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Topic
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Our Strata Manager has recently updated their compliance requirements for approved contractors and a number of our contractors who have provided us with long term reliable professional service are facing significant costs in having to retain consultants to upgrade their documentation in order to be “Approved”. As a consequence the Strata Manager has nominated contractors to quote on work required. In comparing quotes from other contractors on the “Approved list” it is apparent that most of the contractor’s approved by the Strata Manager appear to be extremely well qualified in price gouging. If we were to retain any of the Strata Managers approved contractors we could be looking at a cost up to 3-4 times of that potentially estimated by a quantity surveyor. It does seem that unless you have an established relationship and good understanding with your contractors you need to look very closely at quotations as it appears that many suppliers assume that because you are in a Strata, quotations will accepted with few questions asked.
Is this a common experience or am I perhaps being too cynical?
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Level_one – I don’t know how common it is, but I am aware that some strata management companies have a database of “core contractors” such as for plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and general maintenance for both routine and for emergency / after-hours works, and that in a couple of instances about which I’m personally aware those contractors pay to be on that list due to the regular work that can result, and of course load-up their quoted prices to owners corporations (O/C) in order to offset that.
I’m also aware that contractors on a strata managers’ list of “core contractors” would as a prerequisite need to provide evidence of holding the relevant licence for the work they undertake, current liability insurance, an Australian Business Number (ABN), Goods & Services Tax Registration (GST), and the ability to produce a Safe Work Plan in accordance with WorkCover’s workplace health and safety requirements (in NSW).
There’s no basis for cynicism as strata managers (S/M) who properly scrutinize contractors by the means described are doing so in the best interests of O/Cs as their clients, and no doubt of themselves in terms of time saving and invoice processing etc, but those S/Ms are working for an O/C would can instruct them to obtain quotations from whomever they choose in circumstances where, depending upon the area in which those contractors operate, there will undoubtedly be a number of others who, whilst not being on the strata managers’ list (perhaps by choice), can nonetheless provide them with quotations and the aforementioned documentation without any loading for doing so.
So the choice is one for your O/C generally and its Executive Committee specifically, but my advice would be to use the S/M’s “core contractors” for emergency / after hours works, to require competitive quotations from others for general maintenance and repair activities, and to then make an informed assessment about the best way forward.