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There are many different job fields out there that cater to people who need or want a little flexibility in their schedules. Many people find that having a little extra flexibility in their schedules allows them to continue on with their lives without much of a change. Flexibility can range from working loose hours instead of business hours, or it can mean working certain days that are needed. Either way, flexibility can be great for the stay at home mom, the retiree or the student. One way you can have flexible work hours is to invest in real estate management courses. Real estate management courses are basically courses that school you in the on goings of real estate management. The person looking for flexible job hours will find them after completing their real estate management courses and passing the licensing test. Each state has different requirements and laws about their real estate management courses, so check with your state if you are interested. See if your town or city has a local real estate association, or do a search on the Internet to see where you might find real estate management courses.  

Real estate management courses can help you become a real estate agent. Before anyone can claim that they are a real estate agent they must first take real estate management courses and complete several exams. Real estate management courses can cost a pretty penny, but the total cost is less than a four-year degree to get a job. Real estate professionals that have earned the title of instructor usually teach real estate management courses. The real estate management courses are set up in a classroom like setting with the instructor leading the courses. The real estate management courses are put on a strict time completion and then the exams are scheduled. The real estate management courses have books to read and study and the instructor monitors all of the students progress. There is much to learn about the real estate management business and its professionals take their business very seriously.

After all of the real estate management courses have been taken and the exams passed, the student is now allowed to sell real estate. Many real estate companies will take on newly graduated students to help out in their offices. This is a great way for the newbies to jump into the real estate business and get their feet wet.  While working around the real estate office the new real estate agents can help the seasoned agents with their workload. After the new agents have shown the real estate office that they can provide customer service, knowledge about the profession, ability to work with numbers, organization and more, the office will let the new agents out on their own. This is a very exciting time for the new agents and many will feel the pressure of the business. It all pays off when the new agent completes their first sale. 

If you know someone who is looking for flexible work hours then you should mention real estate management courses to them. It is a great way to beat the everyday grind of the 9-5. Real estate management courses can help provide a little freedom and fresh air to those needing a new start or change in job careers.

Self Storage Industry

Georgia RV Storage

Miami Storage

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Storage in itself encompasses everything the name itself means. The reasons for getting storage is as vast as the people who are looking for it. All around the US and Canada calls come in everyday for information about storage facilities.  Pricing is a big factor, then the amenities. And, add in the location. Mix it all together and you have the reason why we have storage facilities.

With a growing industry comes other niche industries that develop. One good example of how self storage has spun off new markets is the self storage secret shopping industry. As supply catches up with demand in the self storage world, offering great customer service and having good sales skills is important and requires that storage owners use secret shopping for some quality assurance.

From sunny Florida all the way up to Nova Scotia people are looking to store items from bags and boxes to RVs and boats.  There is storage in the biggest of cities to the smallest of towns.  Some people are surprised to know that there is a facility a block or so over because they never noticed it until they needed it.  Some say they drive by the facility on their way home or to work and they only want that facility because it is near them most of the day and they feel safer putting their items in that place.  Others have to get a storage unit because they are moving out of state and, they have to leave some items behind because their new home is smaller.  To them, storage is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Another aspect of storage that is growing are the people who are staging their homes.  They only need storage for as long as it takes them to sell their home.  And, there are the house flippers.  They also only need temporary storage.  Or, the business person who sells restaurant or pharmaceutical supplies and needs long-term storage because they get the materials they need on a monthly basis.

All those are good scenarios for a secret shopping shopper to use when they are pretending to be a customer. Secret shopping is a sure way to make sure that customers in any situation receive excellent care and superior service.

Storage for the average consumer is primarily household furniture and other miscellaneous items.  When a person calls the facility they are usually full of questions.  What are the gate hours?  Where exactly are you located?  What is the difference between climate control and non climate control units?  Can you park a vehicle inside? What all sizes do you have here?  Will there be a contract?  Is there a deposit?  How long do you have to rent the unit?  How high are the ceilings?  What does the special mean?  Are there any specials now?  Do they have military or senior discount?  Those are just some of the questions potential customers usually ask.

