[daphne diaphanous]

Our AGM was so well attended, apparently we broke our own records. However, they were apparently there to maintain the status quo & left me in no doubt of it. I did manage to get him (SM) to say his percentage of our insurance & that it is included in the premium we pay. The minutes arrived yesterday with no mention of the above, except for his usual admission that he takes a commission from our insurer. I mean to challenge him on that point & insist on reissued minutes with the proper amendment. I have not yet seen his contract (my written request in early October went unanswered), although the comments & the atmosphere at the AGM seemed to indicate he has what amounts to a power of attorney from the OC.

 

Any comments and/or advice anyone? By the way dear StrataGuru, everyday is Sunday to me & my beloved too.

[daphne diaphanous]

Talking about looking at documents held by the SM, I have been asked by a friend in a neighbouring strata to lend him our AGM booklet (AGM notification, agenda, accounts & proposed budget produced by the SM) for him to photocopy for comparison. I have seen nothing in it to indicate any copyright or other confidentiality warning. Will it be legal to lend it to him?

 

Another question is whether I can copy the documents held by the SM when I see them. Any answers?

[daphne diaphanous]

Very informative dear StrataGuru & I thank you. However, my agenda item merely mentions discussion to remove them for unresponsiveness, the rest to be discussed at the AGM, which is tomorrow at 8.30 am. In any case, our AGMs are apparently badly attended, with the SM turning up at the meeting with a number of proxies. Unfortunately, he will not be able to use those proxies on the subject unless they state their position clearly. A very good example of their behaviour is an $11,000, single line quote to install something in the complex from a construction company. “What sort of quote is that?” you might ask in my place. Or, you might even ask “who are these people when they’re at home; this is not a quote, this is an invoice for proposed non-essential, non-emergency work?”. Failing that, you might ask “why only one so called quote; where are at least two others to allow a comparison for the proposed expenditure of such a sum?”. Please let me know what you think. I’ll be around until late tonight.  

[daphne diaphanous]

Thank you Blue Swimmer. I was afraid of being paranoid. 

[daphne diaphanous]

Many thanks to you too scotlandx. Your reply confirms my ideas. While I’m new to strata affairs, I have been a fan of this forum for sometime through SMH & of course I have been doing some reading since we bought this house last year. My impression of our strata managing company is that it acts as though it employs us & I have personally found them very offhand during phone conversations. My readings of both the relevant act & this forum lead me to believe the SM carries out the clerical duties reasonably well, but is uninformative, uninterested & frequently unresponsive. It also seems to foster disharmony, which is probably intended to keep the owners uninvolved, allowing it to control the complex without any pesky interruptions by the owners (read “supplicants”).

 

Meanwhile, the AGM notices & yearly accounts etc have been issued appropriately, although in half A4 size booklet form, with the resultant print in a rather small size (in a complex with a large proportion of retirees). For those who might be interested, I will post again after the AGM. Wish me luck.

[daphne diaphanous]

Many thanks JimmyT. Now I have another question. Our AGM is due on the 24th & the agenda includes my motion to remove the strata managers. The minutes of the past two AGMs are signed by the strata manager junior as the chairman, although there is no mention of the passing of the baton to him by the EC chairman in the aforementioned minutes. I had a phone call from the junior (after sending my agenda item by registered mail & e-mail) to get together & negotiate, which I refused. I am now told by one of the owners that the papa bear himself is going to attend this year & will chair the AGM, which sounds very irregular to me, since he can shut me up altogether if he limits the discussion to 60 seconds or something similar. What say you JimmyT & the other knowledgeable Forum regulars? By the way, this is my first ever AGM.

[daphne diaphanous]

What I did mean with my original question was that our strata manager must have had formal & informal complaints against him, but I have not been able to find any on the net. I’ve tried various search criteria with no success. Could anyone point me in the right direction please?

[daphne diaphanous]

How do I find a decent strata manager in Illawarra?

[Author]

Replies