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Hi All,
We are a 6 unit strata in the eastern suburbs and very unhappy with our current managing agent. Looking for a professional who is able to really support the committee with all big and small issues and can give reliable advice.
Is anybody here happy enough with theirs to make a recommendation?
All other advice appreciated as well!
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I don't recommend [*Name withheld – see below], they are painfully slow to act on requests from executive committee/ owners.
I've edited this but left it in to illustrate a point I want to make here. By all means recommend Strata managers but if you want to warn people off, it's only fair that you do so in person.
So if you want to, say, warn people about a specific strata manager in your are, post byour email address here and let people contact you. We use anaonymity to mprotect you – it wouldn't be fair to name others, regardless of how bad youthink they are
Newbie – In my experience the call-handling, maintenance coordination, and financial reporting capabilities of Strata Management Companies is consistently good, but the value of the more specific strata management service to an Owners Corporation is very much related to the applied knowledge and experience of the individual Strata Manager who that Company assigns to your Plan; and that can be a bit of a lucky-dip.
Quite frankly, with a 6 Lot Plan, I'd be looking for a suitably committed Owner or Member/s of your Executive Committee to take-on the management role!
Such a person could get plenty of relevant advice via this Forum, but if you or they are daunted by the financial and administrative aspects, you could ask your current Strata Managers for an Agreement that's limited to Record Keeping , thus leaving only the day-to-day operations of your 6 Lot Plan to self-management.
Good luck!
We've had four strata managers (SM) over a fifteen year period based in the far south, north and west.
Unless you are expecting various significant work to be undertaken in the short or medium term (in which case a local SM may have useful relationships) I'd attempt to find someone there to take it on and get paid a reasonable amount based on time. The ACT only allows payments to be decided in arrears so the person concerned would have to have faith (or perhaps be paid by each individual owner at some stage(s). Getting a SM to undertake the fee's collection etc would probably reduce the workload to very little especially if like most small blocks there is little comprehension of the legal requirements and thus few agendas/minutes/proxies to be sent.
I'd just like to point out that StrataRes, who sponsor this page, offer a graduated web-based service to let you have as much or as little strata management service as you want (or can afford).
It may not be ideal for everyone but I'm sure they'd be able to put you in touch with building's that use their service so you can hear from their customers directly. It's not because they're sponsors – it's because they're offering a service I haven't seen anywhere else that breaks that nexus of small blocks wanting the same level of service as larger strata plans but for a lot less money.
Any strata manager will tell you that small buildings can be just as much work as – if not more than – big strata plans, but the fees don't match the effort required.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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