In this article we will deal with an issue which is raised by directors of management companies when they tell me the reasons why they wish to change their Property Manager.
It is that they are often charged a lot of money for it appears to be a very simple job such as the changing a lightbulb or adjusting a door closer.
There are many instances where a client may believe they’re being overcharged for simple jobs. One reason is that your property manager will be employing a qualified electrician to drive to your building change the bulb and then drive onto the next job. A qualified electrician will always charge a £75-£90 callout fee and that together with the price of the fitting may end up costing £110 I have to say that during the early years of Sebright property management I fell afoul of this mistake. I received complaints from our clients and then chose to fix the problem.
At Sebright property management our property managers have a supply of lightbulbs for your building that they can change on their monthly inspections. We also ensure that your cleaners also have a supply of light bulbs and in some instances the directors of the management company will also keep a selection of lightbulbs for the building which, if accessible, they will change. On this basis, you should rarely have to pay a callout fee for the changing of a lightbulb.
The costs of employing a rubbish removal company to remove dumped mattresses, sofas, or dishwashers from inside or around the bin store in a block of flats is very high. This is not necessarily because the companies are making huge sums of money but more because the council charge Considerable sums for commercial Rubbish Removal. So, when I see a service charge budget that has a cost of £2500 for the removal of fly tipping, I think about how to solve the problem rather than simply pay the money to a junk removal company.
The problem is more of a social one in that the tenants are not aware of other ways of disposing of their heavier goods or they just don’t care. So I begin by preparing the Rules and Regulations booklet which sets out, amongst other things, that fly tipping is not permitted, that there is a fine of £125 for anyone that’s found fly tipping and how you can legitimately and at a very low cost ask the local council to remove larger items of rubbish for you. This rules and regulations booklet is in colour, presented well and looks formal so that residence is more likely to take it seriously. The rules and regulations are given to all of the residence by hand with a brief explanation and also provided to landlords with a note that says that if their tenants are to be found fly tipping and they will be fined and that if the fine remains unpaid then the landlord will have to recover this fine from their tenant’s deposit.
I find that this will remove at least half of the fly tipping. If it does not, then the next stage is to install a CCTV camera in the grounds pointing at the area is in which rubbish is usually tipped. We can then review the footage from our office and find out which flat dumped the rubbish and then ask them to remove it or be fined.
I find that the cost of a CCTV camera and DVR can reduce fly tipping by 90%. If it is managed properly. I also find that people begin to have a greater respect for their living environment.
The fact is that sometimes management requires thought. The answer is not always to throw money at the problem and hope that it solves it.