Greetings BOMA Birmingham members!  

Having just returned from the BOMA International Conference in sunny Long Beach CA, I can say with a certainty that summer has arrived in Birmingham!  I left CA in the wee morning hours and the temperature was a comfortable 74 degrees only to arrive in Birmingham and be embraced …more like suffocated by 96 degrees and extreme humidity!   The conference was informative – our General Session opening speaker was Ben Stein, noted economist and humorist and quite frankly the message delivered was not as encouraging as one would hope.    It appears that we will be in this recession for a tad longer than expected- though some East coast markets like VA are recovering sooner.  Commercial lending is occurring, though not nearly at the speed that we need it to, to generate job creation, encourage growth and sustain our Commercial Real Estate Industry.

One of the educational seminars that I participated in at the conference was aptly titled An Owner’s Decision Matrix: In-house Vs 3^rd party management.  Personally familiar with both Property management options, I of course was hoping to figure out whether I should “hitch my wagon” to one or the other, but the reality is there is no easy answer.  We already know that change is inevitable- the commercial RE world as we once knew it is no more.  With the passing of the healthcare and tax reform bills, many owners are choosing to outsource much of their day to day property management responsibilities.  Where previously they may have utilized in-house talent and resources, they have found that they can now expand their business rapidly into other markets without having to first establish a presence and set up offices in those markets.  By subcontracting the talent the end result is lower payroll costs, insurance and liability.  So…is this the future of Property Management?  The take away message is this:  In any business, there will always be owners willing to share their profitability for fewer headaches, less overhead and minimal control and the natural transition for those owners will be to outsource their property management functions.   On the other hand, I feel strongly that there will always be some Real Estate owners interested in retaining quality professionals who are industry savvy, adaptable to the times and capable of change.  Make yourself invaluable to your employer.   Whatever your involvement in this industry, whether it is managing, maintaining, consulting, protecting or cleaning- stay abreast of what is happening in your industry, educate yourself and your team members (BOMA is constantly offering webinars!) and most of all do what you do best and take care of your customers and clients – if you don’t someone else will.

I mentioned this previously –but feel it is important enough to mention again.  Each of us needs to be working as hard as we can at the jobs we have.  NOW is the perfect opportunity for you to get involved with BOMA and benefit from your membership!  BOMA members collectively represent the largest contingent of individuals who contribute to the success of commercial buildings!  Rarely do people outside of our industry ever truly understand or appreciate what each and every one of us do and how we all work together.  Each one of you chose to be members of BOMA for different reasons but the primary reason is that you are in some way associated with Commercial Real Estate and you want to continue to grow and be successful in your field.   BOMA Birmingham recognizes the importance of networking in these troubling times.  I strongly encourage each of you to bring a handful of business cards to every meeting and hand them out, introduce yourself to someone new!   Build a rapport with a fellow BOMA member- many long standing business relationships began because someone happened to be in the “right place at the right time” when a need presented itself.  Make that “right place” a BOMA meeting and make a connection. 

Wishing each of you a comfortable and prosperous Summer!