Getting things done with Body Corp!

Hi all,

We are first time unit owners and would like to see our building get some much needed upgrades. We’ve been in contact with the body Corp and they have advised that meetings are yearly and we can bring up issues to be decided then.

We would love some insight into how we can best get things done through the body Corp system and how it works. Does it require us getting on the committee - which does seem very involved and more on the technical side - or do we just put forward motions as lot owners and turn up to meetings to vote on them being passed?

We have been told that no one goes to the meetings which results in nothing getting done, but if we go and no one turns up, does our vote mean that the motions are passed as we are the majority, or does there need to me a minimum of voters present to effect change...?

Any help understanding the process or any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

Congrats to owning your first property. It is nice to see that you are taking interest in your property. That is the very important first step!

No doubt formally, meetings are held in a certain manner. But between then and now, there are a lot of things you can do. I would sum that up as "taking interest", but would briefly summarise for you. Pardon if I am brief as it's getting late. But feel free to ask any question anytime:

1. Have a read of all past minutes of meetings, especially recent ones.
2. Never be afraid to invest time, especially at the first few months. For a lot of people, property is the single most important asset they might have, and it pays to learn more. This knowledge is transferable and you'd find it gets much easier with time. I often get quite annoyed when investors told me they havent got time!
3. Do volunteer yourself to be in the Committee. You might have missed this round, but the next time they call for nomination, do nominate yourself, and make sure they acknowledge it.
4. Find out who is in the Committee. If they are onsite, have a coffee with them. Just be friendly and open your minds and ears.
5. Do not get too worried about technicalities at this point, but if you are so inclined, ask your Body Corp Manager/ Strata Manger. Also there are many courses you can attend, either physically or online, eg BCCM. But personally I find them a bit intimidating and confusing for Newbies.
6. If there is an Onsite Manager, please get to know them immediately. They are a wealth of knowledge and it's up to you to tap into their knowledge.

Just like any profession, there are five-star ones, just as there are zero-star ones. Apply your judgement and use your common sense. It shouldnt be that complicated. Often I find when things get to the meeting or motion stage, that's already a little too late. Try to find out what's behind the scene and then you'd see the process.

All the best!

 

Awesome, thanks for your help. Our next meeting is in October so we have a little time and I believe the nomination forms are getting posted out shortly. I guess our biggest concern is relatively minor things like landscaping and painting, pressure cleaning car ports etc that can really lift the appearance of the property won’t get done. If there’s anything we can do I want to be on to it and effecting change. Thanks for your time Pumpkin

 

7. Raise the landscaping and painting items with your Strata manager, and have them added to the agenda for the next BC meeting/AGM (in advance, as it will have to be discussed).

 

In bed now but very quickly,try to understand the last 3 years account and next year budget. And must look at the Sinking Fud Budget. 15 years?

 

If you done a strata search(check) before you bought , there is normally heaps of info on this about previous minutes, any issues and a roll of all the other owners.
As already mentioned try and get on the committee , which should not be to hard , especially if many of the owners are investors and dont turn up.
Some will even pay they owners that live there to do some of the basic ongoing cleaning and landscaping ,especially if they have a bit of time on their hands, although others are reluctant to do anything if it is going to cost them more in BC fees.

 

Hi Tony,

If your AGM is in October, your financial year probably ends on 31 July - that is the end date for submitting motions for the AGM.

In Queensland, AGMs cannot deal with any new business and the motions must be submitted months in advance.

Your committee nomination must also be in on that date.

If you miss those dates your motions probably won’t go on the AGM agenda.

Owners can get quotes and submit them as motions so that they can be voted on. There is a guide on the BCCM website for writing motions.

For repairs and maintenance, the default spending limit is calculated at $200/lot - this will tell you whether a repair quote can be approved just by the committee, or if it needs to go to all owners at the AGM.

You can send me a PM if you like and I can probably give you some specific advice.

Matt

 

We did express interest in doing some of the work ourselves if the body Corp were will to pay for materials and plants etc. it would be great if they were openness to that so somebody of the more manageable stuff.

