› Flat Chat Strata Forum › New to strata – or just strata-curious › Do we really need a manager? › Current Page
The hiring of a strata manager versus self managing is a such a personal choice for each strata. Mostly it depends upon the skills and knowledge of owners and everyone’s willingness to pitch in.
I lived in a 5 unit strata and we decided to self manage. In the end we decided that it was preferable to spend the money that would otherwise be spent on a manager on repairs and improvements on the property.
Professional managers in my experience restrict their contacts to a very narrow range of administrative duties. They will go beyond this but it costs. We decided that we could do the admin stuff ourselves (there are a few very useful resources for this and I am sure Jimmy knows these).
We put our bank accounts on line and arranged that any owner can view the accounts and transactions. We all exchange emails and have discussions that way. A few of us are ok with spreadsheets and drawing up agendas and taking minutes.
Finally as Jimmy rightly points out things can get very personal and a a bit awkward but no more than with a larger strata I think. The main issue is that some are less reluctant to take duties but if something affects their unit they want and expect it done straight away!