Setting Up Options and Critical Dates

This chapter provides an overview of options and critical dates and discusses how to:

Set up options and critical dates.
Manage your critical date task list.

Understanding Options and Critical Dates

There are a variety of milestones and events that can occur throughout the lifecycle of a lease. Usually, these events are in response to a clause or option that is written into the lease. Lease related events often require one or more persons to carry out a task that is related to the execution of the lease, usually on or before a critical date. The Real Estate Management system provides a number of features that enable you to manage these events and inform interested parties of the due dates of these events. The key concepts that the system uses to track lease related events include:

Lease options

A lease option represents a lease related event, option or milestone. You can define a common set of lease options as part of your setup data. When a lease is created or updated you can assign one or more of the predefined options to the lease. You can then define the notification recipients and the frequency of the notifications prior to the option date.
Critical date

When you associate an option to a lease you also need to define the date the option expires. This date is typically referred to as the critical date. Once this date has passed, the option is no longer be exercisable. To avoid missing the critical date, you can use the option date to define a start date, an end date and optionally, any number of intermediate dates for notifications to the users. As each date occurs, a notification is sent to the various lease contacts informing them of the pending lease option.

For example, if you have a lease with an early termination option that expires on December 31, 2010 and you want to be notified prior to the expiration of that option, you can define a critical date that begins on September 1, 2010 and ends on December 31, 2010. You can also define intermediate notifications such as every two weeks between the dates defined. A notification is sent to the contact every two weeks between these dates advising the contacts that the Early Termination option expires on December 31st.
Critical date template

Critical date templates enable you to apply similar sets of options and the associate critical dates. Real Estate Management provides a facility that enables you to preconfigure one or more options and critical dates and organize them into a template. You can apply the template to a new or existing lease, and each option and critical date within the template is copied into the lease. Critical date templates are reusable; that is, when a template is applied to a lease, you can modify the lease options and critical dates on the lease without affecting the original template.
My Critical Dates

The potential number of critical dates generated by a lease portfolio can be extremely high. The Real Estate Management application provides a task list, enabling each system user to track their own critical dates. When a critical date notification is sent to users, the system records the assignment in the My Critical Dates page. Notification recipients who are external to the system, such as: landlords, tenants and supplemental contacts, receive outbound email notification only.

This table lists the five major activities that are associated with the critical dates:

Activity	Description
Lease Option Setup & Maintenance	Creates, updates, and deletes lease options. The lease options define the set of possible milestones that can be tracked on a lease within each business unit. Each lease option defines a notification template to construct the notification messages that are sent to recipients
Critical Date Template Management	Creates, updates and deletes critical date templates. The template provides a default set of lease options that can be applied to any lease. Templates can also be preconfigured with a default notification schedule and list of the roles that need to be notified. You can define any number of templates.
Lease Option Assignment	Assigns options to a lease using either a template or a specific lease option to define or edit the critical date for each option that you add. When you assign a single option to a lease, you must also configure the critical date (including the notification schedule and recipient list) manually. When a template is applied to a lease, the critical dates are automatically set up according to the values that are preconfigured in the template. Templates can be cumulatively assigned to a particular lease.
Critical Date Notification	Generates notifications to recipients in response to the schedule defined for each critical date.
Critical Date Task List Management	For those recipients who are internal to the system, describes the actions that are available to manage the list of critical dates to which they are assigned.

Note. A previously completed critical date can be re-activated if the critical date is updated and the action date is extended. To inactivate a critical date, clear the Enable Notifications checkbox.

Prerequisites

Before setting up critical dates for a lease, you must first set up the following:

Role types and lease administration roles.
Lease option definitions.
Critical date templates

See Defining Lease Options, Defining Critical Date Templates, Defining Role Types, Defining Lease Administration Roles.

Setting Up Options and Critical Dates

This section provides an overview of options and critical dates and discusses how to:

Define lease options and critical dates.
Set up critical date details and notification recipients.
Run the Critical Date Notification process.
Inquire critical dates.
Manage your critical dates.