Answers to those questions are what a secret shopping company would look for when conducting their secret shopping program. A typical secret shopping agent would not take too much control of the conversation between himself and the self storage manager. The goal of the secret shopping program is to determine what service the sales associate offers.

Storage for all who need it really is vital.  Think about what you would do if you lived in a 3 bedroom home and had to move into a 1 bedroom apartment.  What would you do with all the belongings you cannot take?  If there was not any storage, would you put it in a friend or relatives attic or basement?  Would you have to put it in your parents utility shed in the backyard?  If there were not any storage facilities the options would be extremely limited.  Thank goodness for storage facilities.  Without them, we would not have many friends or family members speaking to us.

The bottom line with storage is it helps make out lives easier.  The locations of the facilities and the pricing and the amenities they offer helps us make our storage decisions.  Some people just do not care about that.  They just care about the price.  The rest care about the whole package.  All of them just want a secure place to put their valuables. 

This is why a secret shopping program has become necessary for self storage owners and self storage companies. A secret shopping program will ensure that customers receive all the info they need to make an educated decision about where they should store.

Self Storage 

District of Columbia Motorcycle Storage

Brooklyn Storage

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The population is growing and new structures are being built everyday. Real estate and construction management can kill two birds with one stone. Real estate management and construction management combined together will make real estate and construction management. Real estate and construction management companies are good for existing buildings that are going through a remodel or new building projects. Different construction and real estate companies will specialize in new or existing projects. 

When real estate and construction management work together, they can have a great impact on the final project. The construction side stays in touch with the real estate side to be able to deliver the final project that will be sellable. If the construction side can build it efficiently, then the real estate and construction management company will be able to obtain more profit at the sale of the building or site. Both sides can collaborate on the design, budget and sale price. 

Oftentimes it is difficult to get the real estate and construction management divisions to work well together. The real estate side wants it fast and perfect, and the construction side wants it to be a quality structure. The longer the construction takes, the longer it will take to put the property on the market. But, that does not mean that once the project is completed that the real estate market will be ready for the property. The construction can finish on time only to have the project sit on the market for months. This can be very disappointing since a lot of hard work has gone into the property on both sides.

Real estate and construction management companies that are profitable see the marriage of the building and the selling as beneficial to all parties involved. Typically, when there is a real estate and construction management company on a project, it is a large one. This is not your mom and pop, build it and sell it company, this is high dollar property. Sometimes it will take the real estate side a few construction companies to find the one that is the perfect fit for them. Many construction companies will go through a few real estate companies looking for a good match.

Real estate and construction management companies will be the norm soon. Because the joining of two great forces make for a great property, many real estate and construction management companies will be forced to join together. Some businesses might not like the idea of sharing the profit with more people, but when the idea is great the money will be greater.

Leadership, communication, and the drive to succeed is what real estate and construction management companies are looking for to finish a project. This will mean many crews of construction workers and a team of real estate agents to make the project work. The bottom line is to complete the structure in the budget and on time, then sell it to the highest bidder. It sounds east but it is not. It takes a dedicated real estate and construction management company willing to work the extra hours to finish.

Look for a real estate and construction management company to lead your next construction project that you want sold. You might find that the combination of the two businesses make for an outstanding finished project.

    
Storage Facility

Colorado Motorcycle Storage

Columbia Storage

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A commercial real estate property management company takes care of a huge assortment of different types of property. They manage apartments, office buildings, and industrial properties. One important type of property a commercial real estate property management company looks after are shopping complexes. 

Almost everyone has been to a shopping mall at some time in their life. These buildings can frequently be seen from Interstate highways, and are a common retail area in most cities. But maintaining these large complexes can be very complicated. That is why there are commercial real estate property management companies that specialize in this type of development.  

