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As the property is some 70 years old it seems the Articles have never been changed and remain as is from 1960. The levies also remain unchanged since 1960.
OMG…If your levies have never been changed since the 1960’s then you must be laughing with the minimal payments you are all making as shareholders to keep the company/unit block going.
Perhaps you are not being as frank as possible as to divulging past events in your unit block. You have posted before on this forum, with a previous question pertaining to a shareholder intending taking over the laundry area as part of their shareholding. You have been given some sage advice in relation to this.
Who managed the unit block prior to 5 years ago? Where are the records? If you can get other shareholders on side with your issues of concern, then pay a company title lawyer to impart some legal advice as to the validity of property boundaries.
If you aren’t prepared to do this, then selling up to be rid of your neighbors who are causing you so much angst may be your only recourse.
Marie123 said:
Over the years there have been various special resolutions passed to change the Articles including property boundaries.
If this is the case, then the minutes of the meetings and resolutions must have been kept by someone, most likely the managing agent of your company title block. ‘Long time residents’ don’t keep minutes/ resolutions, unless they were given a copy of them.
If you don’t trust your neighbours who have been living there a long time, plus you believe they are ‘doctoring’ documentation, then perusing the master file for the Corporation is your avenue. You must have a managing agent who co-ordinates the AGM, advises ASIC of shareholder/ director changes etc. and sends out quarterly levy notices? You at least have a Chairperson on the Board of Directors?
Very few Company Title blocks are self managed. ASIC are really only interested in recording changes of Directors etc. However, you could call their info line and speak with inquiries about your concerns and they will look up the computer and advise you further on documents lodged with them.
In a Company Title unit the shares allocated to a shareholder give a right to occupy ‘space’. If the boundaries of that ‘space’ were altered, then a corresponding change to levy payments correlating to an increase/ decrease in ‘space’ should ensue. Is this the nexus of your concerns?
There are various Company Title threads on this website that are worth perusing. If you are prepared to pay for a lawyer, then find one who is experienced in Corporations Law and Company Title unit blocks.
By any chance does the ‘adjoining car space’ which will benefit from this alteration of common property belong to a member or chairperson of the strata committee who is pushing for this proposal?
I would not like to use the WhatsApp either, for the reasons you provide as well as the nuisance of the phone pinging constantly with notifications which involves getting it out from wherever you are, just to check if it is an important notification or some marketing junk. I have had to change the settings on my iphone to stop notifications from most apps for this reason.
However, getting responses from fellow SC members via emails is also a bother where I live as some members are tardy at checking emails or don’t bother to reply. Are you or any others one of these people? Tackle the ‘fewer emails is good’ member and ask them what their problem is since typing may as well be on a keyboard as on a phone.
Jimmy’s friend Tonja, at Strata Answers has set up a strata committee page on her website which may be worth investigating as to whether it would be successful in your complex and your SC could migrate over to it if you can convince the other members to give it a go.
Almost every post on the Flat Chat forum pertains to problems with owners not being adequately involved. If you want horror stories just read through some of them! What you really need are some suggestions to remedy your dysfunctional OC. In many cases money talks, so prepare a schedule of issues in your complex costing owners money though non-action i.e non payment of levies, as well as quotes and recommendations (perhaps from a legal firm in the case of levies) for a remedy. Circulate the schedule. Then see if anything transpires from there. Sounds like your complex needs an agitator for change and you are the likely one. If you think the Strata Manager is a slacker, then get some quotes from other agencies and move a motion at the next AGM to change management. Even if the motion to change managers isn’t passed, your present manager may lift their game and improve performance. Why not firstly have a conversation with your present manager about your issues of concern and see if they are in your corner over these?
Why not attach a photo so we can see for ourselves where the pot plants are?
The valuation is generally by an independent valuer. You may be asked to get (and pay for) three individual valuations and an average taken as a cost estimate. The bank may require a valuation if you are seeking finance on this venture. If you have the cash stashed and are not seeking to finance this, then the bank is not involved.
You need to have other residents on side with your proposal as you can expend all of the fees having a DA approved, architect plans drafted, structural engineers report supplied and builders lined up, only to find one dissenting owner (usually a solicitor), stymie your plans. This is what happened in the void cavity occupancy proposal below over the placing of a small window in the back wall for another bedroom. Plus your levies might increase with the extra space.
