Re: How much work is involved in a self managed strata plan?

@Whale said:
With the utmost respect to my fellow posters, that’s an extremely simplistic view of what’s necessary to properly self-manage; something that I’ve been doing for our Owners Corporation since 2006.

The following are but a few of the self-manager’s other duties:

• Ensuring that all contractors are properly licensed, and have the correct insurance coverage.

• Obtaining competitive quotations to regularly “test” the marketplace.

• Issuing detailed Work Orders for all contracted activities including Term Orders for emergency/ after hours activities.

• Inspecting completed works.

• Paying all Invoices on time in order to maintain good contractor relationships (good ones are hard to find). 

• Liaising with Owners and their Property Managers regarding the proper responsibility for repairs to Units (they think that the O/C’s responsible for simply every item of maintenance or repair).

• Attending promptly to all Common Property maintenance issues.

• Mediating disputes and other “harmony” issues involving Residents. 

• Liaising with Owners who seek consent to renovations (and with those who don’t).

• Ensuring Residents’ compliance with the Plan’s By-Laws and Special by-Laws.

• Attending the CTTT on behalf of the O/C (an enlightening experience)

• Preparing Agendas & Minutes for Executive Committee and General Meetings.

• Preparing Financial Statements properly reconciled against the Plan’s Chart of Accounts (which also have to be setup in sufficient detail).

• Ensuring legislative compliance with revised requirements including: Environmental Planning & Assessment Regulation (Fire Safety),     AS1288/2006 – Glass Safety Audit, Workplace Health & Safety Act (2011) for the Safety Audit, Pesticides Act (2009) for Common Property Inspections & Treatments, Strata Schemes Management Act (1996) & Regulation (2010) and proposed Revisions, plus quite a few more; and….

• Maintaining the relevant records and processes of the Plan, which in 2012/13 for our 27 Lot Plan was summarised as:

E-Mail correspondence  sent / received	212
Invoices Received	159
Invoices Paid on-time	159
Invoices Issued (e.g. Levy Contribution Invoices)	114
Quotations Received	13
Work Orders Issued	19
Hardcopy Correspondence Received	5
Correspondence Sent (e.g. Debt Recovery)	61
Telephone Calls Received	35
Telephone Calls Made	92
Facsimiles Sent / Received	14

 

So Dudley…. would I do it all again?

Absolutely, – as apart from the money saved which we estimated as $15-$20K/a (or ≈30% of our total self-managed budget) when strata management fees, disbursements (Sch B), and the costs of “smarter” repairs are all considered, no Strata Manager could possibly manage a Plan as well as a committed and properly supported Owner or Executive Committee who after all, only has the one property to look after!

The set-up process would have been a whole lot easier for me if there were tools available such as the one you can now find HERE.

Good luck, and don’t be dissuaded from giving it a go by the information that I’ve provided; use it to your Owners Corporation’s advantage!

Whale,

Many thanks for this information. I have looked at the web site you indicated, it is SA based, would it be suitable for use in NSW?

Would it be proper to start researching self managed options before I have formally confirmed all owners agree with the concept. At this time I have had only brief general discussions.