Management Company Responsibilities

N

ng365

Registered User
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I viewed 2 apartments this week with the view to buying.
In both cases the inside of each apartment was very well maintained and seemed very nice.
In both cases the apartment bock itself (Hallway, shared doors, stairs etc) left a lot to be desired. Clearly had not been painted in a long time, lights broken, main door shabby.
In both cases the apartment block was relatively small, 8 - 10 units with no lift.
The management fees in both cases seemed to be quiet high €1500 - 1700 p.a
My question is around the management companies obligations to maintain the area & what rights do owners have in getting a management company to maintain a property.
When I asked the auctioneer where the fee went to, I got the standard response that it included bins & parking space. (expensive bins!!!)
Can anyone explain where fees go to and what rights owners have in relation to this considering a shabby building would no doubt affect the value of the apartment itself.
Many thanks
jon
 
You need to re-think your approach here!

The Management Company reflects the level of commitment that the owners of the apartments have to the general upkeep and maintenance of the common areas. The smaller the development, the more the apartment owners have to commit. In a large development, the combined amount of the service charge paid by each owner, dilutes the amount of interest they need to have .

In a small development, unless there are stonking service charges, the management company can probably only afford the most basic managing agent, if any.

My advice - only look at apartments in large complexes. If you buy in a small complex, be prepared to get heavily involved in actively maintaining the common areas.

mf
 
I don't see what the size of the complex has to do with it. If it's a small complex then there's less maintenance. In any case my main wondering is what rights do owners have in terms of how the money is spent and what obligation do the company have to maintain the complex?

Reading some posts on here and there's things like, "management company say no money to paint" & "Management company won't fix xx"

Forgive my ignorance in all this but why pay management fees if the management company can't look after a building?

Also is it possible to look at a breakdown of expenditure of the fees before buying an apartment?

Thanks
Jon
 
The reality in lots of these management companies is that the directors set out the budget for the year to cover all the costs and put a little into a sinking fund.

Then only 75% of the members pay their fees. So the insurance has to be paid and the ESB, the lift maintained, the grass cut. Painting get left down the list. The ect year only 65% pay their fees because the common areas are not being maintained. And on it goes.

The directors of the Management Company seem incapable of getting the arrears sorted. There does not seem to be a standard set of measures.
 
If you have the name of the Management Company you should be able to download a copy of the accounts from CRO which might give you an insight into how money is spent. You might also try speaking to an owner who might also have a copy of the budget projections for the company. Among the items covered will be the Insurance for the apartment block and Public Liability Ins. You will have a MUD act contribution for the sinking fund. You will have public Lighting paid for. Possibly a managing agent. There will be ongoing electrical repairs as well. There will be €12 -1500 accountancy fees. There maybe caretaker fees. There could be some legal charges?. There are sure to be some other expenses which could be peculiar to the development. There may be difficulty in collecting management fees.
Got delayed while typing up the response and I only noticed Joe 90 had already responded when I had posted/
 
In my experience, mgt companies will not look after common areas, and definitely not with regard to major repairs/upkeep. Frankly, I would never buy a property again if a mgt company was involved.
 
KlausFlouride said:
In my experience, mgt companies will not look after common areas, and definitely not with regard to major repairs/upkeep. Frankly, I would never buy a property again if a mgt company was involved.
Click to expand...

I would be in substantial agreement agreement with above from personal experience. For every 2 good ones there are about 5 poor ones.
 
I would not be too worried about lack of painting or 'shabbiness' as such. So given the general expectations about common areas the price might not be as impacted as you think by such things.
I would be concerned if the door wasn't secure or about broken lighting. Also, 1500-1700 seems quite high for a development that doesn't have a lift.
In such a small development there's probably not much of an emergency fund, and if works did need to be done there's only 10 to split the cost.
 
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