouse is significantly different than investing in a traditional home. And the investment comes with a long list of unexpected pitfalls and liabilities the buyer should investigate before going this route.

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Condominium ownership extends only to the walls of the unit, so owners have a relationship with and a reliance on another entity when it comes to the unit’s exterior, landscaping, fencing, parking, utilities and everything else outside those walls. Most often a homeowners association (HOA) is the first level of bureaucracy governing those external issues, and one or more vendors—such as professional property manager—or owners of the development may also be involved.

A significant factor in one’s calculations when weighing this investment option is the number of required condo fees. It is wise for potential investors to evaluate what these fees cover, as they might cover amenities of little value to you or future tenants, as well as items that may require significant funds in the future for repair or replacement, such as a swimming pool or a gym.

Each unit falls under a list of rules and regulations for property use and for how maintenance and upgrades will be funded. Condo owners can be assessed significant amounts of money from time to time if regular fees fall short of covering certain expenses the development incurs. Due diligence includes reviewing requirements for condo owners, minutes of past association meetings and financial statements for the development. Take a look at the reserves the organization has set aside, as this can help predict future expenses condo owners will share. If you don’t see close to 10% of the association’s annual budget set aside for reserves in a newer unit or around 25% for older facilities, major assessments may be coming. One more layer unique to condos is the potential for the complex to currently be the subject of one or more legal complaints. Make sure no lawsuits are pending against the community or homeowners association.

Condominiums often have restrictions that can make one feel like a tenant. For instance, many units have restrictions about pets, and if they allow them at all, they might limit the number, size and/or breed allowed in any condo. Similarly, parking can be assigned or limited in ways that feel like one is renting in an apartment complex.

In terms of repairs, things are not nearly as cut and dried with condos as they are with traditional properties. Investigate any potential areas of dispute in advance, such as who repairs or replaces windows, decks, balconies and patios. The same could apply to exterior heating or air conditioning units, chimneys and underground pipes.

Finally, potential condo investors should research local trends to see how condominiums compare with traditional properties in terms of resale prices and time on the market. Do not assume condo values track identically with regular homes or that they tend to sell on the same timelines.

Like traditional purchases, the investors still needs to review covenants, conditions and restrictions for the property, as well as consider having a home inspector check out the property, investigate its assessed value and what property taxes will be due. Free-standing homes require a lot of due diligence, but condos and townhouses demand the same research along with a long list of other items to investigate.

Investing in a condo might be a great investment for you, but do not assume this type of real estate investment is easier or less complicated than standard properties. Make sure to do your homework on all these issues before investing in a condominium or townhome and avoid a whole host of surprising pitfalls and liabilities.

The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.

As part of a new series, we’re exploring emerging fintech hotspots. First up is Tallinn, the beating heart of Estonia’s flourishing fintech ecosystem.

Forget New York, Frankfurt and London. Yes, the world has traditional financial centres – but there’s a new group of cities challenging the status quo. They are the Fintech Frontiers, tearing up conventional wisdom about where in the world a startup should be located. Like the frontiersmen of the Wild West, they are pushing the boundaries of the fintech landscape and shining a light on new cities that deserve to be discovered.

In this series, we take a look at some of the most unexpected and underrated cities playing host to fintech innovation. To kick us off, we’re heading to Tallinn in Estonia.

Estonia working hard to shake off old stereotypes

Doing business in Estonia is incredibly easy. “It takes three hours to establish a company and one or two minutes to file taxes,” says Marek Pärtel, CEO of property finance platform EstateGuru. “Estonia is rated number one in the OECD’s tax competitiveness index and 99% of all public services are online 24/7.”

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country has modernised and rid itself of traditional misconceptions. Today, this small Baltic outpost is a member of the European Union, Nato and part of the eurozone. English proficiency is high, and the country’s capital, Tallinn, is a thriving fintech hotspot. It has spawned successful fintechs like Wise, Zego and Veriff as well as emerging players – including Lightyear, the investing app which earlier this month secured €25mn to pursue expansion.

“Estonia has long ceased to be a country of cheap labour and the living costs are getting higher, but compared to large European cities and tech hubs like Berlin or London, Tallinn is still very much affordable,” says Kalli Kulla, Head of Marketing & Communications for Tuum.

