Maduka Nweke, [email protected] 08034207864, 08118879331
Facility Management is becoming a recognized sector in the Nigeria’s economy. The industry was hitherto seen as a simple assignment that should not grow into a career. The influx of foreign professionals has kind of introduced various dimensions to the way and manner things are done in some sectors. Today, facility management has become a normal business among conglomerates and other corporate personalities in Nigeria. The sector now employs as many employees as we may not anticipate.
For those who are still alien to Facility management also known as FM it is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology. The International Organisation for Standardisation defines FM as the “organisational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business. Facility management is a complex profession, but learning these four knowledge domains is key to the understanding. The bottom line is FMs do whatever it takes to keep their facilities operating as they are intended. This results in facility occupants who are enabled to carry out the operations, which drive the mission of the organization. That is facility management.
As a matter of fact, Facility managers (FMs) can have many different titles and arrive in their profession through a variety of career paths. They are responsible for making sure systems of the built environment, or facility, work harmoniously. FMs contribute to the organization’s bottom line through their responsibility for maintaining what is often an organization’s largest and most valuable assets, such as property, buildings, equipment and other environments that house personnel, productivity, inventory and other important elements of operation.
Even though FMs don’t always have similar titles, they share common roles within their respective organizations, and these include but not limited to; Occupancy and human factors; Operations and maintenance; Sustainability;Facility information and technology management and Risk management. Others are; Communication; Performance and quality; Leadership and strategy; Real estate; Project management and Finance and business. Facility Management (FM) is based on operations and maintenance (O&M) and it encompasses what most people immediately think of when they hear the term “facility management”. This is because it takes care of what facility an establishment has put on ground and a short way further to include other things that are procurement based. Many people think in terms of the maintenance guy walking through the hallways fixing things. To be fair, that is a substantial part of the job. That said, O&M encompasses much more than that. The term “operations” implies that the facility’s infrastructure is being used to create the environment as intended. And the term “maintenance” means that the FM team maintains the infrastructure so that it functions, enabling the operations to continue. O&M can generally be broken down into two parts, hard services and soft services.
But despite the name that stems from the activities they perform, many people still sought to know the role of a property manager and a property management company. It is very important to note that many property management companies will have a threshold for spending that requires the property manager’s approval. This is often negotiable if you want to further lessen your involvement in the process. For those that want to have as big a hands-off approach as possible, look for organizations that thrive on taking the reigns of a property fully from the property owner. Do they provide status reports? What is their communication plan like? These are prime questions to ask if minimizing your involvement in the day-to-day operations of your investment property is of any great concern to you. In that wise, you must know what kind of role you would want to play in new rentals. Much of the time, rental property management companies will take on all of the tasks needed to put a new renter in your property.
However, it is worth asking the question to determine what kind of time turn around you can expect in getting a new tenant in and seeing just what kind of effort you have to put forth to ease that process. Rental property investment is a large time and effort commitment but after selecting your investment, rental property management companies can take some of that time and effort out of your hands. In determining whether that time and effort savings is worth the cost expense, it is important to ask some of these questions. Facility management is not for everyone, so be ready to meet what will be expected of you and what you will be expected to give up before committing to any kind of long-term agreement.
To make it in a property management business, you must be a good property manager and will be proactive and trustworthy. You will be willing to go the extra mile to ensure that both the tenant and the landlord are satisfied with their rental situation. They are usually sociable, friendly, and cooperative people. This helps them diffuse tense situations and handle uncomfortable situations with ease. They will be the go-to person for both parties, resolving conflict with positivity. There are many benefits in choosing a local real estate agent with a strong working knowledge of the area. With knowledge of the local market, your agent will be able to inform potential tenants of all of the relevant information they need regarding the house and the surrounding neighbourhood. There is a great deal of work that goes into managing a rental property. If you don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with repairs, tenant problems and marketing a vacant property, you’ll probably want to hire a property manager. The percentage of your rental income that pays for a property manager will pay off because you can sit back and relax. The alternative is to risk lost income if your property sits vacant or if you have trouble with your tenants. One of the first reasons to consider hiring a real estate agent that specialises in property management is they help provide a buffer between you and your tenant. If there are any problems with late payments or damaged property, the agent deals with these issues so that you can avoid any unpleasant confrontations.
Ordinarily, a professional property manager should know all the ins and outs of your state’s laws that relate to rental properties and can advise you about your landlord rights. A good real estate agent does far more than just rent your home and collect your money for you. They can also facilitate mediation in the event of late payments, providing a debt-collection service if necessary, as well as organising emergency repairs, maintenance and even handling the payment of various bills.