Adding Asset Value by Sound Property Management

Today's tough economic times requires owners of income producing real estate to focus on sound property management practices to ensure that their investment remains income producing. With the continuing tightening of business credit, to increasing costs of conducting business for the user of commercial real estate space, owners must insure that their investment is continuing to operate on a profitable basis month-to-month and returning the desired annual return for the owner.

It is critical that owners understand property management best practices to achieve financial and investment asset returns year after year. The best way to insure success is to implement a comprehensive property management program. Most owners hire experienced property management firms to manage all aspects of managing their assets if they do not have the experience nor the time and knowledge to do so. It is imperative to fully understand various legal, administrative, landlord-tenant relations/laws, building code and a host of other aspects of owning investment real estate for success, not to mention to keep the owner out of potential legal trouble.

This article is meant to provide a summary of some of the most important elements of a comprehensive property management program that not only provides benefits for ownership, but also benefits users (tenants) as well. The following represents some key elements of such a program:

1. Proper tenant screening: credit checks, review of financial statements, review bank accounts (past 60-90 days), names of current and previous suppliers for reference checks, business plan (if start-up), existing client/customer base.

2. Understand tenant's business structure: sole proprietor, LLC, S-corp, C-corp.

3. Fit their space requirement and line of business to your property: understand how tenant's business (industry, hours of operation, etc.) fits with you property type and current tenant mix if not standard office property, retail, etc., will the tenant request/require expansion space in the near future, for high profile tenants, what kind of tenant build-out will be required and cost.

4. Operating costs: what, if any, property operating costs can be passed through to tenants, energy efficiency/rebate programs from local utility companies, monitoring energy usage, property tax assessments, proper insurance.

5. Lease negotiations: an experienced management firm is invaluable here with the many issues and requirements that make-up a well drafted and comprehensive agreement.

6. Routine vs. emergency maintenance issues: preventative maintenance program, contractor relationships, in-house personnel.

7. Marketing/Leasing: market knowledge, broker, user contacts, advertising/promotion programs.

8. Tenant retention: existing tenant/property management reporting system, lease renewal program, property enhancement program.

9. Landlord-tenant requirements: compliance with federal, state and local laws.

10. Fire/life safety and building codes: compliance with national, state and local laws and ordinances.

The foregoing represents some important considerations for managing any investment property. A properly implemented and maintained property management program is a critical component for ownership success for any type of investment real estate. Especially in these tough economic times, it is smart to full appreciate how a professionally managed property can add value to your investment as well as add value to you tenants and will go along way toward tenant retention, which under any circumstance will result in profitable real estate returns.

Scott has a multi-disciplined real estate background covering over 19 years' of experience in commercial real estate and management field with extensive experience in acquisitions, leasing, options, easements, contract negotiations, due diligence, feasibility, and zoning requirements. Scott's background involves managing property investment portfolios, conducting market studies, site and zoning analysis, financial analysis and researching land-use and zoning requirements to gain jurisdictional approvals, and Planning and Zoning Board relations.

7 Steps To Determining The Market Value Of Your Business

I help business owners improve, turnaround, sell, or even buy a business. Among the most common questions I get asked is this: How do you determine the market value of a business?

Here are-pretty much in order--7 basic steps for how a business is valued.

1. Black Ink

What is the net income of the company? This one will surprise no one. We are talking about pre-tax profit here. In the last analysis, we are in business to make a buck. Hence, the blacker the bottom line, the greater the value of a business.

Be careful here. Make certain your accountant (even if that's you or a family member) constructs a profit and loss statement that shows the true profitability of your company. By that I mean one that includes only expenses that are absolutely tied to the business. Most businesses are rife with what I call "gray expenses." Gray expenses are those that may be accepted by the IRS but are not necessarily critical to the business in question. Traveling, entertainment, even medical and insurance expenses can be gray. Get those out.

Does an unprofitable business have no value Not necessarily. I can tell you as one who does turnarounds, that if there is evident potential for turning it around it may have real value. Besides that, there is the Hardware Store, our next point.

2. The Hardware Store

The printing industry is capital-intensive. Heavy equipment dollars need to be spent to make your operation competitive

That hardware (and not so hard-ware) has value. It is called tangible assets. Value the equipment at cost and add that to the valuation. A buyer wants a turn-key operation, not just a profitable enterprise grinding away with equipment in disrepair and needing replacement.

There are businesses that are currently not profitable but not due to any recession, but rather to recent equipment acquisition. Such businesses may become profitable once the sales and marketing capitalizes on the efficiencies of that equipment.

3. Service with a Smile

The more a business depends on the quality of its service the better. The reason is that service is far less costly to a company than constant equipment upgrades.

Now I understand niche printing and all the rest. But if you have a unique mousetrap, chances are it won't be long before your competitors find the right cheese to make a similar one.