You can always play the sympathy card. If you don’t want to personally confront them, drop a note in their letterbox advising that you suffer from severe migraine headaches and perhaps their offspring could keep their noise down a tad.
Well those shareholders who are not in favour of the agenda item can simply not vote that way at the next AGM, and encourage others to vote the same via discussion, so that a majority vote against the motion is obtained. After all, it is shareholder money that is going to fund the payments to the Board members and no other owners are going to want to do that on top of levy payments and payments to the managing agents, are they?
How are your directors voted in? If it is some sort of informal self nomination process, or a more formal nomination, seconding and voting by shareholders? Either way, these positions are, to my knowledge, unpaid voluntary responsibilities and if directors are not prepared to take office on that basis, then they can withdraw from the Board and others be voted in their place.
Unfortunately, in many company title buildings, those who want to be on the board are entitled power hungry manipulators who want to rule the roost and need to be quashed.
Can you ask the tradies doing the work how much longer are the fire repairs going to continue? They may be finishing up next week and then all your problems are over!
I suppose another suggestion if this construction work is ongoing for some time and is driving you insane, is to think of another venue to work from during the day? i.e if you are working on a portable laptop and perhaps need wi-fi to access internet, the local library might be a suitable refuge to get you out of the apartment for most of the time?? You might think why should I be inconvenienced and leave my home, but sometimes you have to work around problems. It is easier than the hassle of moving out if you are otherwise happy with your current digs?
Can you ask the tradies doing the work how much longer are the fire repairs going to continue? They may be finishing up next week and then all your problems are over!
Why don’t you post a photo of the contentious turning area so Flatchatters can see what the issue is that you are complaining about before they advise?
Inexpensive legal options could be the strata plan taking out a small debt summons against the offenders and paying a filing fee, currently $105 in NSW which gets added onto the debt owing. You haven’t said what state you reside in but it can be done online….. or rocking up to the local court house and filling out a form as long as you have a current address(s) to serve it on. Have an executive committee meeting to vote on this course of action before doing so. You can pursue it yourself instead of paying a solicitor or credit recovery business to do it for you. Solicitors legal costs can also be added onto the judgment debt if you prefer to engage a lawyer.
Make an inquiry from the insurance company re excess and premiums. It may be better time wise to have someone else do the recovery work for you despite the costs. After all, it sounds like you are going to be the person responsible for doing all of the legwork and the associated hassles if you have an apathetic committee as a counterpart.
As an aside to the posted issue, problems can arise in Company Title units in achieving consensus among resident shareholders in modifying the building. I also wanted to test drive the new Flat Chat addition of uploading jpeg photos to explain a problem.
The plan in this case pertained to increasing a 1 bedroom existing unit to a 2 bedroom unit. it involved potentially occupying an existing void cavity of three rooms behind the wall which had been vacant for 50 years. The plan was approved by Council with the Company seal attached, resolutions passed, but one shareholder opposed placing a window in the wall to create a bedroom. All you need is one dissenting agitating shareholder to have plans go pear shaped.
An EGM of shareholders can be called and a vote held on what action to take with the windows in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company. The window repairs could also be listed as an agenda item at your next AGM. A Director’s meeting could also be held to decide this without all of the shareholders. Are you a Director on the Company Board? If so, then go along to the meeting and state your case with some quotes on repair to back up what you want. I assume a special levy for the sinking fund will have to be raised to pay for the repairs. A meeting of some sort with an agenda and a quorum must be held before any decision involving major maintenance and a subsequent levy increase to shareholders can be made.
Even an informal discussion can result in a mutually negotiated outcome. Canvass your neighbours to ascertain their opinions on the issues. If cost is an issue and the shareholder residents are elderly and on limited incomes (often the case in company title units), then the repairs and levies can be made in stages, with the worst windows being replaced first and the ones that are not so bad waiting until more levies to pay are raised. You didn’t say how many units there are in your block, nor how many windows need remedial work. The managing agent may be on side with assisting you to get quotes or to get a meeting held…….depending on the politics of your apartment block!