Tallinn-based Tuum is on a mission to build a next-generation core banking platform. It was called Modularbank until 2021, when it rebranded, choosing the Estonian word for ‘core’ in recognition of its roots. Tuum was founded in 2019 by a group of experienced IT experts, who got together at software development firm Icefire, which was eventually sold to Checkout.com, whose CTO, Ott Kaukver, is an Estonian formerly of Wise.

Estonia home to a ‘tight-knit’ fintech community

In Estonian business, everything comes full-circle eventually. “All those stories of signing deals on your phone from the sauna or filing tax in minutes are actually true,” says Single.Earth CEO Merit Valdsalu, who describes Tallinn’s fintech scene as “supportive and very close-knit”.

Founded in 2019, Single.Earth is seeking to reward landowners for preserving forest. Founders Merit Valdsalu and Andrus Aaslaid were introduced to each other by a mutual connection – Ragnar Sass, one of the founders of Estonian unicorn Pipedrive. Single.Earth has launched a digital currency called Merit, which is directly linked to the amount of CO2 sequestered in landowners’ forests.

It is, perhaps, an idea that could only come from Estonia: the country is 56% forest, the equivalent of 2.2mn hectares.

Tallinn is a thriving tech hub, but it’s also a beautiful and historic city.

Valdsalu continues: “The Estonian startup community is rather helpful, including to foreigners building their companies here. There’s a number of different events, hackathons and conferences to meet like-minded entrepreneurs and start building new ventures. It’s just impossible to attend an event and not be approached by someone with a great idea you can help with or join.”

Tuum’s Kalli Kulla adds: “The ecosystem support that fintechs (and startups in general) receive in Estonia is one of the reasons we have so many successful ones. There’s Startup Estonia, strengthening the ecosystem by organising events and bringing together startups, incubators, accelerators, private and public sector; there’s Finance Estonia, a public-private cluster which stands for creating a business environment that supports the development of the Estonian financial sector; there’s Invest Estonia, luring in VC investments; and there’s Lift99 founders network.”

The result is a fintech community where entrepreneurs – both local and imported – are encouraged to realise their potential.
A highly talented but competitive employment market

With a population of just 1.2mn, Estonia is undeniably small. That makes it harder for Tallinn to attract and retain talent. However, Estonia’s diminutive size can also work in its favour.

“The small size of the country ensures that communication between different parties is direct and fast, with no lengthy processes,” says Kalli Kulla. “It also ensures community cohesion, as everyone knows everyone in the fintech scene. Additionally, there’s support from the public sector, which is developing new regulations and initiatives such as the Startup Visa, Digital Nomad Visa or e-Residency programme to make life easier for fintechs and other start-ups.”

“The education system in Estonia is of very high quality, especially when it comes to IT and technology. We have the University of Tartu, which is the leading university in the Baltics, but also Tallinn University of Technology. Kids are learning programming from primary school onwards and some high schools teach how to build bitcoin apps. The local talent pool is therefore great, but it’s not enough. In the fintech sector alone, there’s more than 200 startups we’re competing against for talent. Students are lured into companies straight from the classroom; it’s a tough battle for survival for technology companies.”

This competitiveness led the founders of Wise and Bolt, among others, to launch an innovative coding school in the eastern town of Jõhvi. The school was created for adults of any age with the aim of bringing new, IT-literate talent into Estonia’s thriving tech industry.

Estonia facts

Population: 1.21mn
GDP per capita: US$35,600 (#64)
EPI English proficiency: High (#22)
Average download speed: 51mb/ps (#69)

“Tallinn is a great home for an early-stage fintech business, with access to a skilled workforce being the key component,” Single.Earth’s Merit Valdsalu says. “We were able to grow tenfold last year, hiring some 70 top people when competing for them against local behemoths like Wise and Bolt. However, it would be challenging to hire 700 people a year due to the small size of the country.”

Since Covid-19, a company’s physical location doesn’t matter as much. What Estonia’s job market lacks, our fintechs make up for by hiring remote talent elsewhere. Single.Earth has recently made its first hires in the US and Africa, while Tuum has a second office in Berlin.

