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Just wondering where the best place is to look for a new Strata Manager to look after our block of 5 units.
Would prefer a small organisation rather than a big one as we appear to e bottom of the pecking order in regards to contact and responses.
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Strata managers do not like small blocks
1) Because of the small number of people, issues usually become personal battles that strata managers can’t resolve.
2) Some of the base load work is the same whether it’s for a small complex or a large complex. Hence to cover their costs, the per unit charge is relatively high compared to larger complexes.I had to find a new strata manager about 5 years ago. I found an online service ( whose name I can’t remember , and I’m not allowed to promote business names on this forum)
who came up with the names of strata managers matched to my requirements.
Try googling, as I found the strata manager I wanted through them ( and it was for a small 4 unit complex)
I suggest you check out the strata managers for well-run strata buildings in your area. Go for a walk around your suburb, and note the addresses of other similar apartment buildings, that appear to be well maintained.
Find out the strata plan numbers for those buildings. The NSW government has a mapping database that will provide this information at:-
https://portal.spatial.nsw.gov.au/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?
You can zoom in, using the address function, and click on strata buildings to display their strata numbers.
Use the NSW government’s strata search at https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/strata/strata-search
Put in the strata plan number, and you can see their strata manager. Make a list of the local managers, and go and talk with them. But ask each strata manager about their ownership – many “independent” strata management companies are owned by big conglomerates. That isn’t necessarily a negative, but you should be aware of this information, when making a decision – do you want a small personalised strata company, or a large one?
It’s worthwhile knocking on a few doors of other small blocks and asking them for referrals, or if you are in one of those facebook groups called “<Suburb Name> Living” or similar, ask on there.
I’m in a small block and we’ve been very happy with our strata manager, but recently they merged into a larger outfit and we’re starting to see signs of “corporate” strata, such as different departments within the strata company that don’t communicate well with each other (the compliance department, the contracts department etc). We have a strata manager who is supposed to be our single-point-of-contact, but quite often she can’t answer questions and outsources them to people in these other departments who we’ve never met and who don’t know if they are dealing with a small block or a mega-complex. We’re definitely experiencing an erosion in the personal level of service. Not ready to move yet, especially given how many awful stories are posted on these pages, but we’re not the happy customers that we once were.
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