Yard sale? Cleaning up after a departed tenant.

This past week I was texting with a property manager needing to dispose of restaurant fixtures and equipment left behind by a departed tenant.

Over the years I've cleaned up after a dry cleaner, a car dealership, a drugstore, a couple of restaurants, and an ice-cream manufacturer. A few lessons learned:

• Make sure the departed tenant is really gone. Even if the tenant did a midnight move and hasn't been seen for months, it's prudent to have the right documentation in place before laying hands on their stuff. Check the lease and talk with an attorney. 

• Who really owns the stuff? Lenders and equipment lessors may have rights over equipment. As for other contents: drycleaning customers lose the rights to their clothes after two weeks, I was told - but we still went to the trouble of arranging for storage and pickup. People like their clothes.

• Throwing away is expensive. Demo fees, hauling fees, dump fees add up. And wouldn't you rather keep all that reusable stuff out of the landfill?

• Auctions can work. We got rid of hundreds of linear feet of shelves, signage, furniture, and kitchen equipment with the help of a commercial auctioneer. We didn't quite break even, but the cost was minimal compared to the alternatives.

• Selling privately is a challenge. Craigslist is crowded, responses are slow, and bargain hunters will haggle you to death. Still, it's worth spreading the word. With a broker's help I actually found a buyer for a warehouse-sized ice-cream freezer.

• Giving away isn't that easy. Try donation channels such as Habitat for Humanity, re-use outlets, and the new Buy Nothing networks that are popping up. If all else fails, you can throw a "yard sale" giveaway for other tenants. It's amazing what people will take.

Good luck!

Parking Lot Primer for Property Managers

Does your parking lot look like this - or only in your nightmares?

Every freestanding building has a parking lot governed by a simple equation: asphalt = maintenance. This is true for industrial, suburban office, or retail, from regional mall to neighborhood mini-mart.

In response to a recent inquiry, I pulled together a few insights from twenty years of parking lots - worrying about everything from routine curb repair to knee-deep-in-wet-clay-five-tons-of-crushed-rock remove-and-replace projects.

• Assess what you have. Generally, certain areas are worse than others, with drive lanes and storefront stalls getting the heaviest use and wear. Google Maps provides a basic layout for mapping areas of need.

• Hire an architect. Stall number and sizes, disabled parking and accessibility issues - even landscaping in parking lot islands - are governed by code. Meanwhile, striping and landscaping have a pesky habit of changing over time. An architect will start you off on the right foot.

• Hire the right asphalt contractor. Asphalt is complex; just look at the Asphalt Institute's array of publications and seminars. The best contractor will have the integrity to guide you, as well as the knowledge and experience to meet all your needs. You don't want to be juggling multiple vendors: one for striping, another for curb repair, and a third for major work. 

• Plan and budget. With a map of current conditions, an architect's site plan, and a trusted asphalt contractor, you can prepare a five- or ten-year plan for parking lot work. Minor repairs, sealcoating and striping are operating expenses, while remove-and-replace usually falls under capital.

• Routine maintenance is important. Trash and litter spoil the appearance of your property. A broken curb or a frozen-over puddle can cause a slip-and-fall,  leading to an insurance claim or even a lawsuit. As always in property management, DO sweat the details!