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I wish you luck Sallyk – and hope you have some patience and political skill.
Our unit complex (2 buildings, 24 units) finally changed strata managers earlier this year. I couldn't find any owners who were opposed to the idea of change, but it did take some work. And quite a few months.
Our (now former) strata management firm was a pretty well known local real estate agent whose appointed strata manager seemed to have no concept of customer service. The company's owner treated our formal written complaint with disdain. Once we gave notice – which we could only do after our EGM approved the change – it became evident that the last remaining staff member who was pleasant to us had been instructed to provide minimal service. But enough of that… I'm glad I never have to deal with them again.
Before we could appoint a new strata manager, our EC discussed what it was we actually wanted from someone in this role. Then I found several companies to provide quotes, inviting them to visit the premises to inspect and discuss what they were getting themselves into. The company that said 'we don't make site visits for a quote' effectively ruled themselves out of contention. We also asked each company to provide referees from the strata schemes they currently manage – with at least one being a similar age and/or size to ours. That process took a couple of months. We chose a company that purely deals in strata management (ie not real estate) and is a member of ISTM.
Since our old strata managers refused to reduce the 3 month notice period, I negotiated with the new strata manager to provide 2 months service for free (1 company offered 3 months, but was ruled out for other reasons).
Then, the EGM. It was the best attended General Meeting I've attended in our strata scheme. This was partly because we wrote to or emailed all owners – directly, not via the strata manager – letting them know what we were doing. Then, over the 2 days before the meeting I phoned, emailed, text messaged anyone who hadn't already told me they were attending.
The result: 18 out of 24 units represented at the EGM – either in person or by proxy – and a unanimous decision to change. The meeting took less than an hour, then we spent another hour having a little party – informally meeting the new strata manager and giving owners a chance to meet one another.
My main point in telling you all this is to say: it's worth doing, but just remember that it takes work. And, once you change, there will still be work to do to ensure the transition runs smoothly – especially if your old strata manager was not very good.
Cheers!