Overthrow body corp

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by giswal22, 4th Nov, 2015.

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  1. giswal22

    giswal22 Well-Known Member

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    Is it possible to overthrow a body corp? What does the process involve? Unfortuneatly we have one that is hopeless and tiring to deal with and we feel the job could be done better by somebody else. Does anyone have any experience with this?
     
  2. Travelbug

    Travelbug Well-Known Member

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    Yes. I have done this.
    I was on the exec committee. I had another unit with a great BC. I rang them and they helped me write the letters as I wanted to change it to them. Do you have a company you wish to change to? They could help you with the procedure. Usually you would hold a special meeting but as we wrre a small block we just emailed and got a majority.
     
  3. WestOz

    WestOz Well-Known Member

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  4. abbyfresh

    abbyfresh Well-Known Member

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    Yes it is possible - I am currently working through one now. In a small block when others don't care / aren't active then it can be quite straight forward. The new one you move to can help you with all the rules and steps to move your business away, while keeping everything above board and transparent for all involved. General advice is it can be a lot different dealing with a salary owner running an owners corp within a general real estate agency compared to a small business that only does owners corp stuff whereby they are hands on and you can deal direct with the owner / operator. In a larger block you will be down to getting a quorum on side with you to move, otherwise it is too hard, hence no one generally changes and its all too hard to contemplate it.

    I hope to transition my current situation fully in around 4 weeks time. If you're in Melbourne and looking for some-one to change to in Eastern / SE area, I can provide good advice if all goes to plan.

    The end result is less fees for all owners (without stupid price hikes each year), better performance and stuff actually gets done without all the red tape.
     
  5. Baker

    Baker Well-Known Member

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    I've done it, simply by voting NO to renewing the contract to manage with the strata management company at the AGM.

    Met with two of the other owners in the block of 4 units prior to the AGM and we decided to act because the company were just woeful.

    First point of order when we took over to self-manage was a building inspection - lo and behold the maintenance work over the last 8 years had been done very poorly/superficially by the management company's tradies. The $1000s per year we saved by self managing have been most useful bringing the property slowly back to condition.

    PM me if you want to know who we ditched as strata managers.
     
  6. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    Are their initials SD?
    Body corp is you, a collection of owners. Do you mean the agency representing it? If so, its a matter of having a discussion with the other owners and voting accordingly at the AGM. Perhaps get some quotes from other agencies which might help your cause.
     
  7. vtt

    vtt Well-Known Member

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    D.T is right. There is the body corporate (aka BC, Owners Corporation or OC) and then there is the strata manager. Two different things. Two different strategies required.

    The BC is a group of owners that come together to make decisions on the property eg whether the facade requires painting, whether a new by law is to be put to AGM vote, whether someone parking in visitors parking should be removed etc.

    The strata manager executes the wishes of the OC/BC and advises on legal aspects of the property along with collecting levies and being somewhat of an intermediatary in disputes.

    To get rid of an BC member this needs to happen at an AGM and owners have to vote someone into the BC, so to overthrow someone means they must be opposed. This is very confrontational, neighbourly relations will very likely dissolve so be careful.

    With the SM it's much easier, just put a motion on the AGM to terminate the services of the SM and ideally another notion for whom you wish to appoint. It's good practice to interview potential SMS way in advance of terminating the other as you may have to give notice to the current SM.

    Good luck.
     
  8. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    Have witnessed this with one of my apartments, one group of owners overthrew(?) the whole existing executive committee. I'll never forget that EGM, about 30 adults in one room yelling, calling each other names and some walking out in protest (before rushing back in as they realised they hadn't yet voted.) Lawyers were present and the strata manager was visibly distressed. My wife and I sat there quietly and decided that being on the EC wasn't one of our life goals :)

    The group that took over basically said the current EC wasn't doing a good job, was costing all the owners money and showed how they can run it better. They won by a single vote! Very awkward for them to bump into each other in the common areas afterwards though...
     
