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  • #9054
    Acid
    Flatchatter

      Hello, I just had a quick question regarding levies. We have just had a special levy raised to pay for “additional painting” to the building which I thought we had already paid for with a special levy for painting last year. Now days later I have got a notice for another extraordinary meeting to raise another special levy to renew the insurance on the building. 

       

      We already pay our strata fees every quarter – is it normal to have these continual special levies ? Shouldn’t they be able to pay this stuff out of the sinking fund and the administrative fund?

       

      How can I ensure my strata manager and executive committee are not misusing owners funds? What is the best way for me to check for red flags? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

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    • #19585
      Sir Humphrey
      Strataguru

        It is not normal to have continued special levies. Nearly all the time one would expect to have only the expected expenses and they should be covered in a budget approved each year at the AGM. 

        I would have expected that insurance was an item in the admin fund budget approved at the previous AGM. The only reasons for a special levy that I can think of would be:

        -if the amount budgetted was not nearly enough if premiums rose unexpectedly or a property valuation meant that you discovered you had been under-insured.

        -something else went over-budget and now there is an insurance bill to pay without enough in the bank

        -everything is on budget except that some have not paid levies and consequently there is insufficient in the bank. 

        You should have a copy of the budget from the papers of the last AGM. If not request a copy from the strata manager or treasurer. If insurance is not budgetted as a normal recurrent admin fund expense ask why not. If insurance is budgetted ask why the budgetted amount has not been enough. There might be a reasonable explanation. If you have a problem with lots of owners in arrears ask how that is being managed. It is possible to have an orderly process for debt collection. 

        Ask before the meeting. I would not immediately suspect or suggest any fraud. Stuff up is more likely and that is less likely than a minor issue not well explained. Talk to the EC. They are owners just like you, perhaps struggling with a job they didn’t really want or without sufficient support from a strata manager.

        #19596
        kiwipaul
        Flatchatter

          Alot of SM use an online service to keep a record of the accounts. The 2 SM we have used gave all owners a login and password to Stratamax so we can login and view the accounts on a live basic.

          I generally check the account once a month to make sure nothing untoward is going on.

          Ask your SM whether they have the same service.

           

          #19733
          larry_vincent
          Flatchatter

            We have also had ‘Special Levies’ for the last several years to pay for stages of the fire safety upgrade project. Fortunately, we have regular on site Executive Committee meetings which owners have been encouraged to attend. This is a good forum to raise questions about why and how your levies are being spent. Because we have over 100 lots (units) we also have a facebook page that was started in April this year for use by all residents to access information and raise any issues. We can also log in and download a current Balance Sheet and an Income and Expenditure Report. Ask your strata manager if this can be made available to owners in your strata plan.

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