Strata Chat With Joey

A quick segment on getting approval for your on site auction. Do the by-laws allow it? Can the committee approve it? Having your ducks in a row.

I continue my chat about the assignment of management rights and the committee obligations. Also discuss committees that might want to act capriciously. Pro tip: just don’t. Talk about experience as well.

Today I give a general over view of the assignment of management rights process which a committee may be called upon to consider as part of their role from time to time. Also: references are cheer squad evidence and should be treated as such.

Quick discussion about termite damage and what to do and also what not to do.

Today I talk about compliance reports including safety, fire, asbestos and general building. Reports are important but even more important are the steps taken to consider and implement the recommendations at the back of the report. When I prepare a budget each year I check on whether the suggested work has been done and if not then I look at budgeting for that work to be done.

Today I talk about water proofing and issues that can arise. Location is everything but it starts with the understanding that water proofing wears out over time. You have to expect to replace it. Depending on the location it may be your job to replace as a lot owner or it may be the body corporate’s responsibility.

Today I rant a little about what happens when you vote NO to your admin fund or sinking fund proposed budget. Pro tip if the budget fails it does not mean that we go back to last year’s levies it means the body corporate stops raising money and once what is in the till is spent, it’s spent. I can’t pay your insurance with Facebook likes. Read the agenda, if you have questions then email them. Don’t be a rock thrower.

Today a outline some very quick steps for your pet applications to make your life that little bit easier. Do make your application well in advance of when you need the answer, do find out what they admin fee is and pay it, do send photos and pet resumes in and do make sure to update your contact details. In terms of Don’ts it is pretty simple: don’t sign a contract to sell or lease promising approval if you’ve not even looked at the bylaws or process. Don’t send your pet application in and then call every five minutes to see if it’s approved. Committee members are not sitting waiting for an email from me so that they can rush in and approve it for you. Don’t send abusive or threading emails or be abusive over the phone. You harm your case and any chance of it being handled quickly because people resent that type of behaviour.

Just a quick one today in the importance of updating your roll contact details so that, as your body corporate manager, I can contact you in a hurry. Don’t make me snail mail you about water pouring into your lot. Check out the BCCM Form 8 for more details.

Today I talk about two unisex things you should do BEFORE you sign on the dotted line to buy an apartment. Those two things are: 1. Read the documents given to you by your lawyer and. 2. Ask yourself who you are as a person. Now why is that important? Well if you do not read the documents you are given before you buy in, you might find yourself hating the fact that the caretaker is paid $x to perform roles x and x and there is nothing you can do about that. If you read the documents and work out that you are the type of person who will expect either the caretaker to work for free or for the caretaker to run the apartment complex like a 5 star hotel on less than a dollar an hour in salary then you might be very disappointed when you find out that’s not how it works In Queensland. The time to save yourself that frustration is BEFORE you sign the contract. You need legal advice. Don’t just accept what

Today I give a very basic overview of what a sinking fund is.

Today I met a new onsite manager who has purchased the management rights in a body corporate scheme I am managing. I am really pumped because he has a great understanding already of how to look after tenants. He is super organised, gives tenants copies of documents that they need to live at the scheme and he’s already created a bit of a community there. I can’t wait to learn from this guy.

Today I give a basic overview of what an administrative fund is and how it’s used by a body corporate.

Today I hand out my top 5 tips for keeping your scheme secure and your items out of the hands of thieves. 5. Do not leave the common property doors open. 4. Make sure the garage door closes behind you when you drive out of the scheme. 3. So not leave mail in your letterbox as a stuffed letterbox means no one is home. 2. Do not leave items on display in your open car park in a shared garage unless you don’t mind those items being stolen. 1. Do not leave items out in your common property courtyard. They might be behind a fence but if they can be seen they will be stolen.

Today I talk about the whether it’s better to install a sign on the common property or to write letters to occupiers reminding them to keep the gates and doors shut. The simple fact is that people ignore letters from their Strata manager whilst signs are permanent. #strata #bodycorporate #property investment.

Today I talk about self awareness and the importance of being self aware when you are on a committee. If you are finding: 1. Other committee members consistently do not answer your calls or emails; or 2. Everything you want is consistently voted down by the other committee members; or. 3. You are consistently the only one showing up to committee meetings; or. 4. You have to ask your body corporate manager to tell you how other committee members have voted then it might be you. The rest of your committee might think you are an asshole so it’s time to start looking at your behaviour and asking whether you have alienated them. Does not matter how great your idea is, if fellow committee members think you are an asshole, they will not vote to assist you because people are human. They make human decisions and not logic decisions. Rant over.

Next year apartments and units and town houses in Strata complexes will be required to advertise their NABERS star rating. Essentially the star rating will tell a prospective buyer or tenant how energy efficient their unit is likely to be. This will impact on the rent an owner can expect to receive and the price an owner will get when they sell. Imagine the impact when the market floods with units for sale that have no rating. How will those compete with 3 and 4 star rated buildings. It’s a scary thought.

Today I talk about electric vehicles and lesson learned from Scott @wattblock. Lots of opportunities for progressive bodies corporate to get on board and think about adding a charging station to to their visitor parks. Switch board upgrades are likely as more owners get on the EV bandwagon.

Today I talk about the myth the owners have been sold which is: that once they buy a unit and appoint a real estate agent to look after it, all the work is done. It’s just not. If you want to get value out of your unit then it needs to be part of a complex that is well maintained, clean, safe, well lit, nice gardens. Your real estate agent has no power over the common property. That’s where I come in but I can only get involved with a committee’s direction.

In today’s episode I talk about a recent win where I managed to get qld Urban Utilities to reduce my owners’s water rates account after the body corporate acted quickly to deal with a concealed water leak on the common property. It’s all about sharing the goods news right here on #maintenance #monday, #strata , #bodycorporate #property