The commercial real estate property management firm has many of the same duties as any other kind of property management company. The commercial real estate property management employees have to know the area where the complex is located, as well as what this facility has to offer. Is this shopping center upscale?  Is it located in a touristy district? Is the mall close to fishing and boating waters? The favorite word of any real estate mogul is Location, Location, and Location. This holds true for shopping districts. Every good commercial real estate property management company knows that the neighborhood determines the types of shops that will be the best fit for a particular shopping mall. 

Next, the commercial real estate property management company has to determine the best rental rates for the market. The commercial real estate property management company negotiates the leases knowing that vacancies need to be kept to a minimum, while still making a profit.

The commercial real estate property management company is in charge of the day to day operations of the shopping mall. They make sure the rent is collected from all of the tenants. They oversee the routine things such as the cleaning of bathrooms and the emptying of trash cans. The commercial real estate property management employees take care of repairs, regular upkeep, and all of the maintenance of the building and all of the grounds. And the commercial real estate property management company deals with any problems that arise.
 
The commercial real estate property management company needs to be knowledgeable about all federal, state, and local laws. They need to be certain that everything is up to ADA regulations, that state sales taxes are correctly collected, and be aware of any unique local laws that are in effect. Local laws include things like, Sunday Blue Laws and city ordinances pertaining to outdoor lighting.
 
The commercial real estate property management company does the marketing and advertising. This is necessary for two reasons. The commercial real estate property management company needs to get the word out about the shopping complex itself, plus they need to attract new tenants.

Many commercial real estate property management companies have made their shopping malls into more of a family oriented experience. They have installed carousels, family friendly restrooms, and kid friendly places to eat. A new rule in many shopping malls is the PGR, parental guidance required.  Anyone sixteen and under must be accompanied by an adult. Over the years there have been problems with youngsters getting dropped off at the mall by their parents to hang out with their friends. Shoplifting, loitering, and other juvenile crimes were on the rise. The PGR lessens these problems, and makes families feel more at ease.

Most importantly, a commercial real estate property management company wants a shopping center to be a place for people and their families to experience, not just to shop. They want the complex to have a sense of community, with everything from retail shops to restaurants to entertainment. Shopping malls are meant for everyone, young and old alike!

Self Storage Rates

Alabama Motorcycle Storage

Athens Storage

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Do you have those times when no matter what you say to the customer they just do not get the idea of the pre-payment?

At our call center we reserve storage units for different storage and property management facilities all over the United States. The storage and property management industry is a business that has became a big deal all over the United States. We happen to answer for a lot of different storage and property management companies. We tell their features, security and most important the cost of the rent. When a customer decides to rent storage or an apartment, then we will reserve the storage unit or apartment for them. We take their information like name, address and when they will go in to the storage or property management location to fill out the rest of the paper work and get their unit number.
 
It is always important to let them know availability is limited so we can reserve the storage unit or apartment for them. Then we would say, The way we reserve a storage unit (or apartment) is to take a prepayment over the phone on credit card. Most storage locations and a few property management locations can reserve a unit with a ten dollar non-refundable prepayment. Some other stores or property management companies may have it a little more, but nonetheless there is a prepayment.

We usually explain it something like, We take a ten dollar non-refundable prepayment over the phone on a credit card, this is not an extra charge it goes towards your first months rent. Then when you go in you will just pay the remainder how ever you want. Then we usually get something like this, you mean there is a deposit?  No, it is not a deposit or an extra charge it will go towards your first months rent. It seems no matter what we say it confuses the customer or they think it is an extra charge.

Well if this is driving you nuts try something like this, We take a ten dollar non-refundable prepayment over the phone on credit card or debit card it is not an extra charge, and it goes towards you first months rent. Really what it means is you have a ten dollar credit when you get to the store. Then we usually get a response like, Oh okay, this is less confusing. We have more success saying it this way and a lot less confused self storage and property management customers.

It is funny how explaining it a little different (really it is the same thing) helps people to understand it? They do not seem to get prepayment but they do understand credit.