Estonia’s size is one of the reasons Estonian fintechs are flying so high, Tuum’s Kalli Kulla tells us. “It makes absolutely no sense building a product and establishing a business for the local market, so Estonian tech companies are forced to think globally from day one, and this is what they do.”
Founders want more flights – and more daylight in winter

Despite the positives, all the founders we spoke to could identify areas for improvement. “In addition to the challenge of Estonia’s size, one has to mention the tightening financial regulations that require thorough KYC and AML checks, and proper risk management,” Single.Earth’s Valdsalu explains. “This makes building a crypto company more complicated than it possibly should be, but of course, it also cleans the market for serious companies like us.”
Tallinn Airport is Estonia’s only international airport.

“One major downside is connectivity,” adds EstateGuru CEO Marek Pärtel. “We should have more direct flights to all of the major cities in Europe. During Covid of course it didn’t matter, but it would ease lots of things. As we’ve got only six hours of daylight during the winter, some talent might be afraid of that. But after they’ve moved and lived here, they understand the beauty of the seasons. During the summer we have 18 hours of daylight.”

EstateGuru is a pan-European marketplace for facilitating property-backed loans for SMEs and carefully selected investment opportunities for investors around the world. The company, which was founded in 2013, has an ambition to be the biggest real estate financing platform in Europe by 2025.
Does Estonia face a future fintech exodus?

With young entrepreneurs growing up believing they must look overseas for success, is it inevitable that Estonian founders will leave the country eventually for larger financial centres? Although it has happened (Wise, for example, is now based in London), the people we spoke to are bullishly confident in Tallinn. Kalli Kulla points to the convenience it offers, both for living and running a business.

“It might be just the opposite,” EstateGuru’s Marek Pärtel proclaims. “You can just have a second headquarter in one of those countries. We’re also analysing different scenarios for our second headquarters. The speed and ease of doing business is the most critical factor in our industry.”

That sentiment is echoed by Single.Earth. Merit Valdsalu says: “The proportion of staff working from our Tallinn office will be smaller in the future when we grow and expand our activities to the US, Asia and across the world. We will have other hubs where people can work when they need interaction with their team.” However, Valdsalu still believes that Tallinn is “a natural home” for the company as a whole.

In fact, all three companies hope that Estonian fintech can continue to thrive, both in recruiting local talent and attracting international investment. After all, Estonia is a very safe country with lots of space and innovation, Marek Pärtel says. “It’s very easy to live here, and to run a business from here.”

Some experts anticipate substantial growth for the sector in the coming years. Torrens Capital has highlighted multiple factors that may cause commercial real estate to swell, such as:

• Pent-up demand for travel and retail
• Potential for an investment boom in green technologies
• The rise of real estate alternatives
• Urbanization is here to stay

Many investors deem commercial real estate an ideal investment vehicle, far too few have carefully considered the full commercial real estate development process — and all of its concomitant pitfalls. This post will broadly explain what commercial and industrial real estate development entails from preplanning to breaking ground to construction close-out. And while this content is presented as though a project has proceeded from scratch, the steps that commercial real estate developers must take in rehabilitation projects often looks very similar.

Continue reading our real estate development process checklist to learn more about what real estate development involves.
What is Commercial Real Estate Development?

Before examining the development process, it makes sense to define just what is commercial real estate. At its simultaneously broadest and most concise, commercial real estate is any property that supports business-related activities rather than serving as a living space. By this definition, even relatively modest “plexes” (e.g., duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes). Would qualify as commercial real estate (CRE). However, most CRE offerings deal with larger properties and typically break down into one of the following categories:

• Industrial (e.g., manufacturing, warehouses)
• Multifamily (e.g., apartment complexes)
• Office
• Hospitality (e.g., hotels, resorts)
• Retail
• Mixed Use

Additionally, many commercial properties can be further broken down into quality categories, such as:

• Class-A: new properties of the highest quality in the best locations
• Class-B: mid-tier properties requiring additional infrastructure work
• Class-C: older properties with substantial structural issues that are locating in undesirable areas

Rehabilitating, repurposing, and restoring existing properties can fall under the umbrella term of “commercial real estate development,” and many of the steps listed below will apply in such scenarios. However, when people mull over what is commercial real estate development, they typically envision the building of a commercial structure “from scratch” on a specific property purchased for that purpose. That is the process described in the following sections.

Site Selection and Evaluation

Other than nourishing a very general idea as to the type of project desired, the first step in a real estate development process flowchart involves selecting the development’s site. This involves choosing a site that will fit with your property. This requires you to answer a number of important questions:

• How big will your property be?
• Must it be readily visible to passersby?
• What kind and how many access points must you provide?
• Will the topography and soil type support your project?
• Will any extant or planned developments interfere with your project?

