No one likes to think about a possible disaster but there have been many happening around the world in recent years. You may have experienced one of them firsthand and so you know how important it is to plan.
Are you ready for an emergency/disaster? What can happen in your area? How will it affect your business? How will it affect your family, friends, residents, property owners, vendors, and personnel? How will everyone cope? Can they cope? Do you and they have a plan for survival? Will you have the resources to handle the problems? Will your business survive the worst? These are just a few of the questions that relate to emergency/disasters.
There is a lot to planning for all the possibilities that could happen. It takes time and effort. Here are some of the steps you need to take to put together an Emergency/Disaster plan.
- Identify as many emergencies and/or disasters that can happen to you and/or your business. It is important to include the “worst case” scenarios.
- Identify the people that you need to involve to help you with this project. Family and personnel can give you a lot of insight.
- Research useful websites that will help you plan or will be available to consult when something happens.
- Consult appropriate professionals such as your attorney, accountant, banker, insurance agents, financial advisors, etc.
- Create a complete plan for the continuance of the business in the event of disability and/or death of the company principals.
- It is important to create a Property Management Office Emergency/Disaster Manual and advance documentation so everyone knows what to do, how, and when.
- Develop a safety plan, a fail-safe backup system for computers, and an emergency/disaster kit for the office. Meet with Personnel periodically to cover what to do during an emergency/disaster.
- Create a Tenant Emergency/Disaster Handbook and Owner Emergency/Disaster Guide to educate them on what to expect and what to do.
- Once you have a plan, it is important to review it periodically and if a disaster does happen, update it accordingly afterward.
There is an old proverb, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” You owe it to yourself, family, personnel, owners, tenants, and friends to plan for any contingency. You can call it a crisis, emergency, disaster, or something else – but as they say, “life happens.” It is “how we handle it” that makes the difference. You can think of this as depressing or as a “freeing experience.”
An emergency or disaster can definitely elevate your level of stress and create chaos for all involved. When you plan, it can give you some peace of mind because you or those around you know where to start if something happens.
It takes a lot to put all of the above together. LandlordSource does have a great tool you can use – The Emergency/Disaster Recovery System. You do not have to reinvent the wheel, just customize these documents, or use whatever material is appropriate. Whatever you do, just do not bury your head in the sand and fail to plan!
Jean Storms, MPM® is the founder/author of LandlordSource and has been a NARPM® member since January 1993.
Disclaimer: LandlordSource does not represent the article content in this website as legal advice. It is shared information only and up to the reader to use this information responsibly, seeking legal advice as necessary to their business.
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