All Posts by Guy Gray

#CRE Hashtags – What to Engage and What to Ignore

By Guy Gray | Hashtags , Social Media

Ah, the hashtag. What was once a simple idea suggested by a lone marketer back in 2007 has become a crucial indicator for trending topics and dynamic, user-generated campaigns. Hashtags are a great way to get exposure and engagement on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Every industry uses hashtags, including commercial real estate.

But what hashtags should #CRE pros be engaging with or using? What hashtags should they ignore? Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones:

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The Effect of Natural Disasters on Commercial Real Estate Professionals

By Guy Gray | CRE Professionals

In August of 2017, a category 4 hurricane made landfall in Texas, where it would leave behind a devastating amount of destruction. Hurricane Harvey greatly impacted many Texas cities, including Houston, where certain areas of the city received more than 50 inches of rain. Major streets that were filled with bustling traffic just days earlier became crowded with boats filled with residents seeking help, or locating those that needed help. Countless Houstonians were stranded in their homes as the water took over. Entire sections of the city were cut off as the flood created temporary barriers. The Buffalo Bayou filled with water and city officials were faced with a major decision that had a grim outcome no matter the choice – release water from the dams and flood countless houses and businesses or leave the rising water to potentially overflow past the emergency spillways, which could cause an even bigger disaster. When it was all said and done, Harvey changed Houston forever, and the city is still working towards recovery to this day.

The Quarem office is located in the heart of downtown Houston. We all feel extremely blessed to say that our homes and business weren’t impacted by the flood, but we witnessed first-hand the aftermath and the damage that Harvey left behind. When faced with the question of how natural disasters impact commercial real estate and the professionals within the industry, we see beyond the loss of a property or building. Housed behind the walls of any commercial property, be it an office building, retail space, or warehouse, are thousands of important assets that are used daily to support the operation of a business.

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Why Your Enterprise Lease Account Software Solution Should be Quarem

By Guy Gray | Lease Account Software

American pastor, author and educator Charles R. Swindoll once said that “the difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.” For enterprise lease accounts in commercial real estate, this is especially true. It’s easy to focus on the bigger picture of an enterprise-level account. But the details — individual accounts, dates and lease clauses, for example  — can be the difference between an enterprise lease account simply maintaining its health and thriving.

Quarem can be the enterprise lease account software that takes yours over the top. Read on to discover some of the key features included with Quarem and what separates the platform from the rest.

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How Reactive Should Commercial Real Estate Professionals be to the News and Current Events?

By Guy Gray | CRE Professionals

For all types of investors, October 17, 1987 is a day that will live in infamy. “Black Monday,” as it’s more commonly referred to, was a day when stock markets across the world crashed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 22 percent. The real estate market crashed as well, but not as a direct result of the DJIA drop. Rather, the CBRE said it was due to a mistaken policy response (i.e. an overreaction) to the news of the drop.

As a commercial real estate professional, are you guilty of the same thing when it comes to news and current events? The top CRE pros have their ear to the ground, of course, and stay privy to current events and trends. That’s smart. However, to what degree does this make them reactive instead of proactive, if any? And what are some drawbacks of being over reactive to current events? Let’s find out.

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5 Lessons CRE Professionals Learn from Not Using Property Management Software

By Guy Gray | Property Management Software

There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” You’ve likely heard this saying before, but have you really thought about it as it applies to your job as a property manager?

If you’re cutting corners here and there to save time and money, you’re basically giving yourself a fish. If you’re adopting a way to permanently improve your efficiency and save tremendous amounts of time and money long-term, on the other hand, then you’re really learning how to fish.

Here are five other lessons that might help you see the value of using property management software:

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Improve Your Tenant Experience with Property Management Software

By Guy Gray | Property Management Software , Tenant Experience

If you’re familiar with the media franchise Pokémon, you know it revolves around the concept of capturing as many fictional creatures as you can — and retaining the best ones. In many ways, property management is the same way (though admittedly with less battling and evolution). Only instead of fictional creatures, we’re talking about real-life tenants.

A CRE professional’s success is directly tied to his or her tenants. Obtaining tenants and retaining tenants are both keys to a flourishing portfolio. To help with both, let’s take a look at five realistic scenarios where tenant experience can be improved by property management software:

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Lease Abstraction and Artificial Intelligence

By Guy Gray | Artificial Intelligence , Lease Abstract

When someone mentions the letters “AI,” what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s a young robot boy who is programmed to love and looks like Haley Joel Osment. Or, maybe it’s a Turing test that involves a human being’s relationship with an intelligent humanoid robot, a la Ex Machina. The bioengineered androids of Blade Runner are also often associated with artificial intelligence.

Whatever your mind conjures up, it’s likely not the 1s and 0s of software that you use on a daily basis. But, the truth is, most of the AI we deal with is just that: software. In terms of the commercial real estate world and lease abstracts, AI can be extremely beneficial for organization and efficiency. Let’s take a look at how the artificial intelligence you’ll find in CRE automation software isn’t too far removed from the friendly “AI” robots you see in the movies.

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Why Quarem is Your Tenant Experience Software Solution

By Guy Gray | Tenant Experience

There’s an app for everything these days. From tracking rewards points and sleep patterns to controlling household appliances and even using a pirate voice to keep track of where you parked your car, it seems like there isn’t an everyday task you can’t accomplish without the aid of technology.

How did we get here? Why do we need so many apps? Put simply, it’s because we want better experiences. But this shouldn’t be limited to just leisure time.

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Landlord Legal Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

By Guy Gray | Landlord

There’s an old saying that goes, “one stupid mistake can change everything.” It’s simple, but true — especially if that mistake involves breaking the law. As a landlord, you have to be on top of everything, from occupancy costs and marketing efforts to legal loopholes and mistakes. If you don’t, it can cause a setback for your business (at best) or put you at risk for closure (at worst).

From improper building and property safety to not abiding by the contract, let’s look at common landlord legal mistakes and some proactive steps to avoiding them.

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Quarem’s Commercial Real Estate Software – Great for All Industries?

By Guy Gray | CRE Software

Disney’s reboot of the movie Dumbo recently hit theaters, bringing with it nostalgic feelings of circus animals, high wire acts and larger-than-life characters. In many ways, commercial real estate professionals have to perform a balancing act of their own when it comes to managing their book of many different industries.

From hospitality venues to medical properties, CRE pros need a software solution that works for all of their properties. Quarem is just that.

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