We also have stores and property management companies that reserve storage units without taking any money, so on those store we say, we hold it on your credit card. Now we do not charge anything to it, it is like a hotel reservation it just reserves the storage unit and when you come in pay it any way you like. Oh, this one causes problems too. The first thing we usually hear, Well when on vacation my hotel reservation froze the money on my card. Then we usually will say, yes sometimes that does happen we wish we had a better way to compare it, but we do not. And then we will have to say we promise we do not charge anything to it. To tell you the truth once we give you a reservation number, your credit card number will disappear, we do not keep it on file or anything. That usually helps those self storage and property management customers. Help your self storage and property management callers understand what is best for them. It will be appreciated by the office managers when the customer comes in.

Self Storage Quotes

Alabama Self Storage

Colorado Storage

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For many of us, it does not make sense the way some of the people that work for us treat our customers. Some of them do not follow the behaviors that we laid out that could have our customers return to use our services later or to increase our profits. We all know we have people that work for us that do not quite fit the mold of what we are looking for. How can we know for sure that we can ensure those people are taking great care of our customers? Well if you do not know by now, secret shopping services are available. With secret shopping, someone can pretend as if they are interested in a service or product your facility has and then your associate attempts to assist them. This all sounds great most of the time, but not everyone is receptive to the secret shopping method.

There was an example of a facility that usually does a great job taking care of their customers and their lack of vacancies further solidifies that observation. While secret shopping one of their managers, the manager was getting agitated. Sometimes the managers of these storage facilities know that someone is secret shopping them. Sometimes they play along and try to do the best they can do, other times the manager gives them the information they want without trying to build rapport.

In this example, the manager decided to give a half-effort. This manager gave out the price too early and then tried to go back and sell the facility without much luck. After secret shopping the manager, the shopper revealed themselves as a shopper and the manager started getting angry. He went on to inform the shopper that he knew they were secret shopping him and that is why he gave the presentation that he did. He was angry that he missed a real customer on the other line and has to now talk to this person. He could not understand that secret shopping is in place to help him get better at what he does so he can take better care of the customers. He did not agree with that at all and felt that secret shopping was harassing him and trying to judge him. The shopper proceeded to try to help him better serve the customer but to no avail. The call was eventually ended stating that the secret shopping expert could not help the manager if they were not willing to be helped.

When this example was made public for everyone to know, it was shocking that someone would allow this type of behavior to come from one of their managers. It is known that companies pay good money for the secret shopping service to shop their managers. As a business owner, what are you doing to ensure that your managers are receptive to learning how they can better help the customers? With secret shopping, it is the best method to allow business owners to hear and see how their managers are taking care of their clients. So after hearing this example, how does that make you feel? Do you have someone on your staff that is not receptive to learning how they can better help your potential clients? Do you think you can benefit from secret shopping to get a true gauge on how your business is really doing when you are not at the facility?

South Dakota Storage Units

StorageMart Mandela Parkway. Oakland, CA 94607

Car Storage

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Property Management is when you own a home and you need to keep it up. You have to keep it up by mowing the lawn and shoveling the driveway just for the appearance of your home. And when you are managing your property, then you are making sure your home is well kept and it is looking good. This goes for inside of the home also. Make sure your water pipes are up to date and you have to make sure that each room is up to date when it comes to windows because you do not want wind coming in during winter. Make sure they are safely sealed and they are in good working condition. This is just one example of good home property management. And that is what the property managers are going to do. Property managers are going to make sure they keep the area nice and neat for you so that they have a better chance at you choosing them in your neighborhood.

When owning an apartment complex there are certain things you need to know about property management.  You have to make sure that you keep up with the person who is leasing the apartment at the time. Meaning if they have a leak in the kitchen or their hot water tank busted it is your responsibility to make sure that is taken care of.  Property management is going to do anything to satisfy the one who is leasing out the apartment. That is what our property management company does. They make sure that your area is taken care of. They come in and fix anything that is messed up. Iif you have a leak in the roof of your storage unit, they will go in and fix it so that your items are not ruined by the leak. Some may have climate controlled units and if something happens to the air or heating unit then the property management team will have to fix it. Some renters may have items that cannot get hot or cold or the item could get ruined so that is why our property manager will make sure that your facility is up to date and everything is working smoothly.