What kind of public services are available?

If developers can answer such queries to their satisfaction, they will then move on to related matters that require additional due diligence.
Due Diligence/Research

After a developer has settled on a specific site, the decision making isn’t over. In fact, developers still have much data left to gather and numerous decisions to make. Their next step involves turning from the site to consider the wider CRE market.

While a specific site might seem perfect, developers must conduct feasibility studies that examine:

The local market. If you want to build an office building in an area where they’re overrepresented, you won’t have much success. Similarly, a locale that lacks any hotels may appear an ideal choice — until you realize that tourist traffic and business travelers never make their way through it.

Performance of similar projects. Understanding occupancy rates, the fiscal performance, and experienced hazards of related CRE properties helps to defray potential risk.

Zoning and municipal requirements. Many developers have waited years to receive the zoning necessary to proceed with their projects and considering urban-planning initiatives and the politics of zoning boards is a must. Additionally, some sites may not have adequate access to municipality-provided utilities. Finally, municipalities can require substantial fees, paperwork, and waiting periods for prerequisites such as environmental impact reports and various building permits.

Preliminary Budgets Established (Pro Forma)

Once developers have performed their due diligence and determined that property development is possible, their next step involves drafting a pro forma budget — and such budgets are possibly the most important step of any development project. Even ancient thinkers recognized the preeminence of proper planning, and one once said, “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”

At its most basic, such a budget should compare proposed expenses with anticipated revenue, providing a rough idea as to a developer’s anticipated profit. However, a preliminary budget also helps solidify expectations and clarify presuppositions. Budgets reveal just what kind of expenses a developer expects to incur in the following areas:

Construction
Demolition (if applicable)
Taxes and fees
Legal
Marketing
Financing
Management
Third-party fees (e.g., consultancy)

Budgets are used to perform net present value calculations and determine break-even points. Careful observation of pro forma budgets can also highlight faulty assumptions, showing overly optimistic or pessimistic thinking in specific areas.

Hiring Architects, Engineers, and Consultants

After approving the pro forma budget, signing off on the development proposal, and finalizing a purchase contract, development begins in earnest. The developer will begin to hire professionals to design and implement the project. This may include:

Structural Engineers
Electrical Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Structural Architects
Landscape Architects
Civil Engineers
Strategic Consultants
Consumer-Research Consultants
Capital-Allocation Consultants

When hiring these professionals, developers must consider multiple factors, such as:

The number of successfully completed projects
Years of experience
Awards, commendations, and certifications
Delivery period
Fee structure

Municipality Submittal and Review

Another important element of the development process involves submitting the design to the municipality and receiving approval after an administrative review. This will include a thorough review of the project’s zoning, site plan, and design. During this stage, developers must reach out to the local community for multiple reasons. First, ordinances may require some kind of communication with residents and extant businesses. Second, keeping the community abreast of development plans helps lessen resistance and less-than-graciously named NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) attitudes.

Additional steps that developers must take include satisfying the city entitlement process, which means receiving permissions for landscaping, roads, utility hookups, and the like. The city, county, or municipality will also need to conduct a public hearing and issue appropriate permits prior to the construction commencing.

Finalize Budget

After clearing these administrative hurdles, developers should have a much clearer idea as to how long the project will take and what exactly it will cost. Some of the expenses — especially those related to consultation, design, and planning — may have already been incurred. Developers can now confidently finalize their budget as they prepare to break ground, taking into account variables like insurance, permitting, and site preparation. As this part of the process wraps up, they will need to select an appropriate title company to hold the project’s funds and close escrow.

Construction Coordination

An old aphorism states, “Proper preparation prevents a poor performance,” and nowhere is that more true than with the commencement of commercial real estate development. It may seem as though plenty of preparation has already gone into the process, but several more steps need to take place before the breaking of ground begins.

First, the developer must hold a pre-construction meeting in order to define everyone’s roles, delegate responsibilities, establish quality standards, and generally set expectations. Pop psychologists have said, “Expectations are premeditated resentments,” and making sure that various managers, contractors, consultants, and third parties are on the same page regarding their duties helps avoid wasteful misunderstandings, conflict, and even potential legal actions.