If you can bullet-proof your service and show that the income flows heavily from that service you have a stronger company.

4. Rain Coat

Insurance companies, huge tax firms, funeral homes, even large pest control companies are raincoat clients. They do business no matter the economic weather. People need to be insured in every economy, the tax man comes annually recession or not, termites don't knock off during economic downturns, and people keep dying in good times and bad.

This is more a matter of degree than kind. In other words, companies are more or less affected by the economy. The point is this: the more accounts you can get that hold up in good and bad times the stronger you are.

4. Goliath is not Your Friend

The broader the base the better.

I once had an east coast printing client, let's call him Harry. He was swimming in wealth because he had a contract with a national company based in NYC. They placed the orders, he produced them, and the cash register sounded like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Until that national Goliath opted to redo the contract. That's right. Year after year, as Harry's costs went up, Goliath wanted better pricing. Sound familiar? Of course it does. Harry wound up selling his company under duress.

The broader the base, and the less dependent on Goliaths the better.

5. Up, Down, or Sideways

Are sales increasing, stable, or decreasing? More particularly, how much are they increasing or decreasing or how long have they been flat-lining?

This is a complex issue. Sales may be driven the economic conditions, internal issues at the company, seasonality, or any of a variety of other factors. The point is this. Is the arrow pointing upward or at least straight out or not. If not, can this be turned around?

6. Instant Coffee

Believe it or not, coffee was not always instant and fast-food restaurants did not exist.

We are less patient now-with everything.

What does this have to do with the market value of a business? Just this. Smart valuators look at a business and ask themselves: Could a new owner walk in and run this business the day he or she took over? This involves the key personnel, the hardware store, and how well organized the operation is.

The closer the answer is to being truly turn-key, the better the business.

7. Do You Have Tenure?

Professors and Supreme Court justices are pretty much the only people in this country that get tenure-lifetime job security.

Printers surely don't. But the older and more established the company the better.

This one doesn't rank very high, because clients often could care less about how "Graybeard Service has been meeting the needs of our metropolitan area for the last 14 billion years," but it does speak to company visibility in the marketplace and, as such, merits note.

Disclaimers

Remember, this is just a start, my friend. Every business is unique and so one size doesn't fit all. Moreover, there a variety of multipliers used to arrive at a dollars and cents value of a company. These change regularly and are affected by region, type of company, the economy, whatever.

This grid, however, is pretty solid. The last 7 businesses I valued drew buyer interest almost immediately because of they did nicely on these 7 steps.

Do you have a question for Dr. David? First, visit his website: Businessbuysellnow.com [http://businessbuysellnow.com/]. Call him directly at 702-354-7000 or email him drdc25@yahoo.com

Introduction to Determining the Value of Art

The value of a work of art is a peculiar beast, a schizophrenic chameleon. It is witnessed in a myriad of perplexing personas, corporeal and otherwise. Non-the-less, affixing a monetary claim to an art work is a necessary evil in a pragmatic sense and its worth is influenced remarkably by the hat you are wearing. To understand this matter more, one must realize that these values are transient within societies and cultures. Consequently, they must be adjusted over time and in accordance with one's rules and role as an evaluator or art patron.

So, you say: "What in da tar nation eez you talkin' 'bout dude?"

Let me try to explain. The title of this discussion, "determining the value of art", leaves an open ended definition of "value". As a former gallery owner, practicing artist, and as a professional art educator responsible for e-value-ating art daily, I know that there are two distinct classifications of value; tangible, or corporeal, something to which a price tag can be attached. The other, obviously, being ethereal that cannot carry a monetary fixation, but non-the-less, has definite "value" from a variety of standpoints. Within both of these there are also distinctions.

To initiate a dialogue on "value" in reference for money, let's assume you're an artist and want to sell a painting. How do you affix a sales price? This should be helpful to those wanting to know how initial prices of a painting are determined.

To start with, you have to consider legitimate expenses: outlay of materials, approximate rate of utilities while producing the work, expenses for research and photography, travel, fees for models, studio space rental, copyright use, framing, storage, etc. These are all things you can document with a paper trail and receipts. Next, you have to consider a wage for your time in production. How much is your time worth and dependent on your skill? Should you reasonably expect to get more if you have a master's degree in painting, or are a beginner? (It may be interesting to note that most artists in the U.S. do not even make minimum wage on the sales of their work.) Which brings up another issue, how do you recoup your expenses for classes and education or training in art? If you have limited edition signed and numbered reproductions of a painting made, how much should the price of the painting be raised?

These are just some considerations. Some artists simplify this by using a formula, like $6 per square inch plus the cost of framing.

