GENESIS

What is the difference between building, property and strata managers?

  • Manage the owners corporation trust account including sending out levies and paying creditors.
  • Provide advice and support to stake holders on legislative obligations for strata living.
  • Keep the books and records including minute books and the strata roll.
  • Ensure compliance with legislation
  • Provide advice
  • Advocate, support and assist

Managing expectations is one aspect of relationship management, however often owners are not aware of what they contract their strata manager to do, leading to misplaced disappointment and an unfortunate reputation for strata managers.

 

This is a guide of what to expect from your strata and community manager.

Every Strata Manager

 

Exactly what your strata manager does for you, depends on your agency agreement. As a general rule of thumb, a strata management agency will:

  • Maintain the trust account, which includes sending out levies and paying bills.
  • Keep the details of who owns what apartment, who lives there, the property manager etc.
  • Undertake debt recovery for unpaid levies.
  • Prepare an annual budget.
  • Hold an annual general meeting.
  • Arrange basic repairs and maintenance.
  • Arrange insurances.
  • Respond to queries and questions.
  • Deal with applications for renovations/pets.
  • Lodge reports and certificates with relevant authorities.
  • Maintain NSW Strata Hub details.
  • Maintain a contracts register.
 

Extra cost/More complicated tasks

When things get more complicated (which they nearly always do), your strata manager might also do the following, usually at an additional cost:

  • Instruct experts on behalf of the building, for example, lawyers and consultants.
  • Arrange audits of the financial statements.
  • Work with consultants in project managing major works.
  • Attend mediation at Fair Trading or hearings at the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
  • Enforce by-laws.
  • Manage all aspects of fire compliance.
  • Manage complicated insurance claims.
  • Maintain an asset register.
  • Tender major contracts.

Really good strata manager

We all know you get what you pay for, and strata management is no exception. If your strata manager is being paid a decent fee for service, they’ll have the time to provide you with extra’s, that can really make the difference in your quality of life in strata and community living:

  • Information booklets on all thing’s strata.
  • In-depth advice and advocacy.
  • Information sessions.
  • Regular and relevant updates and newsletters.
  • Bespoke training for strata committee members.
  • Well presented information and explanations with documents like meeting papers.
  • Onsite meetings and catch-ups.
  • Short and long term goal planning.
  • Code of conduct for committee members creation and implementation training.
  • Online access to ALL important community documents, at no cost to owners.

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