Also, a good property management company will make sure that you have an up to date fire extinguisher in the area and that the hallway smoke detector works. They will also provide you with a copy of your fire escape route to have in your rental. The property management person makes sure that your storage unit has a full inspection, just for the safety of the customers. They will feel safety comes first and our property management team will make sure of that by checking out each unit to show that your unit is safe. If our property manager feels that there is a problem, they will go in and take care of it.

Also, property management likes curb appeal. If you have seen hotels or motels, they have flowers or maybe a little color to get your attention. Our property manager makes sure that they give you some comfort when using our storage company units. This shows you that not only can they keep your storage unit up but we also can give you a little color to show that they are not plain.

Massachusetts Storage Units

Storage-Mart on Griffin Rd – Dania Beach, Florida

Wine Storage

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Working for a storage or property management company is not as easy as it seems. You have to know the property management company business. It is all about organization, such as filing property management company papers in order by date and then charging credit cards for the storage company is also hard. Sometimes the machine will not tell you if the card has been charged already so you charge the card again, and when you do that, you have to refund what you just charged back to the customer because it is like taking the money from them twice. This can be overwhelming because the machine will either say, do you want to charge the card again or it will not say anything and let you charge the card. Working for a storage or property management company can also be very educational. You learn about all the different storage unit types, how much the storage units cost and any specials with the units. That helps our customers out and they get better deals with our storage and property management company.

When filing out the papers for our storage and property management company, it is easy to place them in numerical order. They also come with a sheet that says if the paper succeeded, if that second sheet says that it failed you then will refax the sheet and it will see if the sheet went though. If it does not then someone will call the storage company and they leave a message to the property management company saying all the information on the sheet like, what type of storage unit the customer is interested in and if they offered any specials. If the fax is successful then you will hear a beep and that indicates that the fax has went through and you do not have to leave a message with the property management company. Many calls are taken for self storage and many property management company businesses. 

When taking property management company phone calls, you should always ask for the name of the caller. Asking them what they are interested in storing and what size they need.  Knowing what size storage they need is important to helping the customer. Giving them options about climate controlled storage and sizes will help you complete the helping of the self storage or property management company client Also, the customer will tell you that they will want to store with you. Gathering the customers information so that it is sent to the self storage or property management company manager is vital to the communication link. The more information that you can get from the customer while still controlling the call will help the actual store manager when they receive the information. By asking the right questions, you should be able to find out why the caller needs storage and this information should be included in the document sent to the self storage or property management company manager. Our system immediately sends the information gathered by the telephone rep to the appropriate store manager so that no time is lost. Many times when someone is calling about self storage they are already on the way over to the site. By sending the information to the self storage and property management company in real time, the manager on site will have the document in hand, ready to help the customer.

Arizona Storage Units

StorageMart Columbia St & Dunlap Milledgeville, GA 31061

Boat Storage

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If you are interested in a lucrative career, check out the opportunities in commercial real estate management.  Commercial real estate management can get very involved, depending on the size of the buildings that you are managing and the number of tenants. 

Most commercial real estate management deals with tenants, although office condominiums are becoming more common, especially in the Midwest.  Commercial real estate management, in those cases, takes the place of a condominium association.  About 90 percent of commercial real estate management, however, deals with tenants. 

Strip malls, large shopping malls, office buildings and complexes all have property management.  Depending upon the size of the building or buildings will determine the number of people employed as the commercial real estate management team.  In the case of a strip mall, one person may act as a property manager.  In the case of a large complex, there may be a whole team of people who are employed to assist in the commercial real estate management. 

