Advice needed on my 1st mgmt company AGM


So you would not spare an hour over a number of years to got to the AGM, where 2 directors showed up with a couple of property owners to discuss the issues in your absence.

You are giving out about the director being paid a minimal fee for the year when no one else would take the job.

The alternative would have been the director resigned and notifies the CRO. The company then does not have the required minimum of 2 directors and the CRO starts the process of striking off the company.
 
gebbel said:
4. The previous Director paid himself €450 in fees. The chequebook also shows him spending on credit for his phone. There may be impropriety here.
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Was he a sole signatory? Surely this is unusual, or very bad practice at least.
 


Yes I agree with some of your comments, especially about attending AGMs.

The directors fee seems ridiculous to me. Why do they deserve it? I won't be claiming it. That money will be much better off used for the good of the estate.
 
We shopped around for auditor and 1,100 was best price.
I too understand that it soon will not be mandatory got omc yo be audited
Slthough personally think it preferable to have

Our memos prob like most sllow for payment to directord
I too think billing the true cost is crucial as you may not slwsys be there.

I reckon difficult task with so few members.
 
I think the true costs of admin should be borne by the company. Being a director may cost you free time but shouldn't cost you money too.
We have had people at our AGM asking why we (the directors) don't print stuff at home ourselves & deliver it through letter boxes ourselves. Being an unpaid director who gives up time & effort (and does actually often print stuff at my own expense) is hard enough - I don't see why people who won't volunteer themselves to do anything, think I should be an unpaid postman for a 150 houses too!

Is the director who resigned still a member & still an owner there?

Regardless of people disbelieving the admin costs - that's not an excuse to refuse to pay. I assume the budgets were being approved at the AGMs? Therefore the fee stands and those in arrears will have to pay. It shows how important it is to be on the ball if you're a member of a management company.

It may be worth offering payment plans over 12 months to allow people to catch up with arrears.
 

As with all things people have no real idea or inclination to stop and think about how much things cost. We have members who believe that issuing 10 page+ documents to 200+ members a third of which are located around the country/world should cost 'nothing' or be paid for by the directors or that there is no real need to issue AGM documentation (a quick one liner on Facebook is apparently all I need to do or a half page leaflet through the door!) This is just ignorance and unfortunately these people tend to have very vocal and angry voices which gain a disproportionate audience complaining that all spending is unaccountable and reckless (despite never going to any AGMs)

A few members (even those in apartments) have suggested that we just abandon the company and use a voluntary payment system. Its total lunacy but they do enough damage to make you wonder if its all worthwhile. I fear for the future of our estate.
 

I couldn't agree with you more lantus.

We have had vocal owners telling us it is a disgrace that we sent out copies of the audited accounts to each member, incurring printing costs & postage costs. We have had people tell us that we should buy a lawnmower & organise a rota to cut 10 acres of grass. By we I mean the unpaid directors who do everything for free & in their own time. The same few poor unfortunates volunteer for everything in the estate & the same few complaining people are very vocal in their complaints. The same people each year refuse to pay a small service charge of around €100 a year, but have cleaners, go on holidays abroad & eat out at local restaurants. We have also had the "we should disband the management company & have voluntary clean-up days instead" suggestions.

I have been a director for almost four years now & am standing down at the next AGM as I cannot do it any longer. The experience has honestly made me very cynical about people - to the extent that I actually want to move house. And I too wonder what will happen to my estate in the future but I feel I have done more than my fair share at this point.

gebbel - I wouldn't like to put you off taking on the role of director. It's not all entirely negative & it's good to be able to have an input into what happens. But it is a thankless task & you become the person responsible for everything in the development - the go-to person when people want things done but also the person who is responsible for collecting money who is generally seen as the devil-incarnate!
 
I'd second re Butters point about it being a good experience. It has been a fantastic learning experience overall and I have developed a vast range of skills from it. I am glad I did it. Logistics, strategy, CRO, law, accounting (including some very snazzy excel and word skills if I say so myself!) developing and setting up a web site, appointing contractors and organising and running AGMs with various public speaking roles plus the other hundred things directors do. Its been a ride!

Separating business from the emotions of individuals can be hard but is another skill to be learned.
 
It's a good experience to be a director but also it's the best way of protecting your investment, I certainly wouldn't trust many of my neighbours to do that which is why I've been a director from the day of our first AGM when the developers resigned as directors.
 

That's all true. I've learned an awful lot over my four years & have acquired skills outside my job. The one thing I haven't done well is to separate myself from the emotional side of dealing with neighbours & that's an essential skill.
 

I would feel the same way re trust but that's a huge problem regarding legacy and the continuation of the company. How can we address this?

Re Butters comments the difficulty is not the fact that people don't pay or moan or whatever it is our 'expectation' that they will agree and pay their service fee. Expecting people to pay based solely on my knowledge and understanding causes the most internal conflict if they don't. Once you recognise that then you can begin to separate yourself. The only person who is hurt is you (us) through the constant frustration of expecting others to agree with us without question.

As Bill Hicks said...'Its only a ride..'
 
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