 

Mate really appreciate the info, I’ll pm you over the next day or so. We really don’t wantbto Bec behindvthe 8 ball on these things. A lot has been left undone but realistically it wouldn’t take a lot to get things up to scratch.

 

Resurrecting an old post here... but this is something close to my heart. Getting stuff done in a body corp really depends on the mix of people and the community.

Where I am we have really had a nearly unbelievable success story here in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. In short, I joined the OC the day we bought (there was a committee meeting that day) and it evolved that we had a pretty good group of people on the committee. However we had an absolutely shocking Owners Corporation Manager - one of the big outfits. We have more than 40 units - so not exactly small either.

Short of it is that we were $80k in the red with a strata loan and nearly $4k per year management fees each. 2016 we sacked our Owners Corporation manager and self managed with the help of Online Strata Management Software Australia - Our Body Corp which does our admin functions.

Today we sit a couple of hundred $k up ready for projects, have replaced all of our electricals, lighting, gates, intercoms and have a 15 year expense plan laid out (not just maintenance items - but all expenses). 1 caveat though - we do not have elevators, gym, a pool or a building manager - these all add complexity. We have an amazingly pro active committee and the key for us was the entire committee that we have being on there as true volunteers first and foremost. We set a culture that we are happy for people to be on the committee with their own agenda to some extent - but no ******** rule and they have to put the greater community good first (it is actually in legislation).

Our fees dropped to $2400 a unit a year (and we might be able to drop a bit more off that).

This is not possible in a lot of OCs - especially where you get busy bodies or people who want to play games. Thankfully we have a lot of professionals who just want to get things done.

As to the savings - the key bits were getting rid of the OC manager. We had already taken control of all maintenance (i.e. stopped the manager sending out a plumber at $800 a callout every time there was an issue) and managed a lot ourselves with trusted tradesmen. The value of this was about $15k a year. It also meant we actually solved problems (i.e. electrical) instead of putting bandaids in.

As I said though, the absolute key is the people involved and getting everyone pulling the same direction. LOTS and LOTS of consulting to get people on the same page. Once we were there, things moved a lot more freely.

We made some mistakes along the way. Initially EVERY decision was by consensus... This was slow and impractical. These days I as chair handle basic decisions, refer to my secretary and treasurer for anything a bit more involved and major matters go in front of the committee. All matters go to the committee once a quarter anyway where we catch up for a formal meeting. Often at the pub - but formal minutes etc.

In terms of the other owners, as per the OC Act - we are entirely open. No secrets. Now we don't go handing out everyones private details etc but all Owners know they can make an inspection of records when they wish. They also know no question is out of bounds at any time. If they want to be involved in day to day operational decisions, then they can join the committee but for the most part it just works.

Clear communication, good volunteers and people who are there for the right reason is what makes it work.

 

and a LOT of work. Well done.

Strata managers do have their place although I think it is critical that the SC/EC take charge.

Always a warning sign if you let the SM chair the AGM!

 

For the 3-8 lot stratas with limited common property, having a strata manager makes little sense - most of those budgets can be done on a beer coaster just about - insurance, maybe some gardening and cleaning.

For the larger ones.. if you have an engaged committee then you really can do it yourself. It really depends on the competency of the committee. For us, we organise all the essential services inspections, that's not an issue. What used to be 4 providers for them is now 1.

Obviously for a less capable/engaged committee a professional manager can be desired... however my issue with them is that nearly none of them have any appropriate qualifications to do the job and then want to charge professional project management rates to do what they do. All too often they don't understand OC law, they apply the privacy act (it nearly never applies to OCs) and generally charge through the roof for minimal service (not to mention their rort of disbursement fees and suite of extra charges - not to mention insurance commissions which are charged regardless of whether you use them for insurance or not).

So yes a good professional manager has their place however OC management is a lot simpler than I suspect a lot of people realise.

Good point re chairing AGM (although if a committee knows how to chair an AGM, send out notice and generally comply with the act for most buildings or unit complexes they could just about do it themselves).

We found with our previous professional managers we had 2 management fees. The one they directly charged us. Then a complete second set of added costs due to their incompetence (they were shocking at managing contractors). Simply no more than a swivel desk who had never visited the property.