Pages Used to Set Up Options and Critical Dates

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Options and Critical Dates	RE_LS_OPTIONS	Lease Administration, Receivables Leases, Create New Lease, Options and Critical Dates Lease Administration, Receivables Leases, Maintain Lease, Options and Critical Dates Lease Administration, Payables Leases, Create New Lease, Options and Critical Dates Lease Administration, Payables Leases, Maintain Lease, Options and Critical Dates	Displays the list of options and critical dates associated with a lease.
Critical Date Detail	RE_CRDT_DTL	Click the Critical Date icon on the Options and Critical Dates page	View or edit the details of the critical date associated with the lease option. Use this page to both edit and view a critical date in a number of different modes. When viewing an option from a template, different fields are visible when viewing or editing the detail that is attached to a lease.
E-mail Message	RE_LS_OPT_EMAIL	Click the Email text link on the Critical Date Detail page.	Displays the text that should accompany the email notification.
Apply Critical Date Template	RE_TMPLT_SEL	Click the Apply Template link on the Lease Options page.	View the list of available Templates. Enables users to select one or more Templates for inclusion on a Lease.
Critical Date Template Detail	RE_TMPLT_DTL	Click the Apply Template link on the Lease Options page. Click the template name.	Displays list of options contained in the critical date template.
Generate Critical Date Notifications	RE_CDNT_GEN	Lease Administration, Integrations, Critical Date Notification, Generate Critical Date Notifications	Run the process to generate critical date notifications to recipients. You can specify an as of date parameter for generating the notifications.
Critical Date Inquiry	RE_CRTICDT_INQ	Lease Administration, Reports, Critical Date Inquiry	Inquire on critical dates associated with a lease administrator or all lease administrators. You can view critical dates by business unit, lease number, lease option, date range or by lease administrators. If you do not specify the criteria, the system displays all critical dates within that business unit.

Defining Lease Options and Critical Dates

Access the Options and Critical Dates page.

Add Option

Click to add new lease options and define critical date details. The critical date details specify the list of recipients and notification schedule attached to the lease option.

Apply Template

Click to select one or more templates to apply to the lease. When you select and apply a critical date template, the critical dates that are contained in the selected template are assigned to the lease. The existing assigned critical dates are not overwritten.

Lease Options

The lease options grid displays existing options and critical dates that you have established for this lease.

Option Date	Displays the date that this option expires. This date is critical when a decision needs to be made or an action needs to be taken for that option. For example, you can set up a lease option for availability of additional space and you have the first right to that space. Setting up the option with the critical date reminds you that an action needs to take place on or before the specified date.
Critical Date	Click the Critical Date Details button to view or edit the details on the critical date. You can specify the notification schedule and recipient list that are attached to the critical date defined for the option.
Option Status	Displays the status of the option. The values are: Inactive: The critical date schedule for the option is inactive; no notification will be sent. Active: Critical date notifications are processed when you run the critical date notification process.
Enabled	Indicates whether the schedule that is defined by the critical date has been enabled. The system sends notifications only for active critical dates that are enabled and have one or more recipients with valid email addresses.

Note. If the lease status is cancelled or closed, this page is display-only. For any other lease status value, the system displays the page in update or edit mode.

Setting Up Critical Dates Details

Access the Critical Date Details page.

Click the Add Options button.

Option Name	Select the option for which you want to establish for a critical date.
Option Date	Enter the date that this option occurs or expires.
Message Text	Enter the text to insert into the email notification that is defined in the Lease Option Setup page. Note. You must include the %MSG% tag in the mail template of the option in order to have this text appear in the generated email.
Email Text	Click the link to display a sample of the email content that is generated and sent to recipients. You cannot edit the email text from this view. The email text is specified when you define the lease option during setup. You may, however, tailor the Message Text field to customize the message for this specific lease.

Schedule Details

Enable Notifications

Select to enable email notifications.

