Managment fees for an apt

A

Ali B

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Iv a management company bill to pay but have asked several times for a breakdown so I know exactly how much and what Im paying for but still havent recieved one.
I recieved a solicitors letter saying they will issue court procedings if they do not hear from me in 7 days so I called to explain Im waiting on the breakdown and they advised me that they wont send one out to me!

Should I have a right to know exactly what Im paying for?
 
Hi

I was in a similar position, where I needed clarification on a certain amount of the bill. My requests were ignored and I just got a barrage of solicitors' letters. I paid up in the end (with interest) but was really annoyed at their bully boy tactics. However, I'd advise you to do the same, as they can be pretty relentless when looking for the fees (and completely disinterested when you contact them about anything else!)
 
Thanks a mill. There is a commitee where I live in Tyrrelstown who have won 28 cases against them. I dont mind paying up but there has been so much misleading going on with them over the yrs. They were charging us for street lighting when the council was paying it all along. Now Iv been told we are paying for the greens to be cut as they are classing them as our common areas when the council should/are be doing this.
I also would like to know why its a cheaper fee for one bed apts than two beds if were still all paying for the same things in the end?
 
Ali B said:
Thanks a mill. There is a commitee where I live in Tyrrelstown who have won 28 cases against them. I dont mind paying up but there has been so much misleading going on with them over the yrs. They were charging us for street lighting when the council was paying it all along. Now Iv been told we are paying for the greens to be cut as they are classing them as our common areas when the council should/are be doing this.
I also would like to know why its a cheaper fee for one bed apts than two beds if were still all paying for the same things in the end?
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When the fee charging structure was set up initially (see your lease) it may have been based on a square footage basis or on no. of bedrooms..both of which are imho fair. I see no reason why a larger unit should not have to pay a larger percentage than a smaller unit. Also a two bed is more likely to have more people in it than a one bed. The management charge also covers the building insurance and typically(if you were in a house) a three bed house would have a higher premium than a two bed etc... Some estates are based on all units paying equally which I have always found to be less fair but thats only an opinion. Bottom line the basis of charging is set out on your lease documents.
 
Thanks for your comment and I know what ur saying but the fact that these have been over charging people and had to refund in the end, they should provide a break down. It was set out from the begining but only in budgets.
Regarding the fee for diff size apts, insurance on the building should be deerer but not by much.
 
It's hard to surmise without knowing the full details but to answer your original question, you have a right to know exactly what you're paying for. In general that would mean seeing a budget proposal for the year in question (in advance of paying the relevant fee) and accounts.
If you're not happy with the people taking care of your complex you can always try to change it, although this is quite often easier said than done.

BSG
(disclaimer thingy: I'm a property management agent)
 
For a start you don't seem to know the difference between the management agent and company. The management company is the legal entity of your development and all owners are members. The company in turn hires an agent for the day to day running of the development.

The calculation of your management fee should be detailed in your lease ie you will pay x% of the total budget for the development. The budget is set by the directors of the company who could be the developer (if all units not yet sold) or members of the company elected at an AGM. As an owner you are entitled to a copy of the budget from the Management Agent.

It is up to the management company to ensure that they are getting good value for money from the management agent, try and contact the directors of your management company for more information.

hth - feel free to pm me for more info, I am a director of our management company and have had to learn all about it!!
 
shesells said:
For a start you don't seem to know the difference between the management agent and company. The management company is the legal entity of your development and all owners are members. The company in turn hires an agent for the day to day running of the development...
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Keep up the good work, shesells, there seems to be a significant minority of apartment / private estate dwellers out there who just can't seem to differentiate between the developer, the managing agent and the property management company.

From various posts on here and other BBS's it is becoming painfully obvious that people are buying in to multi-unit multi-owner developments without any clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and its causing them grief and costing them money.
 
mathepac said:
Keep up the good work, shesells, there seems to be a significant minority of apartment / private estate dwellers out there who just can't seem to differentiate between the developer, the managing agent and the property management company.
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Sadly, from where I see it, it's more than a "significant minority". I come across people every day with no idea of what they have bought into or their legal standing and obligations. Given my profession I have been careful only to answer the question asked. Thankfully there are people like shesells who have made the effort to get informed and involved in the running of their complexes who can share their knowledge.
 
Im well aware of the difference of the management agent and the company but they have sacked the agent a while ago and I still dont know the update. There name is still on the statments though. My issue is that seeing as they have been overcharging residents and had to refund them, should we not be intitled to know what were actually paying rather than only receiving a budget summary?
 
Ali, it all depends on your involvement. Some owners prefer to leave all decision making to the directors/developers/agents while others want to see every invoice. You ARE entitled to know what you are paying for but the only way to get these questions answered is to ask the questions.

Why don't you know the update? who fired the agent and why? who is responsible for collecting your service charge? who is signing the cheques? these are not questions that I am asking of you but questions YOU should be asking of your directors/developer.

As to the overcharging/refund, there may well be a legitimate reason for this but again, I don't know the details so can't offer an explanation.

I answered your question previously, you are entitled to know what you are paying for, but it's up to you to go and find out that information if it's not being provided to you. Are you attending your company's AGM's every year?
 
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Thanks guys, I got involved because my fear was that if I didn't care enough to put the time (and lots of it) into being a director, then who knows what would go on here!!

Going back to Ali's question - who are they? The management agent or company? Who did the statement come from?

I know of the agency who were involved and sacked in Tyrellstown, they manage a lot of the properties in D15. It is up to the directors of the individual management companies to query the accounts if there are any discrepancies. Generally the other owners only hear the finances at AGMs, in the interim the directors are bound to act in the best interests of all owners.

In our development we refused to sign off on audited accounts for a number of months until we were satisfied over a number of increased spending amounts.

BTW, even with a management agent in place, the directors can choose to sign the company cheques if they don't trust the management agent to do so.

Back to Tyrellstown, I did hear that after that management agency was sacked, a large proportion of the business went to Fisher property management so might be worth contacting them to see if your area is one of them.
 
shesells. Apologies for butting in to the Post. I ahve sent you a PM, which you might have a look at and offer me an opinion.

Thanks

Mercman
 
Thanks for all your comments. Its been a big help and an eye opener. I have alot of research to do!
 
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