The Sherman Group has a limited commercial real estate portfolio of eight office buildings in Minneapolis. We have always maintained this as a smaller part of our business, working only on buildings either we or close friends own. We do this because managing a large property successfully is a demanding, hands-on job.
It starts with having a responsible, talented building engineer. This person is at your property everyday and is responsible for keeping the systems working and the Tenants happy. We empower our engineers with a sense of ownership, encouraging them to treat their Tenants as people and to respond immediately to problems when needed. We do not incur endless memos and work orders that delay resolution and irritate Tenants.
Our property managers are in touch with the Tenants daily and respond immediately to calls. They know that in a tough leasing market they are the front line in renewing and gaining occupancy. They work hand-in-hand with our sales people who are incentivized to remain in contact with the Companies they sign by giving them a commission on any renewal. The net result is a check-and-balance system that keeps everyone on their toes. We are the toughest buyers of services that we can be. Despite vendors demanding five-year terms, we always maintain our leverage and get better performance and pricing by limiting our service contracts to one-year terms. This policy is critical to keeping costs low and our real estate properties competitive.
In summary, we are a team of people that share in the responsibility of keeping our office buildings full and our Tenants happy. Property Management firms can speak in volumes about national portfolios and massive communication systems, but in our experience it all comes down to a team of people working diligently every day who accept and enjoy their jobs. We will treat your property and your money like our own.