Services

Client: Victory Center Owners Association
Property: Victory Center – 33 standalone industrial buildings, Los Angeles, California
Description: The center is comprised of individually-owned industrial buildings totaling 320,000 SF, each on its own separate legal parcel. The buildings are part of a property owners association.
Service Provided: LAREM is the property manager for the property owners association

Summary: The Victory Center Owners Association comprises 33 individually owned industrial buildings ranging in size from 4,000–14,000 square feet. The project was developed in 1988 and features modern concrete tilt-up construction and generous landscaped areas. The roadways are shared by all of the property owners. The owners association is responsible for landscape and roadway maintenance. The development is surrounded by a low income residential area and in recent years trash dumping and car abandonment had become problems. Also, problems with gang activity, homeless people, graffiti and non-compliance with main roadway speed limits had gotten progressively worse over time. The owners association, dissatisfied with the level of service from their existing property management company, elected to hire LAREM to help turn the project around.

Challenge: Take over the management of the association and develop a plan for addressing the project's security, safety and maintenance issues. Present the plan to the owners and with their feedback prioritize the tasks to be undertaken for implementation. Present a budget and obtain the owners' approval for funding.

Solution: LAREM's property management team met with the owners to gain a full understanding of the problems facing the project. LAREM developed an action plan to address these problems, with priority given to securing the project, especially during off hours, weekends and holidays. LAREM's recommendations first called for installation of swinging gates with locks at all driveway entrances. During non-business hours, all gates are locked and driveways secured. The padlocks were all keyed alike and all owners were given keys to ensure complete access to the project at any time. Next, LAREM arranged for a drive-by security patrol on weekends and holidays. “Detex” security points were installed at all security gates. Patrol officers are required to contact each “Detex” station with an electronic wand during each patrol of the park. Patrol frequency information is then monitored by management to ensure adherence to established patrol schedules. Furthermore, LAREM's property manager established a working relationship with senior Los Angeles Police Department officers responsible for the surrounding neighborhoods. Through this liaison, officers now attend owner association board meetings and are kept abreast of the security concerns and needs of the business and property owners. Lastly, to address the speeding issue, LAREM lobbied the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic study of the main roadway through the park. As a result, four-way stop signs were installed at a major intersection of the roadway and from time to time special patrols conduct speed stops to cite the violators. Having addressed the security and safety issues first, LAREM also enhanced the appearance of the project, upgrading the ongoing maintenance of the landscaped areas and roadways, and supervising the timely removal of any graffiti.

Result: Securing the driveways with swinging gates and arranging for a security patrol have significantly reduced unwelcome after hour activity, eliminating most of the trash dumping and car abandonment, and significantly reducing graffiti associated with the local neighborhood gangs. The security patrols have also created a less comfortable environment for juveniles to loiter and homeless people to establish residence. Although the speeding problem surfaces from time to time, the four-way stop intersection has generally slowed traffic through the park and made the main roadway less of a short-cut for area commuters. These improvements in security and safety, and careful attention to ongoing maintenance of the landscaping and roadways have once again made the project a viable place to do business with a resultant increase in property values.

Client: Victoria Business Park Owners Association
Property: Victoria Business Park – 43 industrial condominiums totaling 241,500 SF, Carson, California
Description: The park is made up of 43 industrial condominiums which are part of a property owners association
Service Provided: LAREM is the property manager for the property owners association

Summary: The Victoria Business Park was 85% owned by an investment group that had acquired its majority interest through the purchase of individual condominiums over a twenty year period. During this time the property owners association was allowed to go dormant with a resultant lack of oversight of maintenance and security issues. Planning and budgeting for necessary repairs and upgrades to the project was either non-existent or haphazard. The investment group decided to divest itself of condominium units as they became vacant and recognized the need to upgrade the project in order to achieve its disposition goals. The majority owner hired LAREM to assist with the needed transformation of the project.

Challenge: Reconstitute the dormant property owners association. Elect a board of directors and confirm the hiring of LAREM as the property manager for the property owners association. Develop an action plan to address the park’s maintenance and security issues. Prepare and present an operating budget for the owners’ approval. Collect agreed upon owner association dues to cover the recurring operating costs of the park and to establish a reserve for funding approved repairs and upgrades.

Solution: LAREM organized a meeting of all the owners in the association to discuss its action plan for the project. First on the list was the election of a new board of directors who then hired LAREM to act as the property manager for the association. Next, LAREM’s team presented its plan for addressing the deferred maintenance issues facing the owners: roof repairs, exterior paint, landscape irrigation system repairs and landscape upgrades, and asphalt paving repairs. Necessary repairs and upgrades were prioritized and costed out. Schedules for completing the work items were agreed to and funding was approved. As for security, the park had contracted for 24 hour/7 day on-site security guard patrol. This level of security was deemed excessive and unnecessary due to the park having 8’ high perimeter walls and utilizing a single gated point-of-entry to eliminate through traffic. The onsite security was reduced to night-time and weekends and the savings applied toward the cost of repairs. After deferred maintenance items were cured, a schedule was established for future replacements of asphalt paving and roof membranes.

