Strata Manager Charges

[traveller]

Hi All,

I currently own 4 townhouses in a 8 townhouse complex in Western Sydney, NSW.

I have received a notice of AGM and alongwith that the Balance Sheet and the Income and Expenditure statement for the past year as well as Proxy Appointment Form in order to appoint Strata Managers for the next year.

On seeing the Income and Expenditure statement notice the following recurring charges per month for the complex:

1- Standard management Fee = 155.83 pm
2- Communications = 17.60 pm
3- Archive Storage = 5.50 pm
4- Photocopies, Bank Charges, Postage, Printed Matter etc ~ 90 pm

Basically as i can see all the above charges are mainly going to the Strata manager and not Sinking fund or any sort of maintenance of the property.

As per the ownership this gives me 52% voting rights as some of the townhomes in the complex are smaller and thus have proportionally less voting rights. As i have just bought these townhouses this is my first year into looking the strata manager fees.

I was wondering if the above fees is reasonable for a Strata manager to charge??? Or whether i should/could shop around and take some quotes. All the other owners in the complex seem to be pretty disenagaged on this issue and they individually hold no more than 1 townhouse each and as such i dont see any opposition to me recommending something better.

I will also like to mention that i am currently in Melbourne and do self manage all my properties here although none of my properties in Melb are in a strata arrangement.

Any advice, suggestions, opinions welcome...

Thanks- Daman.

 

[ChristineFreels]

those fees do seem excessive, you should definitely shop around, but you want to make sure that you do get service no matter how low the quoted fees are

I am a strata manager, I live and work in Western Sydney
contact me if you want a better level of service
I work at Independent Unit Management ph (02) 9822 7800

Christine Freels
(Strata Manager since 1997)

 

[ozsupra]

I am constantly amazed at the items that managers believe they can charge for. The fees listed are unjustifiable. I would be seeking a considerable reduction otherwise the managers overall performance would need to be determined.
I think most managers get away with this sort of rort because people are too busy to read the AGM papers (or possibly don't understand them). I also make a point of making sure the management agreement contains a clause regarding full disclosure of commissions and kickbacks from third parties. eg Insurance Companies, tradesmen, etc

Cheers,
Adrian.

 

[jaycee]

those fees do seem excessive, you should definitely shop around, but you want to make sure that you do get service no matter how low the quoted fees are

I am a strata manager, I live and work in Western Sydney
contact me if you want a better level of service
I work at Independent Unit Management ph (02) 9822 7800

Christine Freels
(Strata Manager since 1997)

why not help us out christine and post some of your prices for the items mentioned so that we can all get an idea in the spirit of the discussion ?