Changing strata managers

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience in initiating a replacement for a strata manager ?
My IP is strata titled. There are 5 other properties in the complex, all managed by a strata manager. I'm not quite happy with the strata manager and considering a change of strata manager. I can't find much info on this and wondering if anyone can shed a light on how complicated the process is.

I thought a good start was to obtain the contact details of the other owners. I have gone to the local council to obtain them, however the council only give me postal addresses, some are that of property managers' (not owners). One address is even that of the strata manager himself, it seems that the strata manager is also the PM for this house.

Can anyone direct me to good resources regarding strata issues please ? I know very little about strata management, never even attend a strata meeting. Thank you.

 

Hi chibs,

Although I've never changed strata managers, I have appointed them and the process is much the same way as it is for appointing/changing individual property managers. Yes, you will need the approval of the body corporate to do so which will probably involve calling a meeting or passing a resolution at the next one and of course, will require a majority vote. Given the strata manager(s) usually run the meetings on behalf of the body corporate, it might be a little uncomfortable I imagine.

At the end of the day, it's politics and particularly so in small complexes. If you're serious, I would write a letter to each owner at their registered owners address and outline your concerns and reasons for wanting to change. You'll need to basically obtain 'the numbers' in support and then put it on the agenda. For some training and education on how to do this, I suggest watching a few seasons of 'House of Cards'

If it passes, it's simply a matter of terminating the management agreement and passing it over to another company as you would with your normal property management. This being the case, I would have another company lined up and ready to go which will again, involve normal interview type questions as you would a property manager.

I'm sure there might be some solicitors specialising in strata law here that could add some input but that's it in a nutshell. It's not difficult on a technical level however gaining the support of the body corporate and having them actually work together to achieve something is.

Good luck

Andrew

 

I instigated changing strata managers a few years ago.
I had a strata manager that I liked with another unit so I spoke to them. They actually drafted the letters etc for me to send and we changed to them.
If there are only 6 I'd assume most of them would be at the AGM. Speak to them then?
Good luck. A poor strata manager makes life hard.

 

We are looking at changing our BC managers next month. We own all the units in the complex, so we have all the owners on side . We have already chosen our new BC manager and, as @Travelbug stated, we are expecting them to know the process and hoping that they will raise all the paperwork.

If we didn't own all the units, as @Andrew Hancock stated, I would imagine the you would need to have a BC meeting called and get the unit owners to vote in it.

 

We need to do this too. The only thing our strata managers are good at is avoiding us. From my understanding (we've done a little research) if the contract has expired it's not difficult to do.

 

Hi, I am looking at changing strata manager as well for one of my IPs around eastern suburbs in Sydney. I was wondering whether you would recommend your strata manager? it's so hard to find a good one and I dare say it's much harder than finding a good PM!

 

@Hetty and @Cheern you might like to have a chat with PChat resident @Russ as I understand that he is a Sydney based strata manager.

 

Thanks @Ted Varrick .

Yes I am a Sydney based strata manager and happy to talk to anyone about Strata Management.

Feel free to PM me for a chat.

 

Thanks Russ. I have just started a private conversation with you. Not sure whether that's a PM as you mentioned? sorry, i am new so treat that as a silly question.

 

@Cheern yup that's it, you should have my reply now.

 

Thank you. Sorry for the late reply, I haven't been around. We aren't in a position to change at the moment, we have to do major repairs, once it's all over we will change.

 

Maybe a good idea to attend a strata meeting or two. That way you can see how things are run, ask questions and raise issues you are unhappy with (giving the required notice if necessary). You may gain a better understanding of how strata works.

If owners don't attend meetings and vote on issues or raise concerns, you can't always blame the manager if things aren't run the way owner(s) think they should be.
Marg

 

I did this for a smaller block when other owners except for 1 other weren't active in this aspect.

When the old managers kept putting up their fees much faster than CPI, had rapid staff changes that were incompetent and couldn't organise the most simple owner requests in a timely manner it was time to take action.

Warning signs are when the strata manager operates from a regular RE office that does this service as a side business as well as regular sales and rentals.

I chose a new smaller boutique operator that specialises in owners corporation management more specifically.

It is simply a case of communicating / writing to all the other owners and being transparent about why you plan to move, the process forward and most will support you. Many don't like change so you need to help them overcome this.

It is worth getting at least 2 proposals and have a vote between owners so as to ensure it doesn't look like you are trying to move to some-one you may have a vested interest in beyond the best outcome for all owners.

The end result should be a more smoothly run situation and improved regular maintenance situation. No different to a good PM.

The process to change is quite demanding on your time, and lots of paperwork is involved as it is designed to protect the existing manager and make it hard to leave unfortunately - but you have ever right to do so.

I would probably never do this for a larger block unless I was able to get a lot of owners on my side which requires a lot of work to get that point.

The process should be as simple as sending an email if you have majority vote from owners, but indirectly the current owners manager is indirectly the boss of the situation or behaves as though they are.

 

Spot on. They are a multitasking RE office.

I've sent out letters to other owners in the strata, but so far have only received one reply. The owner who replied brought up a point that our current strata fees are one of the cheaper ones around. If cheap is the main criteria for changing the strata manager, then this is going to be a difficult task. Given that all the properties in the complex are rentals, the other owners probably wouldn't give much thought about how their properties look.

 

Curious to know if there are 2 or an equal number of owners and the vote is equally split, Does the strata manager have a vote? Or if there are 2 owners and one wants to remain with the current SM and the other wants to go elsewhere what happens? This would be at the end of the current SM contract.

 

No vote. A strata manager cannot obtain a benefit by casting a vote - even if holding a directed proxy.

If a building is split down the middle on who to appoint, it probably has other and bigger problems arising from such division. It could be sensible for one manager to withdraw their offer and let the other strata manager deal with it.

If you can't pass a motion for appointment at the end of an agent's term the building would revert to self management. That would probably be quite difficult for most.

 

I am wondering what should be the main responsibilities of a strata manager. Is this documented anywhere ?

I only hear once a year from this strata manager, and that is to ask me to pay up for the annual strata fees. On one odd occasion last year, I did receive an email circular. Other than that I've never received any AGM notifications or any minutes from AGM. I don't even know if they have an AGM at all. Are they breaking the law if they don't hold AGMs ?

Are we entitled to know what the strata funds are used for ? We don't normally get their transaction records.
Does the strata manager need members' consent to do maintenance work ?

I just realise how ignorant I've been all these years, I just take all this strata thing for granted.

 

@chibs it depends on the state, but in South Australia a meeting must be held every calendar year (within 15 months of the previous meeting) this is the time to pass motions on the financial statement, budget, appointment of managers, insurance, approvals and maintenance items. All owners must be notified of the upcoming AGM with at least 14 days prior notice and have an agenda outlining the above topics for discussion or approval. If an owner cannot attend they can provide a proxy to a nominated person to vote on their behalf.

In terms of maintenance items being approved this comes down to the group, but generally smaller maintenance items can be passed with approval from the Presiding Officer. Emergency works or make safes can be approved by a strata manager but would need to be written into a contract. Larger maintenance items i.e painting, fencing etc require majority approval from the owners.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions relating to SA based strata.

 

@jkargent Thanks for your reply. It does look like a proper strata manager must hold an AGM. While investigating on this issue, I discovered that our strata manager is really lacking in their service.

We've paid this year's strata management fees in advanced. Does anyone know if strata managements are obliged to refund the proportion of the fees if we terminate their service halfway through? Is this enforced by law ?