Result: Deferred maintenance issues have been addressed and the park’s appearance has improved significantly. Repairs and capital replacements of asphalt paving and roof membranes have been scheduled over time to accommodate budgetary constraints. The high level of security that the park is known for has not suffered as a result of the reduction in the hours of the security patrol. Available space in the park is in high demand and property values have appreciated substantially in the last five years.

Client: Family Trust
Property: North Carson Industrial Center - 125,000 SF, Carson, California
Description: Four stand-alone industrial buildings, ranging in size from 20,000 – 40,000 SF
Service Provided: LAREM is the property manager for this project

Summary: The North Carson Industrial Center comprises four aging stand-alone industrial buildings occupied by five tenants. The buildings were originally designed for manufacturing/fabrication. However, as the market transitioned to more of a logistics environment, demand for such facilities slackened, eroding lease rates and diminishing the quality of the tenants. To address the functional obsolescence and associated depreciation of the project, the family trust ownership sought to hire a property manager that had the experience and foresight to guide the family through the much needed repositioning of the project.

Challenge: Upgrade and reposition the buildings to better suit the more prevalent warehouse distribution uses without severely interrupting rental cash flow.

Solution: As each building lease approached expiration, LAREM recommended reconfiguration upgrades to suit warehouse distribution uses. Truckwells were added in yard areas, where previously none had existed, to provide truck-high loading access. Excess office areas were eliminated, and outdated offices were upgraded. Fire prevention systems were enhanced to accommodate high-pile storage requirements of warehouse distribution companies. Building refurbishments were completed, including replacement of roof membranes and asphalt paved yard areas. Cosmetic enhancements included modern exterior paint schemes and revitalized landscaping. By tackling the project transformation one building at a time, LAREM managed to minimize interruptions to cash flows and to budget improvement costs over a more extended period of time.

Result: The buildings were leased by LAREM’s brokerage team at rates significantly higher than previously attainable to good quality, long-term tenants. The project has low turnover and has realized a healthy appreciation in value.

Q:

If I hire LAREM to manage my industrial property, what is the term length of the management contract?

A:

LAREM requires a one year term. You can renew the term annually or continue on a month-to- month basis.

Q:

I am the owner of a single industrial property. Would LAREM be interested in providing services to a single property owner like myself?

A:

Absolutely. LAREM has many property management clients with only one or two properties in their portfolios. Our company is not burdened with large overhead costs that preclude cost effective property management oversight of smaller industrial portfolios. Due to our operating efficiency, LAREM is able to tackle any assignment, large or small, and still dedicate the pre-requisite man-hours to ensure that the property is managed effectively. We manage projects as small as 3,000 square feet all the way up to 3M square feet.

Q:

How does LAREM determine the management fee for an industrial property?

A:

The management fee is based on the type of building (multi-tenant or single-tenant) and the number of tenants. It can vary from a fixed monthly fee to a percentage of collected income.

Q:

If I hire LAREM to manage my multi-tenant industrial park, can LAREM also lease the vacant units?

A:

Yes. LAREM will begin the marketing of a unit as soon as we learn that an existing tenant is planning to move out. Once the existing tenant has vacated the unit, we will completely refurbish the unit and make it ready for occupancy. LAREM’s ability to respond promptly to a prospective tenant’s urgent deadline for occupancy assures that your unit is leased in a timely manner.

Q:

How often will I receive management and financial reports?

A:

We send out monthly property management reports that detail aged receivables, changes to the rent roll, vacancies, scheduled maintenance and capital improvements, and any other property related items. LAREM also sends out monthly financial reports, including income and expense registers, cash flow, general ledger and bank reconciliation.

Q:

I own a property that is part of an association. Does LAREM offer property management services to property owners’ associations?

A:

Yes. LAREM has extensive experience managing various property owners’ associations, for both stand-alone industrial building and industrial condominium projects. We have over 3.5 million square feet of association space currently under management contract.

Q:

I have always had a book-keeper deposit my rents and pay my property bills. Can LAREM provide property management services exclusive of handling property financial affairs?

A:

Yes. We offer a full range of property management services and can cater a service program that addresses your specific needs. If it’s your desire to continue overseeing the financial aspects of property management, we can exclude this service offering, and adjust our management fee accordingly.