Are these strata management fees OTT?

This is a complicated question and I’m not sure that you have framed it correctly to begin with (partly because it was originally posted in a thread about strata management).

So let me break it down.

I am looking at 2 Owners Corporation Fee Notices. One is for a 24 unit complex:  OC Fees = 416.67 per owner per quarter. One is for a 8 unit complex: OC Fees = $398.45 per owner per quarter.  I am now looking at the Management contract for the 8 unit complex and I see:

2.0   Fees and Services
2.1 Annual Fees and Services: $3000 approx.

There are no fixed fees for strata management service.  The can vary from about $280 to $350 or more per unit per year.  So your eight-unit block is paying just at the top end of that range.  Why would that be?  Partly because there are certain basic costs associated with administering properties that would be amortised across blocks with more units. Another factor may be that small units can generate more strife than larger ones because every management issue can very quickly become very personal.

This is a contract that has been negotiated with your owners at some point.  they can take it or leave and find something cheaper (maybe) when the contract runs out after three years.

2.2 Additional services paid by hourly rate or fixed fee (paid upon presentation of invoice) –
When is an invoice presented – does this happen at the AGM?  

I would imagine an invoice for additional services could easily be presented as and when the service is provided, with a 30-day deadline for payment.  Otherwise the strata manager would be carrying the costs for up to a year.

We asked for a list of all 8 owners of the complex. (Copying the Owners Corporation register or any part thereof 3.03 fee units plus GST; per copy and if a printed copy of the electronically provided register is also requested 22 cents per page).
Could  this really have cost us anything from $220 to $660? Can we ask for the invoice now rather than wait for it to be presented at the AGM?

Well, the key here is what “fee units” are.  It’s not a phrase with which I’m familiar. The standard prescribed fee for examining strata documents is about $35, but that’s when you go to the strata manager’s office and look at the files yourself.  Perhaps they triple the charge for you asking them to dig out the file, photocopy it and send it to you.  It still wouldn’t come close to $200.

As for asking for the invoice now, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t forthcoming immediately without your asking.

My advice? Go to the office, pay your fee, use your phone to scan the strata roll and you won’t break $40.