If you think your property isn’t being managed and maintained to the highest standard, you could decide to hire a professional owners corporation or body corporate manager.
This is someone who can help manage the daily building management administrative affairs like collecting levy payments, co-ordinating contractors for repairs and maintenance, and organising meetings.
How to choose the right owners corporation or body corporate manager
Selecting a manager is an important process because it’s essential to appoint someone that will act in the best interests of the property owners, and will be easy to work with.
Here a guide of some questions to ask of a potential manager before you appoint them:
- Does the service agreement adequately meet the needs and requirements of the owners corporation or body corporate?
- What services are included in the management fee?
- What charges are involved for additional services?
- What services are provided out of hours and on weekends, especially in the case of emergencies?
- What are the manager’s skills, qualifications and knowledge?
- What regular training takes place to ensure the manager is kept up-to-date with legislative changes?
- Is the manager a member of a professional organisation?
- When will the manager be available (for example, what days or hours)?
- How often will the manager be onsite?
- Can the owners corporation or body corporate agency provide any preferential rates on selected products and services e.g. discounts on energy and gas bills?
When working with your owners corporation or body corporate manager, communication is key. The manager needs to know exactly what’s expected of them by the owners corporation or body corporate and, in turn, the owners corporation or body corporate needs to know what action the manager will take on their behalf and the status of any projects or issues. If communication breaks down, the property may not be maintained appropriately, risking your investment.
What if there’s an issue?
If there is an issue with your owners corporation or body corporate manager, the first step is to discuss it with them frankly. Most issues arise from miscommunication and it can sometimes be easy to rectify the situation just by talking it through carefully. If this doesn’t work, then there are a number of options available.
You can make a written complaint to the owners corporation or body corporate committee, make a written complaint to the appropriate consumer affairs department, apply for an order at the relevant civil and administrative tribunal, or make a complaint about your manager to the professional body they belong to.
To find out how the PICA Group can help you manage your property effectively, contact us today.