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Our medical centre has had the same strata managers for many years – their recent increase in costs prompted us to look further afield . There is an alternative strata company which seems to have significantly cheaper rates – is there any way we can check their track record before we change?
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I was going to suggest looking at reviews but one prominent and notorious strata manager has been soliciting reviews from their happy customers, asking unhappy customers to take their reviews down, threatening the owners behind negative reviews with defamation action (not possible) and flooding the review pages with remarkably similar five-star reviews. It’s easy to spot the fakes because they almost always reflect whatever the company’s main selling points are in their advertising. E.g. if the company promises “prompt and personal service” and that phrase turns up in a review, you can lay odds that the review was generated by an office junior on their tea break or AI.
On the other hand, people are more likely to post reviews when they are annoyed or disappointed, which tilts the balance to the negative side. If an indication of a strata manager’s success is that their clients are happy and contented, then they are less likely to get any reviews.
In your situation, I would call the companies you’re looking at, ask them if they manage many or any properties like yours and then ask if they can put you in touch with an existing client for a reference.
One other consideration is that the strata management company is only as good as the strata manager that they appoint to your property. You can have good manager working for bad companies and vice versa. What you need to be wary of are companies with a permanently toxic culture or who will offer you bargain basement rates that they will then more than compensate for with inflated Schedule B charges.
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If you’re in NSW you can use this handy lookup tool to see who all your neighbouring unit blocks are using
https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/strata/strata-search
Beware of “cheaper.” You may find that the cheaper company charges extra for services that your current SM includes in the monthly fee. It’s quite a job comparing SM fee proposals.
Beware of “cheaper.” You may find that the cheaper company charges extra for services that your current SM includes in the monthly fee. It’s quite a job comparing SM fee proposals.
Couldn’t agree more. A general rule of thumb is, if you are in frequent contact with your strata manager, go for an all-in package. If you have less frequent contact or need for their services, go for a less expensive agreement that may charge for Schedule B fees.
But bear in mind that strata management is one of those areas where you truly get what you pay for. There are a couple of large companies undercutting their rivals in basic fees but making money by overloading their strata managers and encouraging them (sometimes with commissions) to charge maximum schedule B fees or simply only do work that is absolutely necessary.
Recommendations from other strata schemes in your area are often the best way to get a handle on the best strata managers.
If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
Our Strata Management Review site now has 90+ reviews. As Jimmy says we believe recommendations from other owners are one of the best ways to find out which company would likely be a good fit for your building.
It’s simple – Write a Review – Read the Reviews