Next, developers will start survey staking, a process by which contractors physically mark out the planned structure on the actual site. This helps determine the placement of features like curbs and driveways, as well as whether or not the stormwater can properly drain. Engineers may also take soil samples to ensure that the plans remain viable given ground composition.

Building Construction

Now the building part begins in earnest. Contractors will begin to execute the following:

Earthworks. Often the soil in its raw state won’t properly support the proposed structure. Contractors will fill in, stabilize, grade, and test the soil.
Foundation / Demolition. During new construction, contractors will pour the structure’s foundation. Existing structures may be razed, and the current foundation used or replaced depending on the situation.
Exterior Construction. The frame of the building will be erected, the roof constructed, an HVAC system attached, and major utilities connected.
Interior Construction. Walls, ceilings, duct work, insulation, floors, paint, fixtures, and all the things that you encounter on a daily basis in a building go in.
On-Site and Off-Site Preparation. In addition to creating parking lots, other access points, and landscaping, developers must often build access roads.

Inspections & Construction Close-out

Once the construction has concluded, municipal inspectors will arrive to ensure that the structure and its surrounding environs meet all community standards. Once they do, they will provide a certificate of occupancy. The developer will also ensure that all rental equipment has been returned, that all finished items have been addressed, and that any necessary cleaning has been completed. At the point, all that remains is to turn the property over to a tenant.

If you’re looking to begin a development project, consider contacting us at GNP Realty to help helm your project. We have ample experience with multiple end-use scenarios, including everything from industrial construction to public housing to projects requiring LEED and WELL certifications. Our passionate team marries attention to detail with care for your concerns. Reach out to us today!

Standing out in the hospitality industry is quite a challenge for top players in property management, since there are still businesses using obsolete software, while many others have long moved from traditional way to property management system development. In order to remain competitive, property businesses must find a partner who would deal with custom PMS development.

What is a property management system?

Property management systems (PMS) are tools for automation and acceleration of all the processes: bookings, reservations, check-ins and check-outs, verification of availability, amenities, photos, fees, and taxes, policies, the list goes in.

Property management software for the hospitality industry is an excellent way to manage all the above-mentioned tasks with ease. The ability of such a technology lets it completely integrate with:

1. booking mechanisms;
2. channel managers;
3. revenue management systems.

PMS isn’t just a mechanization of the property processes, it’s a way to improve customer services and effectively attract your audience. According to Blakely study, approximately 58% of millennials would rather report issues through messaging applications than in person or via phone.

How to choose PMS development team?

When choosing an innovative property management software development team, one should pay attention to solutions it can provide your business with. Here are the main factors that play a significant role:

Is a PMS software cloud-based?

Cloud-based software, especially property management tools for the travel industry, is much better than installed ones because it is more flexible, reliable and offers data security.

Does the development company provide technical support?

Technical support should be bundled with PMS and become one of the main concerns when deciding on the property management software development team. It helps to deliver superior customer service and be in accordance with hotel guests’ expectations.

Does PMS provide channel manager integration?

You can automate the simultaneous distribution of your properties to the channel partners’ platforms and, as a result, maximize the bookings.

Is a multi-language setup available?

Localization of the property helps you be with the clients who are from different countries on the same page and speak with them their language.

Undoubtedly, it is never easy to make the right choice when choosing a PMS development team but the factors listed above are crucial to find out from PMS solutions provider. When your choice is based on these points, you get a number of essential advantages.

The main benefits of property management system optimization:

• Cost efficiency (the data is stored in the cloud and saves thousands of dollars that you would spend on your infrastructure);
• Increased security (cloud-based storage of the data provides it with encryption and puts behind numerous security layers);
• Monitoring of payments (easily approachable reports of tenants payments that are especially useful in case you are interested in PMS development for vacation rentals);
• Higher accessibility (you and your customers aren’t restricted to a single server or a computer and have an opportunity to access any data in real-time);

Definitely, there are many more advantages and features of property management systems and real estate software development. Technology must be taken into account when it comes to property management. As Jeffrey Steele puts it in his article for Forbes: “the real estate industry has traditionally been slower to embrace advancements than many other fields”. That is why both hospitality and real estate industries should implement innovative property management solutions into their business. That would make it easier for owners to take care of their clients and control the operations connected to their properties.

P.S. If you want to upgrade your property management system optimization but still hesitating, then you can contact Torrens Capital company and find out how you can benefit from PMS integration directly from our experts.