  9. S0805

    S0805 Well-Known Member

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    I am keen to know how do you pursue other owners to do this. I guess you want to double check the numbers before you proceed with it or you may end up being on the wrong side of Body corp.... as an Investor I don't have to deal with them much but when I've to they are horrible in service...
     
  10. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    Mine was done with letters under the door (I was living there at the time.) Not sure how they knew which residents were owners and which were tenants?
     
  11. giswal22

    giswal22 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for all the info guys! We are from Melbourne but have an IP in Moorooka (Qld). We own 1 of 4 townhouses there. The guy running it is pretty unorganised and we feel that somebody else could be doing a better job. Eg: when the supercell storm hit last year, we received a little glass damage which still has not been resolved through insurance (maybe it takes that long but it seems as though he is just pottering around and not getting on their case). Also, we have not received our body corp fees for a year and a half now, were unsure if that can be bad for us in any way. Eg: how are we covered insurance wise? He is very hard to get a hold of as he lives remotely (away from brisbane area) Not to mention that the outside areas of the propertiescould use a spruce up, i mean why are we chipping into a sinking fund and not seeing any results?

    How can we find out who the other owners are of the other 3 properties and maybe begin the process? How could we find someone/a company to take over if possible?
     
  12. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    The body corp (or agency managing it) have to give you an owners list if you request it. You can contact them to discuss.
     
  13. S0805

    S0805 Well-Known Member

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    I assume you prefer to have other option lined up before you instigate this conversation...
     
  14. Pumpkin

    Pumpkin Well-Known Member

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    [QUOTE=" How can we find out who the other owners are of the other 3 properties and maybe begin the process? How could we find someone/a company to take over if possible?[/QUOTE]

    I understand that Owners can write to the BCM to request for a Roll List with details of all owners. Well, we did it with our block of 5, all investors. We were told point blank that they will not supply to either PM or Owners! BCCM said we can file a dispute. Still scratching our heads....
    Your BCM sounds a bit like us. Care to exchange names?
     
  15. Special order

    Special order Well-Known Member

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    When I failed my law degree at uni I was utterly depressed for of an age.... My longing fantasy to rise up through the courts ladder to end up on the mighty judge throne shattered. As an antidote to my misery I immediately signed up to my body corp board and my thirst for power was reignited and energy restored. Dirty rubbish bins and sprawling weeds no more as I crushed them with my authoritative iron fist
     
  16. giswal22

    giswal22 Well-Known Member

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    Probably not a good idea to name and shame just yet. Supposedly they live in rural QLD (Dalby) and are very very difficult to get a hold of. It's almost like they use the role as an alterior motive but i cant quite put my finger on it. I have contacted BCCM so we will wait to see how we can deal with it.
     
  17. Matthew Savage

    Matthew Savage Well-Known Member

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    Hi Giswal22 & Pumpkin

    BCCM might give you some general advice, but they don't regulate the body corporate management industry. If your current manager has breached the code of practice (here: Codes of Conduct | Capitol BCA) then there are actions available, but generally that process is slow and costly. What you need is advice on requesting an EGM to terminate a contract, so I've sent you a PM :). Matt
     
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  18. Jkat

    Jkat Well-Known Member

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    We have just gone through this process. I spoke to all the owners in the unit block about what was happening and put forward a recommendation of a company we had worked with previously. The process was:
    - Check contract with the current company, how much notice do you have to give? is the contract period over? do you need to pay them out? if so, how much?
    - Notify all owners of an EGM with the agenda being the election of new company and the dismissal of old company
    - Write up minutes of EGM and provide them to your current/old strata manager and the new one that you are appointing.
    - Wait for the day to come when the new manager takes over the books.
     
  19. giswal22

    giswal22 Well-Known Member

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    Jkat,

    Could you give an example of minutes as im not too familiar the writing of them. Really appreciate your help and im in the process of it all
     
  20. Matthew Savage

    Matthew Savage Well-Known Member

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    I'm a QLD Body Corporate Manager and thought I might add some specificity to your post for QLD, as I see that you are in NSW:

     
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