This is the second of our articles on why we think you should instruct Sebright Property Management to manage your Home/Building.
In the first article, I stated that one of the biggest reasons why directors of estate and property management companies wish to change their property manager is that they believe that their service charge contributions are too high, and they want a proactive Property Manager to help reduce those costs.
I will say that on 8 out of 10 occasions, this is correct. I often find that once instructed, we are able to reduce the service charge budget quite considerably, so I have set out below some of the ways in which we are able to reduce the service charge contributions for new clients.
1. The Buildings Insurance Premium
I find that this is the area where we are usually able to make the biggest savings. Many property management companies, especially the larger ones, have their own building insurance broker, sometimes this is “in house”, and other times it is simply a financial relationship where a commission is paid directly to the Property Manager. This means that the Property Manager is unable to change insurance brokers and undertake a market exercise in order to get the cheapest premium. And that often the insurance broker is not providing the best possible deal because they know that they have a monopoly on insuring the managing agent’s portfolio. As a result of client sufferers.
This is the area where we are able to make ourselves look good in front of the client in the first year of instruction because Sebright Property Management are not affiliated with any particular insurance broker or insurer, and we can pick and choose from the best deals in the market.
2. Emergency Light Testing
The emergency lights in the communal corridors need to be tested every month to ensure that they are working and will keep the access ways illuminated in the event of a fire. I often look at budgets for potential clients who informed me that they’re being charged too much for the service. I have seen figures such as £11,500 for a block of 48 flats. This is a ridiculous amount of money.
At Sebright Property Management, our Property Managers undertake the emergency flick test every month as part of our normal duties. This is a relatively simple job which does not need a qualified electrician to undertake and will save the client a large amount of money. It is important, however, to recognise that a qualified electrician should undertake the discharge test once every six months and then replace any lamps or starters that do not last the four-hour period.
The flick test is a job that should be done every month, so if your Property Manager is attending the property once a month, then it makes perfect sense that they undertake this job and make a record of any faults in your fire safety logbook.
3. AOV Testing
Your Property Manager's monthly site visit can also be used to test the functionality of automatic opening vents and fire alarms. Again, you do not need to be a qualified engineer to check to see if the systems are working as they should and that there are no fault signals. The property manager adding this to the task list can save the client £400-£800 a year.
Part 3 of Why choose Sebright is coming soon