All Posts by Guy Gray

6 Commercial Real Estate Podcasts You Should be Following

By Guy Gray | Commercial Real Estate Podcasts

Commercial real estate professionals love maximizing their time. If you could multitask in a way that is both enjoyable and benefits your business, why wouldn’t you? While forums and blogs are a great way to source information from top industry minds, podcasts may arguably offer a more modern and convenient way to obtain this knowledge.

Most of all, though, they allow CRE pros to multitask. Podcasts are perfect for commutes, gym time and lunch breaks. So, where should you get started? Here are six commercial real estate podcasts you should be following, if you aren’t already:

Continue reading

Why Your Stakeholders Will Love CRE Software

By Guy Gray | CRE Software

If there’s one thing we can all agree on about the commercial real estate industry, it’s that it’s complex. This is especially true from the CRE stakeholders’ perspective, whether it’s an active team member, a supervisor or an investor. According to a global survey by KPMG (Confronting Complexity: Research Findings and Insights), more than 94 percent of commercial real estate executives “identified complexity as their greatest challenge.”

There are two ways to address complexity: 1, present and manage information in a way that’s easier to understand; and 2, involve the parties challenged by complexity. Those who participated in the above survey agreed, as 84 percent of them pointed to technology (and specifically information management) as the solution for CRE complexity. Let’s discuss why CRE software is that solution and, more importantly, why stakeholders will love it.

Continue reading

Prospecting and Property Analysis Made Easy with Quarem

By Guy Gray | Property Analysis , Prospecting

Michelangelo had the Sistine Chapel. Leonardo da Vinci had the Mona Lisa. Andy Warhol had his Campbell’s soup cans. All of these works of art are arguably the artist’s main claim to fame. Viewers of these pieces get to enjoy the finalized version of the art, but they don’t get to see the journey the artists took to end up with their masterpieces. If we were given a look behind the scenes, we’d probably see these artists work through a lot of trial and error, research and late nights.

For brokers and their clients, finding and vetting space can feel like an art at times. Just like the artists mentioned above, brokers engage in quite a bit of behind the scenes work in order to find the picture-perfect space. They might not use a brush and canvas to get there, but they can use tools provided by CRE software.

Continue reading

Leveraging Commercial Lease & Property Management Software to Grow Your CRE Business

By Guy Gray | Commercial Lease , Commercial Property Management Software

Famed writer and visual artist William S. Burroughs once said that “when you stop growing you start dying.” This can apply to individuals, business owners or even (as we’ll discuss today) commercial real estate professionals. Nearly every CRE pro wants to grow his or her business and portfolio, after all. Not because of greed, but because of the simple fact that you can’t predict things like economic downturns, smaller margins and increased vacancies—all of which hinder a CRE portfolio’s growth.

This is especially true for mixed portfolio property managers who deal with a variety of industries, from office and retail to industrial. Each can be volatile and unpredictable. Fortunately, solutions like commercial lease and property management software can help you both streamline operations and grow your business regardless of the industries in your portfolio. Let’s look at a few benefits of this software and give some examples of how Quarem specifically helps you grow your CRE business.Continue reading

Checklist for Successful Lease Administration Software Implementation

By Guy Gray | Uncategorized

Every commercial real estate professional has goals. But how many actually reach them? We can’t say, but those that have a plan are usually the successful ones. You can have all the goals in the world, but if they just remain goals, you’ll never get anywhere. This applies to everything from portfolio management to lease administration.

We’ll be covering the latter in today’s post. Specifically, how you can begin with a goal and move toward actionable steps for accomplishing that goal. As esteemed Greek philosopher Shia LaBeouf once said, sometimes you need to “just do it.” 

Here’s a checklist for successfully implementing lease administration software:

Continue reading

3 Ways Lease Administration Software Can Streamline the Inspection Process

By Guy Gray | Lease Administration Software

Few things in life create anxiety quite like an inspection. If you’re in the military, for example, you worry about inspections for your uniform or barracks. If you’re a car owner, you take your car in for a worry-inducing inspection once a year. Homes, businesses, taxes… the list goes on.

For commercial real estate professionals (CRE)s, however, property inspections rank at the top of the list of things to worry about. As unnerving as a tax audit, property inspections are a necessary evil that can lead to findings that affect your bottom line. However, missing inspections can cause a bigger headache. Here are three ways lease administration software can help.

Continue reading

A Guide to the Quarem Blog: 5 Posts You Need to Read

By Guy Gray | Commercial Real Estate Blog

Did you know that Quarem has been publishing blog posts about commercial real estate since May 2016? Many of our posts throughout the years have been informative and educational. Others are commentaries on CRE news and challenges. We also have posts that focus on the different features of Quarem. 

But which posts are the most important and popular? Whether you’re new to our blog or you’d simply enjoy a trip down memory lane, here are five posts you need to read.

Continue reading

Auditing Your Portfolio with Quarem’s Commercial Real Estate Software

By Guy Gray | Auditing

Transparency. It’s a condition that can take an ordinary material—ice, glass, plastic, etc.—and turn it into something extremely beneficial for the user. Take eyeglasses, for example. How useful would they be if the lenses were semi-transparent or opaque? Windows, light bulbs… the list goes on.

Transparency is also important for commercial real estate (CRE) professionals, especially when it comes to reporting. By taking an unfiltered look into your business operations, you can gain actionable data on the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio. 

Continue reading

A Look at Parking Ratios and Commercial Real Estate

By Guy Gray | Parking Ratios

If you’ve ever eaten a bowl of cereal, you know that ratios are important. After all, you need to ensure you have the right ratio of milk to cereal. Too little milk and you’ll have to get a refill before you’re done unless you want dry cereal. Too much? Well, you’ll just have to get more cereal to avoid wasting the milk. Either way, it can spiral out of control pretty quickly.

Ratios are also important when it comes to commercial real estate (CRE), particularly when it comes to parking. There needs to be the right balance between need and availability; otherwise, you have to ensure your property is still appealing and meeting the needs of its tenants. Let’s take a look at the considerations a CRE pro must have concerning the availability of parking spots.

Continue reading

Oh Rats! A Look at How Property Management Software Can Help with Pest Control

By Guy Gray | Pest Control

Aside from Willard, a fictional young man who had an unusual connection with rats, most of us don’t like thinking about pest control, let alone having conversations about it. Unfortunately, pest control is a reality for all forms of property management, including commercial real estate. 

From cockroaches and ants to rats, bats and more, property managers have to deal with a wide variety of unwanted pests. How is this even possible when there are so many other tasks property managers need to complete? The key lies in this truth: pest control needs to be preventative, not reactive. It needs to be top-of-mind for a commercial real estate professional to save money and protect your reputation in the long run.

Continue reading