Send initial notification

Select the option for sending initial notifications. Critical date notifications operate within a date range. The options in this group determine the timing of the start date. Options include:

Prior to Option Date: Use this option to begin notifications on a specific number of days, months or years before the option date.

On the Lease Start Date: Use this option to begin sending notifications from the lease Commencement Date field that is specified in the General Information page for lease maintenance.

On a Specific Date: Use this option to begin sending notifications on a specific date. The date that you select must be prior to the option date.

Recurring – Send Recurring Notifications

Never	Use this option if the notification is not recurring. For example, only one notification is sent on the date that is specified by selecting Send Initial Notification.
Daily	Select this option to generate notifications on a daily interval. For example, setting the number value to one generates a notification every day from the initial notification until the option date occurs.
Weekly	Select this option to generate notifications on weekly basis or on regular intervals on specific days of the week interval. For example, specify a value of two and select Mon. and WedThe system generates notifications on Mondays and Wednesdays, every other week, between the start date and the option date.
Monthly	Select this option to generate notifications every month on a specific day of the month. For example, you can generate a notification every three months on the 31st day of the month between the start date and the option date. If you select the 29th, 30th or 31st and the notification date occurs within a month that has less days, the notification is sent on the last day of the month.
Yearly	Select this option to generate notifications annually on a specific day within a specific month. For example, you can generate notifications every two years on June 30.

Recipients

This section enables you to specify the interested parties to whom critical date notifications are sent. The recipient list is role based. Notifications are only sent when a specific person is assigned to that role within the context of the lease.

You use the Contacts section of the lease to specify the roles and specific users who are assigned to those roles. You can select a role to which no one is currently assigned; however, no notification is actually sent. Conversely, if someone is assigned to that role and they are removed from the contact list, the system displays the role as the recipient, however, the person who is assigned to the role no longer exists and no notification is generated.

See Understanding Lease Contacts.

Role Name

Select the role for whom you want to receive notifications. You can select from any of the predefined Lease Administration roles. If no one is assigned to this role, then the Name field is blank.

Email Notify

Indicates that email notifications are sent to the role(s) that are defined.

Note. This field does not show whether the recipient’s email address has been correctly configured. The system assumes that all email recipients are able to receive mail.

Run the Critical Date Notification Process

Access the Critical Date Notification Process page.

Note. The notification feature does not use PeopleTools Workflow

Critical Dates Inquiring

Access the Critical Date Inquiry page. The Critical Dates Inquiry page provides a view of critical dates that are about to occur for a lease administrator or all lease administrators. You can search the critical dates by defining the appropriate search criteria in the page.

Managing My Critical Dates

The My Critical Dates page enables you to view the critical dates that apply specifically to you. You can search for the critical dates by providing the appropriate search criteria in the page. For example, as Portfolio Manager, you might want to see the critical dates for lease termination within the next six months. By entering the date parameter and the lease option, the system generates the list. You can click the lease link to view the lease for further action. When you have completed your task you can mark your critical dates as complete or incomplete.

A critical date is marked as complete or expired when one of the following conditions are met:

All recipients are internal and every recipient has marked the critical date as resolved.
There are both internal and external recipients and the action date of the critical date passes.
The critical date task is explicitly set to Complete and the parent lease is closed.

Pages Used to Manage My Critical Dates

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
My Critical Dates	RE_OPT_RECIP	Lease Administration, My Critical Dates	Use to manage lease options with critical dates.

Manage My Critical Dates

Access the My Critical Dates page.

Show Completed Tasks

Select to view completed tasks only.

Task Completed

Select when you have completed the task.

Date Completed

Displays the date on which you completed the task.

Add Option	Click to add new lease options and define critical date details. The critical date details specify the list of recipients and notification schedule attached to the lease option.
Apply Template	Click to select one or more templates to apply to the lease. When you select and apply a critical date template, the critical dates that are contained in the selected template are assigned to the lease. The existing assigned critical dates are not overwritten.

Show Completed Tasks	Select to view completed tasks only.
Task Completed	Select when you have completed the task.
Date Completed	Displays the date on which you completed the task.