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  • #8462
    Anonymous

      Newbie is what I am. Bought and moved into a block of 36 apartments in Sydney’s Lower North Shore eight months ago and I now know what works and what doesn’t and what really should be fixed sooner rather than later. But there’s a problem.

      Although I know from my pre-purchase searches the finances are in good health, the place presents as worn and neglected, the cleaners and gardeners don’t seem to be doing what they’re paid for and furthermore there are also numerous related issues which could be described as dangerous hazards in any Occupational Health and Safety check.

      I narrowly missed having an input into the Annual General Meeting and the next one is almost a year away. There are no plans to improve things in the AGM minutes, there are no Executive Committee meeting minutes on the notice board and two Executive Committee members I sought out (out of seven) both tersely told me to contact the Strata Manager who said (via emails) he would advise the Committee of my ‘complaints’ (which weren’t actually complaints per se) and report back to me. This was a month ago, now, and he does not take my calls and will not reply to emails.

      I notice looking through Flat Chat my situation isn’t really that unique (if there can be degrees of unique). I also have mentioned my thoughts to a couple of the more friendly resident-owners who simply smile knowingly, while wishing me something akin to: ‘Good luck with that, dear.’ I once read Catch 22 and I am reminded of that.

      Is there anything I could do to break-the-cycle of the EC referring everything and everyone to the Strata Manager who says he’ll refer things back to the EC and nothing gets addressed or attended to, because there’s quite obviously something wrong somewhere. (I am forcing myself to stop now!)

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    • #16764
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        That’s a Hell of a catch, that number 22.

        I believe in the old Spanish Inquisition technique of showing the recalcitrant the instruments of torture and, if that doesn’t get them motivated, proceed with the torture as advertised.  I’m giving exactly the same advice HERE.

        Write to your strata manager and EC secretary and tell them that the Owners Corporation (not the EC or the SM) is neglecting its legally binding duty to maintain and repair common property under the Strata Schemes Management Act and to observe its responsibilities under the Work Health Safety Act, detailing what you believe these lapses to be.

        You should then tell them that you will give them 30 days to present a plan of action.  Failure to do so will lead you to take action at the CTTT to compel them to fulfill their legal responsibilities.

        If they fail to accede to order issued by the CTTT, you will then take action to have  the Owners Corporation replaced by the statutory appointment of a strata manager until such times as all necessary work is done.

        Tell them that they can do this the easy and cheap way – just make the required decisions – or the hard way, which is to waste time and money fighting it, and end up having to do it anyway (probably even more expensively, given that a Statutory Manager will err on the expensive side of caution when it comes to paying for the work).

        Yossarian’s problem in Catch-22 was that he wanted to be sent home – the trick would have been to make them want to send him home.

        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.
        #16769
        Anonymous

          Thank you JimmyT. I have read the linked thread you mention and also see it’s a similar issue experienced by ‘Felix’ five days ago. It must be quite a common think for ECs to defer to Strata Managers who defer back to ECs or simply ignore other owners.

          #16792
          Whale
          Flatchatter

            Here’s another example of a poor performing Owners Corporation (O/C) and of a large Strata Management Organisation whose Strata Manager’s practices encourages and indeed perpetuates that poor performance

            Almost two (2) years ago, my Son and Daughter-in-Law purchased an investment property in a large Plan (of townhouses) where the maintenance of the Common Property (grounds) is extremely poor and where enforcement of the By-Laws is ignored, particularly with regard to parking on the Common Property.

            As they’re aware of my involvement in matters strata, they asked me to attend the 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM) as their Proxy.

            So I sent the completed proxy to the Strata Manager, and as I know that this Organisation doesn’t provide Notices of the Meeting, I asked my Son to ring him to ask when the AGM was to be convened, and where, and as a new Proprietor to ask for a copy of the Minutes of the last AGM.

            Luckily, the timing of the AGM gave my Son just enough time to submit an “expertly” worded Motion about addressing the poor standard of grounds maintenance and about the flagrant breaches of the By-Law 2 (parking on common property).

            The date of the Meeting arrived, so I attended and met with the Strata Manager and with the four (4) Proprietors in attendance.

            No Minutes of the previous AGM and no Quorum, so we had the customary “meeting” to discuss the Motions, including the one about the grounds maintenance and the parking breaches where I explained the O/C’s obligations to properly maintain its Common Property and to enforce its By-Laws, and those in attendance also offered some considered comments on the Proposed Budgets which the Strata Manager had simplistically based on the preceding year’s budget instead of that year’s actual expenditure.

            After “meeting” for around 45 minutes no further Proprietors arrived, so the AGM was then adjourned, to be reconvened after the prescribed seven (7) days. I told the Strata Manager that my Son would likely attend the reconvened Meeting in person, whereupon he advised that it would be easier if everyone just completed a Proxy Form in his favour so that he could “have the reconvened AGM with himself”; despite my protest all 4 Proprietors complied.

            As almost twelve (12) months has passed, I mentioned this year’s AGM to my Son. We both went through his papers and found that the Agenda for the reconvened 2011 AGM had not been provided, so he didn’t attend.

            Furthermore, the Minutes of that reconvened AGM revealed that the 4 proxies provided after the adjourned AGM had been bolstered by a further 32 proxies in the intervening 9 days to the date of the reconvened AGM.

            So a quorum was achieved, and the Strata Manager had the “meeting with himself” to resolve to approve everything, including the original Budgets as simplistically proposed, and the referral of the Motion regarding the Grounds Maintenance and the Parking Breaches to the Executive Committee, the 3 Members of which didn’t attend either the adjourned AGM or the reconvened AGM in person or by proxy but are shown as being “self-nominated” and “duly elected” in the Minutes (??), and who have never met at anytime between the re-convened AGM and this date (!!)

            My Son has submitted the original Motion for inclusion of this year’s AGM, together with his advice to the effect that they can “do this the easy and cheap way – just make the required decisions – or the hard way, which is to waste time and money fighting it, and end up having to do it anyway (probably even more expensively, given that a Statutory Manager will err on the expensive side of caution when it comes to paying for the work” (J.T.).

            The Consultation Feed-Back recently received by the Minister for Fair Trading (NSW) must have suggested that many Proprietors are disillusioned with the service provided by their Strata Managers. I can’t think why (much), but there seems to be some opportunistic advertising and websites popping-up lately that purport to assist Proprietors in their selection of a (better) Strata Manager – I heard this one advertised on Sydney radio yesterday.

            Self-management works best for me!!

            #16793
            Anonymous

              First thanks again.

              Second, everyone reading this shouldn’t miss Whale’s post immediately below.

              Third, my delving in addition to discovering the excellent Flat Chat web site has led me to also discover, simply by phoning friends who live in apartments, that this particular Strata Management company’s branch (in once instance with the same actual Manager) has recently been fired by one block because of negligence and at another block has been exposed for fraudulent behaviour combined with an Executive Committee member in another separate block; this is currently panning out and not looking good for Lar-dee-dar-dee-dar Strata Management Pty Ltd.

              How do you like that!?

              #16794
              Jimmy-T
              Keymaster

                Whale’s example, below, shows what happens when a lackadaisical Owners Corporation meets and Under-motivated strata manager.  Everyone trundles along in blissful ignorance until some tells them they HAVE to do something.

                Mortica’s comments show the deep flaw in my argument that “she’ll be right” ECs in large strata plans should be replaced by professional Strata Managers until such times as they get their act together.  If the Strata Manager is a no-hoper and crook, then everybody’s stuffed.

                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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