Whether you are a landlord, investor, or tenant, understand what your rights are with real estate service providers.
Know the Difference between “Brokerage” – “Property Management” and “Facility Management”
You can find comprehensive and simple answers to all these questions and more in this article.
Understanding the difference between different real estate market providers is essential. Listed in order for your need for the service, I will explain the responsibilities of the three main service providers.
1: The Duties and Responsibilities of the Real Estate Broker
The services usually provided by the real estate broker are limited to the following: mediation in buying and selling transactions and brokerage for rental properties. A real estate broker is the main point of contact between the two parties of a real estate transaction; seller-buyer or landlord-tenant. Sometimes the broker is the representative for one of these parties or a negotiator on behalf of a second mediator representing the other party.
A professional broker should always proffer the best advice for his clients and help the parties reach a mutually beneficial agreement, whether material or moral, by choosing the appropriate unit at the best price.
The broker must also deal with the highest degree of transparency and credibility towards both parties by clarifying all the advantages and disadvantages of the unit at the time of inspection so that the tenant or buyer can make an educated decision.
2: The Duties and Responsibilities of Property Management Companies
Property management companies represent the unit owner only and act on the landlord’s behalf by managing the property (building, villa, apartment, office, shop, labor camp, warehouse…etc). From marketing and promoting properties, pricing, dealing with a trustworthy network of brokers to secure the highest occupancy possible, negotiating the rental value, either on behalf of the owner or after consulting with him, rent collection, to attaining government and maintenance approvals during the contract period, terminating or renewing lease contracts, providing tenants with excellent client experience and the maintenance, cleaning and security when applicable.
Therefore, if the owner has a contract with a property company to manage his or her property, the tenant has the right to communicate with the company to follow up on all aspects of their tenancy including but not limited to the physical property such as renewals, notices, maintenance requests, as stipulated in the contract of the two parties. The cost of property management falls on the Owner of the real estate (property, building, villa, shop…etc).
Normally Property Management companies do not directly offer 24/7 call center for maintenance. When this service is provided, in most cases it is subcontracted to a facility management company (FM). In most cases, property Management company have normal office working hours.
3: The Duties and Responsibilities of Facility Management Providers
Facility management companies specialize in the technical maintenance of individual units, utility management and communal areas of buildings or residential complexes: Entrances, corridors, swimming pools, fitness halls, elevators, security personnel.
Landlords and tenants alike can contract with facility management companies for their units for all maintenance related issues during the rental period. The advantage of this for tenants is that they are certain of getting a specific scope of immediate maintenance services that normally include 24/7 call center, emergency maintenance, preventative maintenance visits, periodic check-up visits and others, depending on the type and the value of the FM contract.
In conclusion, after reviewing the responsibilities of each service provider, every rental transaction begins with the real estate broker, whose job is to find a suitable tenant for a landlord and to find the tenant a suitable property for his requirements. After the property contract is signed by both parties, the real estate broker must then register it with the correct authority. As soon as the tenant receives his keys for the unit, the job of the broker ends. The responsibility for reviewing all matters related to the rented unit either falls into the hands of the owner. The tenant’s relationship with the owner becomes direct and without intermediaries, and the tenant must communicate with the owner for all matters related to maintenance or to follow up any complaint regarding the rented unit.
If the landlord has contracted with a property management company, they can provide maximum comfort for both parties with prompt and professional services with regard to maintenance checks, prompt responses to issues, and to determine whether those defects are the responsibility of the owner or the tenant.
We also advise property owners to always contract with a maintenance and facility management company with a special contract that covers the maintenance of all of their units, which may increase the rental value of the unit compared to those not insured by such contracts.
We also advise the tenant, if he has rented a residential unit that is not covered by a permanent maintenance contract by the landlord, that he/she contracts him/herself one of those FM companies in order to avoid any delay or maintenance problems that may occur during the rental period.
A quick overview of the author of the article: Firas Al-Msaddi
* Due to many years of experience in the field, I can enable real estate investors to make well-educated investment decisions by providing a simplified set of undeniable facts that form the backbone of every investment opportunity I recommend.
* Empowered with more than 10 years of real estate experiences, I provide investors with rich and realistic educational content based on a strong understanding of the market and the ability to read and anticipate market trends, with a deeper look beyond the mere focus on the luxury of living that is often provided by real estate sales professionals.
* Founder and CEO of fäm Properties, which won the Best Seller Award for the year 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 by the Dubai Land Department, Government of Dubai.
* With more than ten years of in-depth real estate experiences, we have executed real estate sales transactions of more than 10 billion dirhams in Dubai’s real estate market.
* Firas manages real estate investment portfolios for individuals and major investors with a net asset value of more than two billion dirhams.
* The author and presenter of Straight Property Talk
* The author of Straight Life Talk
* Address and public speaker
* A recipient of government awards - Dubai Land Department - the largest number of sales transactions in Dubai for 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Entrepreneur and owner of a series of leading brands in various fields;
* fäm Living
* fäm interior design
* fäm Media 24/7 for advertisement
* Media Force for advertising
IG: Firas_Al_Msaddi
LinkedIn: Firas Al Msaddi