Corporate Real Estate Insights | By Augusto Alizo | Published January 2026
Over the past 60 days, I’ve had the opportunity to work hands-on, boots on the ground, at a Class A property in Miami. The building is over 40 years old, fully leased and well located. As is often the case with mature assets, it comes with aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance and ongoing HVAC issues.
It was a return to fundamentals. A reminder of why the day-to-day aspects of property management matter just as much as strategy, capital planning and long-term asset optimization.
As careers progress and advance, it’s easy to start managing buildings through spreadsheets, pro-formas, leasing assumptions, underwriting models, budgets and dashboards. All of that is important but being back in the field reinforced that how a building actually runs matters just as much.
On paper, the property appeared strong. It is fully leased to a credited tenant, positioned in a supply-constrained high-demand submarket and benefiting from significant year-over-year appreciation. From the outside, it checked all the right boxes but from the inside, as it’s often the case with mature fully occupied buildings, there were operational challenges:
I started by going back to basics. I put together a practical preventive maintenance plan, requested a complete set of construction drawings from the city, scheduled annual inspections and certifications across major systems and worked through scope and priorities with vendors. From a cost perspective, we needed to separate what needed immediate attention versus what could be planned and phased over time.
Just as important was tenant communication. Being present, responsive and transparent changed their perception. Even when issues could not be resolved immediately, the tenant responded differently when they saw commitment, consistency, follow-through and a clear plan.
Being back in the middle of operations was also a reminder that buildings are run by people. There is a team responsible for keeping the lights on, responding to service requests, sending rent letters, preparing budgets, and completing CAM reconciliations. These tasks may be viewed as administrative, but they are the backbone of a well-run property.
What I didn’t expect was how much I missed the people side of the work. Training, mentoring, and working alongside team members, many of whom will become leaders in this industry sooner than they realize, has been one of the most gratifying parts of this experience.
Over these 60 days, we’ve implemented preventive maintenance programs, scheduled inspections, and begun documenting standard operating procedures. We’re not where we need to be yet, but spending time back in the day-to-day reinforced something simple: strong real estate performance isn’t created only in meetings or spreadsheets. It’s built through consistent execution, attention to detail, and respect for the people doing the work every day.
About the Author
Augusto Alizo is a corporate real estate executive with over 20 years of experience managing transactions, development, and facilities across the U.S. and Latin America. He writes about real estate, strategy, and leadership at augustoalizo.com.