Cast a management eye over a property portfolio before you buy (By our Business Development Manager, Fiona DuCasse) I have been called on by investors and institutional freeholders many times to review newly purchased property portfolios. Whilst I understand that some deals require decisiveness and speed to secure, sometimes a portfolio can be a mixed bag of opportunities and that this is only made obvious with a thorough review. Are you choosing and using a Property Manager soon enough? I recall being asked to look at a block of units in Streatham. The property was a block of flats above a commercial unit (a bank), part of a larger freehold portfolio. The façade of the building required work, redecoration and pigeon proofing. And the common parts of the flats (corridors were rundown and dirty, with electrical wiring exposed in hallways). I recall an issue with multiple individuals in some of the flats and rough sleepers. However, upon further inspection, there was a flat roofing issue and sewage spilling into the ground floor sewage which fell through into the Bank’s kitchen whilst staff were eating their lunch! Owner occupiers of the flats were understandably frustrated and concerned for their property value due to the ongoing neglect and lack of maintenance of the building. There were little service charge funds to address the items raised and so the new Freeholder was met with the tricky situation of forward funding repairs until such time as funds could be collected from leaseholders. These issues may not have been deal breakers for the purchase of the portfolio, but it might have been nice to know about this beforehand. When an investor has come to me to review a potential purchase, I apply a matrix to the portfolio that has worked well for me over the years. Even bearing in mind the recent work restrictions that limit travel to these sites, I can still produce a report that gives clear insight into the issues surrounding a portfolio of properties. (01 February 2021 )

Cast a management eye over a property portfolio before you buy

(By our Business Development Manager, Fiona DuCasse)

I have been called on by investors and institutional freeholders many times to review newly purchased property portfolios. Whilst I understand that some deals require decisiveness and speed to secure, sometimes a portfolio can be a mixed bag of opportunities and that this is only made obvious with a thorough review.

Are you choosing and using a Property Manager soon enough? I recall being asked to look at a block of units in Streatham. The property was a block of flats above a commercial unit (a bank), part of a larger freehold portfolio.

The façade of the building required work, redecoration and pigeon proofing. And the common parts of the flats (corridors were rundown and dirty, with electrical wiring exposed in hallways). I recall an issue with multiple individuals in some of the flats and rough sleepers.

However, upon further inspection, there was a flat roofing issue and sewage spilling into the ground floor sewage which fell through into the Bank’s kitchen whilst staff were eating their lunch!

Owner occupiers of the flats were understandably frustrated and concerned for their property value due to the ongoing neglect and lack of maintenance of the building. There were little service charge funds to address the items raised and so the new Freeholder was met with the tricky situation of forward funding repairs until such time as funds could be collected from leaseholders.

These issues may not have been deal breakers for the purchase of the portfolio, but it might have been nice to know about this beforehand. When an investor has come to me to review a potential purchase, I apply a matrix to the portfolio that has worked well for me over the years. Even bearing in mind the recent work restrictions that limit travel to these sites, I can still produce a report that gives clear insight into the issues surrounding a portfolio of properties.

(01 February 2021 )

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