Are Body Corps meant to be that difficult to deal with??

Hey all, I'm a fairly new property owner and new to this forum as well. Hope you might be able to help point me in the right direction as I'm honestly confused :confused:

1st issue:
There's a leak in the storage cage area and was advised by the building caretaker to contact the body corp (MICM) which I did. This was back in March this year. Numerous emails going to and fro plus several phone calls .. They finally sent someone out in June and they put some kind of cement thingy at the source of the leak but it didn't fix the issue. Called them up again, showed them pictures of the leak a few days after that visit and was given empty promises without any resolution. Contacted CAV and was advised that I've to submit a Dispute Resolution form to MICM first and if no action is taken after 2 weeks, to file a formal complaint with CAV. Am I on the right track so far??

2nd issue:
I contacted MICM to advise that the rangehood in my property is faulty when I tried to use it for the first time and I've obtained a repair quote for it. Was advised to contact my own insurance company. Contacted them and was advised that fixtures of that sort falls under the building insurance. So went to MICM's website and requested for the Owners Cooperation insurance booklet. A lady from MICM called me up and ask what the issue was. Told her about the issue and she told me to submit the repair quote in which I did. Unfortunately their insurance partner advised that when they contacted the repairer for further information, the quote was destroyed because it was more than a month's old. So she asked if I could obtained another one and I questioned her as to what information were they exactly after as I know the next quote is going to cost and will probably contain the same explanation. She couldn't provide an answer but I did another quote anyway. Provided her with the new quote and a few weeks later I was advised that the repair quote was declined. Their insurance partner did not provide a reason as to why it was declined and the repairers told me that no one contacted them about my quote. MICM once again promised to chase up their insurance partner for an explanation but I've not heard from them for almost 3 weeks now.

So sorry for this lengthy post but I don't really know where else to turn to. I'm really desperate for advice ...
 
I was advised that fixtures (rangehood) of that sort falls under the building insurance. .

I guess fixtures like rangehood, stove, dishwasher, sink and all kitchen cabenits come under BC building insurance if they have to rebuild the kitchen (or whole building in case of natural disaster).

I would think it should cover in the home contenet but some other experience people can shed more light on it.

KK
____________________________
Trust your hopes, not your fears
 
Thanks KK. Yep, I'm confused on that one too. I called my insurance provider in terms of my home content insurance cover and they told me it falls under building insurance as it's a fixture which is bolted in. So yea .. I'm stumped.
 
So that means now I can hang (bolted on the lounge wall) my 42" Plasma TV and it would become a fixture and should cover under BC building insurance:)

You are right too MrG, insurance some time really confusing, your thread title now should be
"Are Body Corps / Insurance meant to be that difficult to deal with ??

Good luck and let us know, whats the conclusion.


KK
____________________________
Trust your hopes, not your fears
 
Sounds to me like...
the crack is part of community property so thats body corp
the rangehood is for you to fix and you should have checked it before purchasing as part of your due diligence... otherwise its wear and tear? Unless its brand new then manufacturers warranty...?
 
Owner's Corps (formerly known as Body Corps) have such an aura of mystique about them, it's amazing (probably a myth propoagted by OC managers to justify their fees :p) - but they are quite simply this: a bunch of owners just like you. That's it. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. They are simple and as difficult as a bunch of people just like you.

It works on numbers and politics. Any decision to be made by the OC is raised by an owner. Everyone votes. Majority wins. How you get the majority is on how you lobby and manage the politics of other owners.

For example - you can propose that the maintenance issues be covered under OC activities (you just need to convince everyone that budgeting/spending extra on better tradies etc is a good thing - that's the politics).

Same with the insurance - you can propose that the insurance cover be increased to cover these things - again, probably at increased premiums etc which the other owners have to agree to.

Taking action against the OC manager (although I must admit, MICM is a bit interesting) is a bit like taking action against yourself - get on the committe, direct the action. Most OC managers have to deal with a bunch of apathetic owners, who don't front to meetings, don't vote, and give the manager authority to do zip.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Sounds to me like...
the crack is part of community property so thats body corp
the rangehood is for you to fix and you should have checked it before purchasing as part of your due diligence... otherwise its wear and tear? Unless its brand new then manufacturers warranty...?

