[Greentea]

@Whale said:
YES …. mediation is a mandatory precursor to you seeking Orders, and in NSW that can be initiated through a Community Justice Centre or the Department of Fair Trading.

Thanks Whale, much appreciated. 

[Greentea]

@Marvin said:

@Greentea said:
With your own OC Marvin, with such a casual approach how do you actually know if other owners are comfortable with what the EC is doing – because they don’t know about it so how can they give you that feedback?

Most of our owners don’t really care.  At the last 2 general meetings, only the EC members showed up.  I suspect that if the other owners had grievances or concerns, they would have attended.  Common property is properly maintained.  Our financials are very healthy.  The EC members own 50% of the lots, and are very knowledgeable about construction, property maintenance, and financials.  In reality, I can understand why the other owners take little interest.

Owners have my contact details, and do contact me regularly – not just with problems, but with praise.

So we might be “casual” with respect to strict compliance with meetings, but our focus and priority is on ensuring that our common property is properly maintained, our strata manager performs, by-laws are enforced, and our financial position remains strong while keeping levies as low as possible.

 I understand that, and have previously owned a property in a very similar OC. 

I wonder though, if someone wanted to buy into your OC, what records could they peruse, other than the AGM minutes,  to satisfy themselves that work was being done, that the strata manager performs, that by-laws are enforced and that the financial position remains strong? 

[Greentea]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Marvin, the short answer is I don’t know if the EC is doing a good job or not. Because there are no meetings! So I can’t read any minutes and I can’t attend or be privy to any discussions or decision making. The holding of meetings (and associated agendas and minutes) is clearly in the legislation to ensure transparency and due process. If it all happens behind closed doors and/or in email trails the other owners have no idea of what is going on. I doubt if all those emails would even count as ‘records’ for the purpose of the Act or an audit…?

 

With your own OC Marvin, with such a casual approach how do you actually know if other owners are comfortable with what the EC is doing – because they don’t know about it so how can they give you that feedback?

 

I have shared my concerns in this regard with EC members and the strata manager. Deaf ears. I have asked for this issue to be put on the agenda at our next AGM, as I believe it is a legal issue (compliance with the Act) and not something that individual OCs can make up as they go along. Presumably this is why the legislation is there in the first place.

[Greentea]

Thanks for the response Whale, much appreciated.

We do have our AGM coming up (apparently) sometime in the next few weeks. The EC have said they wish to table the ceiling issue for the AGM. I am baffled as to why they want this to be decided by the entire OC when the EC has made more expensive decisions on their own, but there you have it. The EC have refused to respond to my repeated requests for an explanation as to why they don’t want to seek quotes to take to the AGM. The quotes I obtained myself are now over two years old. 

Having said all that, given that the AGM will be in a few weeks I’m inclined to think that there’s not much to be gained at this point from applying for orders, but rather wait for the outcome of the AGM. In the absence of a response from the EC on the letter box issue I may as well ask for that to be put on the AGM agenda as well.

More broadly, and if these issues aren’t settled satisfactorily at the AGM, would I be required to go to mediation or apply for orders?

[Greentea]

Thanks Whale and KiwiPaul for your advice, very helpful.

Just wish people who buy apartments would show some courtesy and accept they live in strata, not torrents title. Too much to ask??

[Author]

Replies