The duties of the commercial real estate management team is pretty much the same in any capacity.  They collect the rent from the tenants as well as the common area maintenance fees.  This can get very involved as each tenant pays a percentage of the fee in accordance with their square footage.  They have to pay the utilities for the building and figure out how much will be paid by each tenant on the CAM summary.  They also have to negotiate leases between tenant and landlord.

In most cases, a person employed in the duties of a commercial real estate manager will have a vast knowledge of both commercial real estate and real estate law.  They may be an attorney or a paralegal.  In some states, there are classes you can take to begin a career in commercial real estate management.  These classes are similar to those that real estate agents take to get their license and include real estate law. 

Negotiating leases is often left up to the attorney for the landlord, however, in smaller settings commercial real estate management may handle this, depending upon the complexity of the lease.  Anyone who is seeking a career in commercial real estate management should be familiar with a commercial lease as well as other documents, such as easement agreements.  They should also have a knowledge of the landlord tenant law in the state in which the property is located and know the proper procedure for evicting a tenant that has defied the lease. 

Classes in commercial real estate management are usually found at local colleges.  While some states may require a license for a commercial real estate manager, others will not.  For the most part, this is a job that is open to anyone who has sufficient knowledge of the commercial real estate industry and the laws governing real estate in the state in which the property is located. 

Commercial real estate management is a blossoming field and one with a secure future.  Despite the fluctuation in the residential real estate market, the commercial real estate market usually remains stable. 

StorageMart Scenic Hwy Lawrenceville, GA 30045

Shopping

Property

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One day while monitoring a secret shop call in our call center, we had a rep get a call from one of our Arizona stores who needed storage. Our company has a call center that answers for different storage facilities and provides a secret shop service to clients as well. We help customers with their storage and secret shop needs and storage questions.
  
Well in this secret shop call the woman called wanting the price for storage and how storage worked. Since she had never needed storage before she was not sure.  The rep explained everything to her, the location, the security and most of all, the price. We can reserve storage for customers over the phone so the rep had asked her if she wanted to reserve the storage unit. The rep got this nice lady all set up and then the story came out why she needed storage.  Hold on to your hats you are not going to believe this secret shop call. Doing a secret shop allows us to review calls, and this one was listened to many times. 
   
The secret shop went something like this.

The woman lived in Arizona and her new neighbor was moving from out north somewhere. An elderly couple was retiring to Arizona. The husband came first and was looking at homes for he and his wife. He found a nice home next to the woman who had called. He went back home to get his belongings and his wife. When he was at home his wife had fallen on the ice and had to be hospitalized and could not make the trip back. He had a moving company move all of their things but he had to go back to Arizona to meet the movers. He had to leave his wife in the hospital and come back to Arizona to meet the truck. Of course, he got there before the movers did, so he had to wait for the moving company. During this secret shop call the lady knew she could be recorded for monitoring purposes. While he was waiting for movers his wife had died. He had to go back north to make arrangements, he was telling his new neighbor what had happened and he did not know what he was going to do. He did not want to move in to the new house without her and was not even sure if he still wanted to stay in Arizona without her. So while talking to this woman he had decided to put his things in storage but he could not wait for the truck. The woman who had called said she would put it in storage for him. Now remember she does not know this man she just knows his situation.

     
When you rent storage you have to put the storage in your name you cannot put in someone elses name and a secret shop can help monitor this. That means she had to go to the storage facility and show her ID and be responsible for the storage bill. She would also be responsible for his belongings. She agreed to that. Would you do that? Or even know of someone who would do that? Amazing, huh?

After the paper work was finished the rep told her it was amazing she was doing that for him. The secret shop call ended and the rep could not believe their ears. She said her family and friends told her she was crazy, the rep told her it was not crazy she was truly an angel and when she got to Heaven there would be golden wings waiting for her. This was a great secret shop story. 

Bowling Green location, 1628 Campbell Ln, Bowling Green, KY 42104

Shopping

Property Management

 

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