CPM key terms

A written strategy setting goals, budgets, and action steps for a property over a multiyear horizon, covering leasing, capital spending, and when to sell.

The legally permitted, physically possible, financially feasible use of a site that produces the greatest value, guiding decisions about redevelopment, repositioning, or conversion.

A ratio that turns a property's expected annual net operating income into an estimate of value, found by dividing income by sale price or by a market-derived rate.

Money set aside each year from operating income to pay for future replacement of short-lived components such as roofs, heating systems, and parking lots.

Effective gross income minus operating expenses, calculated before debt service, income taxes, depreciation, and capital spending; the standard measure of a property's operating performance.

Net operating income divided by annual debt service; lenders use this test to see whether a property's income comfortably covers its loan payments.

Annual pre-tax cash flow divided by the equity invested, showing the yield an owner earns on the cash actually placed into the property.

A forward-looking projection of a property's income and expenses used for budgeting, pricing an acquisition, or supporting a loan request.

Potential rent plus other income, reduced by vacancy and collection loss and by concessions, giving the income a property actually expects to collect.

A written summary of a position's duties, reporting lines, and required skills and experience, used for recruiting, training, and performance reviews.

A step-by-step process for correcting conduct, moving from verbal coaching to written warnings and finally termination so employees get notice and a chance to improve.

A periodic, documented review of an employee's results and behavior against agreed goals, used to guide development, pay, and promotion decisions.

Adjusting one's style-directing, coaching, supporting, or delegating-to match the competence and commitment a person brings to a particular task.

Assigning a task together with the authority and resources needed to finish it, while the manager keeps responsibility for the result.

The number of employees reporting directly to one manager; wide spans flatten the organization but reduce the time available for coaching each person.

A schedule listing every unit or suite with its tenant, lease dates, square footage, base rent, and concessions; the core record behind income projections.

A standardized summary of a lease's key terms-term, rent, options, expense responsibilities, and special obligations-so staff can answer questions without reading the full document.

A temporary incentive such as free rent, a rent reduction, or a waived fee offered to win or keep a tenant; it lowers effective rent even when quoted rent is unchanged.

A lease provision that raises rent on a set schedule or by an index formula, or that passes through increases in operating expenses to the tenant.

Money a landlord agrees to contribute toward a tenant's build-out or renovation, usually negotiated in exchange for a longer term or higher rent.

The average rent per square foot over a lease term after subtracting free rent, concessions, and landlord-paid costs, allowing competing deals to be compared fairly.

Scheduled servicing of equipment and building systems based on calendar intervals or condition checks, intended to prevent failures and extend useful life.

A numbered record of a maintenance request that captures location, problem, assigned technician, labor, parts, and completion, enabling tracking, follow-up, and cost analysis.

Repairs and replacements put off when money or time is short; the backlog lowers property condition and value and raises the eventual cost.

Money spent on an improvement or replacement that extends an asset's life or raises its value, recorded as an investment rather than a current-year expense.

The contract between an owner and a managing agent that sets out services, authority, reporting requirements, term, and how the manager is paid.

A manager's legal obligation to act in the owner's best interest, with loyalty, disclosure of conflicts, and prudent care in handling funds and decisions.

A small set of measurable targets-such as occupancy, delinquency, or average days to complete a work order-used to judge whether staff and the firm are meeting goals.

A written program naming target prospects, positioning the property, choosing channels and messages, setting a budget, and defining how results will be measured.

The specific group of prospective residents or tenants whose needs, income, and location preferences a property is designed and marketed to serve.

Software and routines that record inquiries, showings, and follow-ups so staff respond quickly, see which marketing sources produce leases, and keep prospects engaged.

A running list of identified risks that records each one's likelihood, potential impact, responsible person, and planned response, reviewed on a set schedule.

A contract provision in which one party agrees to cover the other's losses and legal costs arising from specified acts, omissions, or conditions.

Documented procedures for keeping essential operations running, or restoring them quickly, after a fire, storm, cyberattack, or other disruption.

A change in rules, policies, or physical space that lets a person with a disability use and enjoy housing equally, required by fair housing law unless it causes undue burden.

Measuring a building's energy and water use against similar buildings or its own past performance to spot waste and track improvement over time.

A lease that assigns responsibility between landlord and tenant for sharing utility data, making efficiency improvements, and meeting operating standards.

The number of years needed for savings from an efficiency investment to equal its cost, used to screen projects against an owner's hurdle.