So, you have a price in mind and want to be represented by a gallery. You go to a few galleries and find out their commissions vary from 30 to 50 percent of the sales price. After evaluating gallery requirements and expectations you decide that in order to get the price you had in mind, for example $850, now must become $1,140 with a 40% gallery take included. Other issues involved are not limited to whether or not the gallery can expect to sell it at that price in its market and the galleries' insurance liabilities and limitations.

Here are some other questions regarding artist's pricing. Suppose you have some paintings in galleries and try to liquidate some others yourself. From an ethical standpoint, can you sell a similar work for $850 (knowing it would sell easier at that price), or should you charge the same as the gallery, $1,140? Can a similar painting sell for more in a different location of the country? Watercolors typically sell for less than oils of comparable size, therefore, how do you adjust prices? What do you charge in adjustment for a vignette of the same dimensions as a full composition piece? Additionally, suppose you have participated in some juried exhibitions and some of your works have won awards. Do you now raise the prices of these, and if so, how much (I've known some who double the price.)?

The artist also sees value in their art as a possible source of residual income. This comes in two forms. One is through royalty payments with the paid use of their copyrighted and licensed materials. The second and more obscure to most, is through percentages of repeated sales of the same art work. This is accomplished in a contract purchase where the artist or their estate is guaranteed a certain amount of the purchase each time the work is bought by a different patron. Both of these require the use of a good attorney that specializes in art sales contracts.

Since I mentioned insurance before, let's look at value from under that hat. Dollar amounts may reflect differently from the insurer and the insured. What you think a piece is worth may need to be documented with a certified appraiser's estimate and even appraisers amounts will vary. Another method is to verify a "track record" of sales amounts. An owner of an art purchase will need to show a receipt. Since values of art vary over the years, one should get updated estimates that reflect inflation. On the other hand, an insurer of a gallery may just take a gallery owner's document on total amounts of consignment contracts.

Suppose you own art and want to donate it to a non-profit organization. Now the federal government has stepped in. If you want to claim an amount for tax purposes you have to verify a claim with a receipt. Unless you are the artist, then it's a whole other ball game. Uncle Sam now says you can only claim the actual value of the tangible materials that make up the piece. Your time and other expenses are null and void. So, your piece basically becomes worthless, which brings us to the next three berets of value I can relate to under the voice of experience, 1) estate of the deceased, 2) bankruptcy , and 3) loan value.

In the event of settling an estate, unless one has receipts to verify worth, you can expect to get, or list, garage sale prices (GSP). Here you also have the option of using a professional appraiser to assign a value. In the unfortunate case of a bankruptcy, you can expect to keep art listed as "wall coverings" also valued at "garage sale prices", to sell it at the GSP level, or at minimum, much lower values than your track record of sales. Banks have their own capricious policies in terms of the value of art as collateral. Some won't accept it, some require a certified appraised estimate, which will be in a range from "X" dollars to "X" dollars and as you can rightly guess, the lower amount will be used. Furthermore, you can expect the bank to allow no more than 75% of that number as collateral value. Some will have their own value of several art pieces (note the plural here) by stating that they will accept the art for a $500 loan, this is, in effect, actually a signature loan and the art has no collateral value.

Take the stance of an investor now. Several years ago "Money" magazine published their best long term investments for 15 and 30 year periods. Ranked at numbers 2 and 3 over these periods was original, contemporary art. If you are looking at long term strategies, then a serious glance at art values is important. As an investor, unless you purchase art at auction, you can generally negotiate a purchase price with a gallery or an artist. This demonstrates there can be a difference between perceived and real value for a work. If you buy art just because you like it, it may not be a monetary investment. Prior to investing in art, you need to consider all of the topics mentioned above in deciding what to look for as "value" in buying art. Two things here that also affect the value of art is the notoriety of artist in combination with market supply and demand.

With all this said, the ultimate monetary value of any art work is only the highest amount at any given time that someone is willing to pay.

Up to now we have taken a cursory look at art in terms of tangible market values. Here are a few non-monetary assessments of art work worth: cultural significance, educational and instructional relevance, historical documentation and study, therapeutic value (which can also be seen as an investment), and aesthetic attachment. Each one of these deserves their own treatise at another time.

The "value of art" to each person is a rough diamond. Increasing its worth will depend on the skill of the cutter to weld a working philosophical construct of value with practical applications to be employed as a tool to expose its many exquisite faces. Undoubtedly, theoretical physicists will prove a string theory for the universe before there is any global "value of art" recognized throughout all societies and cultures.

Robert E. Bear is a professional educator and national award winning wildlife artist. He has been recognized in Who's Who In America, Who's Who In American Education, and National Honor Society Outstanding American Teachers. He has created the Star Poster Program, the game of Gig'l(TM), and the team sport of Bearball(TM). His additional writings and paintings may be viewed at [http://www.ursidaeenterprises.com]