Hey Spectre, believe it or not, that's the only thing I missed out when checking the apartment out. But if the body corp's insurance doesn't cover it, why couldn't they just tell me straight up instead of getting me to obtain another quote? Also I'm not sure if this is correct, I've been told by some that if a building is under 7 years old, the builders should fix / replace it as part of warranty? :confused: If this is true, I might be able to find out from the building caretaker how old my building is. It's fairly new from what I've been told by the RE before purchasing it from the previous single owner. Hmmm ...
 
So that means now I can hang (bolted on the lounge wall) my 42" Plasma TV and it would become a fixture and should cover under BC building insurance:)

KK !! LOL !! Good one ! If all this mess gets solved in the end, I'll let you know of the outcome and maybe .. just maybe .. we might be able to make something out of your idea ... ;)
 
But if the body corp's insurance doesn't cover it, why couldn't they just tell me straight up instead of getting me to obtain another quote? .

I suspect they (or the individual) did not know.....

Something I forgot to mention, the OC manager can be ousted and changed by majority vote. Although I have never seen MICM ousted from their own CE project....

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Taking action against the OC manager (although I must admit, MICM is a bit interesting) is a bit like taking action against yourself - get on the committe, direct the action. Most OC managers have to deal with a bunch of apathetic owners, who don't front to meetings, don't vote, and give the manager authority to do zip.

Hey Y-man, yea lucky for me that the property was a good buy. The only thing that was bad about it was the BC. After doing some research about them on the net, gosh ... didn't know that they were a handful !! I guess it's a bit late to whinge about it. The next AGM meeting is in December and from what I read from the last meeting minutes, only 4 owners out of the 100 units actually showed up whilst 5 others were managed through a proxy. :eek: But then again, I'm sure MICM still owns quite a few units in this building and has yet to sell them. But till I attend the next meeting, I just wished they could do a better job and provide straight forward answers. Now, I'm hoping people who have gone through the same experience or has dealt with MICM might be able to share them so I know what I'm up against.
 
Something I forgot to mention, the OC manager can be ousted and changed by majority vote. Although I have never seen MICM ousted from their own CE project....

You know what .. I can actually agree with you on that one. I've read about so many people complaining about them but yet they still stand strong and firm which seriously shocks me. I'm wondering if anyone has actually gone to CAV to report issues about them and actually ... won ... Hmmm ...
 
MICM are the property management (and it appears body corporate management) arm of Central Equity.

Central Equity have built a high percentage of the apartment buildings in Melbourne, particularly Southbank.

If they are the body corporate manager than I would bet London to a Brick that it is a Central Equity building in which you own the apartment.

There is a 7 year builders guatrantee on residential Construction work in Melbourne ...

Whose interest do you think MICM is really looking after?

Just my musings,

cheers

RightValue
 
If they are the body corporate manager than I would bet London to a Brick that it is a Central Equity building in which you own the apartment.

Jackpot mate ...

There is a 7 year builders guatrantee on residential Construction work in Melbourne ...

Did a search and found that my building is definitely less than 7 years old. So with that in mind, would a faulty rangehood fall under the builders guarantee? I can assure you that it's not wear and tear based on the repairers inspection.

Whose interest do you think MICM is really looking after?

The battle is still going. I believe that they screen their calls a lot lately. No one ever picks up the phone. They let it ring to voicemail, have a listen and decide if that call is worth calling back. Well .. that's my 2 cents worth anyway. I'm in search of other owners in my building to have a chat but based on the last AGM meeting minutes, most of them are investors and it's another 2 1/2 months away to next meeting.
 
I know this is an old post but as promised, here's the update of what has happened. My body corp insurance has reimbursed the replacement of the rangehood. I did the 2nd quote for the rangehood as asked and the findings was similar to the first one. It's a known issue with the model of rangehood that was installed when the property was first build whereby the motor keeps polling (not sure if this is the right term) which causes the circuit board to fry. Hope this helps others in similar situations.
 
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