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I’m still new to this great forum and the finer points of strata living, however I have just made an appointment to inspect our strata records at our strata manager’s office. I am told by a fellow owner resident, that they are are pretty much all over the place and it will be hard work.
I am most interested one or two financial matters among other things, including correspondence for a dispute where the Owners Corporation spent thousands with lawyers.
Should I just turn up and see what I can find? Should I call ahead and mention what I am interested in and ask for it to be set aside? Is the individual strata manager bound to answer questions while I’m there if I ask say, where something is?
And importantly, is there anything I, as an owner, am not allowed to see?
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Further to my latest posting on this topic, the role of our conveyancing lawyers in their pre-purchase strata searches is now of some concern. We bought our property in September 2011. The strata documents provided by our lawyers do not include a copy of the management agreement. This being our first experience of strata living as owners, we relied on them (our lawyers) for advice & paid a pretty penny for what now appears to be a pig in a poke. Had we known this strata had given a power of attorney to an SM, we would never have bought this house. The AGM was an eye opener for us to see that no opposition to this agreement is possible through the OC. We have spent considerable amount of time & money to renovate the house we thought to be our final resting place. Does anyone know whether our lawyers’ lack of care in not obtaining a copy of the agreement is common?
No – unless you specifically requested it in scope of instructions, it is not the responsibility of the conveyancer to obtain a copy of the management agreement. It is up to the purchaser to make their own enquiries. Of course the purchaser can ask someone to do that for them, but they have to specifically ask. In a conveyancing scenario the primary concern is whether you are getting good title.
If I were you I would get a strata lawyer to have a look at that management agreement, I bet they could find a number of holes in it.
Daphne – As a regular contributor to your posts on this topic I feel somewhat obligated to give you this piece of advice with regard to your ongoing efforts to see that Strata Management Agency Agreement, as taken from Jimmy T’s most recent “editorial” on this forum’s home page…..
“Give up and don’t expend another brain cell or waste another tear of frustration on it. It’s not life threatening, it’s just bloody annoying. So let it go and, in a way, you’ll have won“.
After you’ve done that and taken a few deep breaths, if you still have concerns then or in the future about how your Plan’s managed, then document and regularly speak with your fellow Owners about those concerns and bide your time until you have the opportunity to put them on the Agenda for the next General Meeting, when you’ll likely have some like-minded supporters.
In the meantime, enjoy the sights around the pool (
) have a joyous Christmas and I hope that Strata living is better to you in 2013!!Thank you both Whale & scotlandx. Apart from being very informative, you’re also very entertaining, along with JimmyT & others. And yes, I will be taking it easy until the next AGM. Softly softly catchee monkee, as they say.
I have yet another question. Our SM’s agreement was signed by two EC members back in 2001. One of those two sold up & moved out earlier this year, prior to the AGM. Is the agreement still valid?
Yes, entertainment!
Yes – the agreement would still be valid. That is assuming it was valid initially, in that the EC members had the authority to execute on behalf of the OC. So there would have been a resolution of the OC for that.
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