Flat owners - management company rant

[mikeyb10supra]

I have lived in my 2 bed flat for the past 4-5 years now and im looking to move in the near future providing I can get enough equity out of the property as ive made massive overpayments on the mortgage to reduce the loan amount.

However, my concern is that the grounds and sorrounding areas are looking rather shabby compared to what they used to be and I feel this will put potential buyers off. Now this should be the responsibility of the managing agents to sort out, however they dont seem to pull their finger out and ever get anything done. The front of the flat needs painting badly, fences need restaining, trees cutting back etc etc, lead has been pulled off the roofs and left in a state....the list goes on

 

Has anyone faces anything similar and how did you go about gettin them off their arses and actually getting things done. I have payed my money for the last 5 yrs and so far not really seeing any for it

 

Mikey

[Mistermann]

I used to work for a management company many moons ago and they have a difficult time of it, they have to find a balance between getting all of these things done whilst keeping the account as low as possible so they dont end up charging the property owners at the end of each year. However, after the 1st year or 2 of working out the needs of the grounds upkeep they should (if they are any good) be able to keep on top of things so it seems a shame that after 5yrs of being there that they dont seem to have gotten on top of it!

 

There are a number of things to consider, Management Companies hate it when they dont get paid (who doesnt!?) but you cant really sabotage the monthly payments on your own as this wont have the effect you are after - it will need a substantial group of you (51%) before the residents start really having a voice. Is there a residents association? The other problem, is all to often a lot of these properties are rented out and private tenants generally aren't as bothered as the owners but then if the owners have rented their place out, as long as they are getting their rent they dont seem to care too much!

I would also watch the contractors that are used - again if they are good contractors they should keep on top of it - if they are not then the management company will need to look at changing them or using more so the job gets done properly - additional cost to the property owners!

 

All too often the management company will be using the cheaper contractors to keep the bills down and increase their profit margin.

If you get really p1ssed off the with them, then the residents can take over but again you will need at least a 51% share of owners to be on side.

 

My best advice, is nag them - get on the phone to the company everyday - management companies hate people who nag and they will gets things done if only to stop the nagging phone calls!

 

Best of luck!

[mikeyb10supra]

Thanks for the reply, that was very helpful and informative. Another questions for you though

 

Should it be the managements responsibility to keep an eye on propertys and make sure things are completed when they feel necessary ie painting, decorating etc etc or should it be the responsibility of the tennent to raise this and ask for it to be done? Can the management refuse to do it if a tennent asks?

[Mistermann]

It SHOULD be the responsibility of the management company to check these things....however from my experience the management companies (esspecially if they don't have enough staff) don't check the grounds as often as they should unless something has come up and they need to visit. A lot of these places rely on their contractors to provide them with feedback (which can be biased)

This can work in favour of the tenants sometimes as often the management company will fall under pressure if they are given enough stick.

But a good management company should have an approximate timescale, once the developer has passed over the responsbilility of the communal areas and they will have a sinking fund that you all pay for that funds the big one off things like redecoration or major repairs (to things like water features if you've got them)

Really - they should document all of this sort of stuff when they write to each year and tell you how much the service charge will be. Are you apartments split up into lots of small blocks with 6 to 10 flats in them or are you in one big block? If you are in a small block then you could have a word with you neighbours and see if you could get your block tidied up a bit and then let everyone else worry about their own blocks.

[j_jza80]

Threaten them with legal action if they refuse to do anything.

[Mistermann]

I missed something...lol

The management company can refuse but the chances are that they will probably turn round and say that you are in the minority and that you will need more people to agree with you before taking action - they used to love the line, 'its not just your money we manage its got to be of interest to everyone'. All that simply does is put the ball back in your court and the residents end up doing everything.

We found an effective way would be to put a petition up in the communal area (do you have a notice board where the cleaners "cleaning form" is?) Stick one up there and see if it draws the attention of your neighbours.