Hi Yclept – you’re a Strata Manager right?
Remember that the $10K was 6 years ago, so it may have got me a few cups of coffee per day!
Seriously though, it wasn’t just the Strata Manager’s Fees and the occasional poor advice that convinced our Owners Corporation to self-manage, but moreso the fact that we could better prioritise and manage our expenditure in a way that no SM with 50+ Plans to manage could easily do; if at all.
Of course with 85% of our Units under Lease, the fact that I manage the strata for nothing was somewhat of an incentive for my Proprietor / Landlords to go that way!
Let me tell you though that preparing the budgets, managing expenditure, dealing with non-paying Proprietor / Landlords, their ignorant tenants, their equally ignorant Property Managers who expect the O/C to pay for simply everything, attending the Tribunal, preparing Agendas, Chairing General Meetings, preparing the Minutes, doing the annual safety audit, updating the sinking fund plan, drafting and registering Special By-Laws, completing / submitting insurance claims, writing work specs., getting quotes, issuing work orders, managing contractors, inspecting their works, paying the bills on-time, and keeping our website up-to-date gives me a perspective on what a real Strata Manager does and concurrently keeps my retired brain-cells moving!