If you live in a shared apartment block, high rise building or work in a commercial office space, you will know that a strata manager plays a key role in ensuring the ongoing maintenance and management of your property’s assets.
Let’s take a look at some of the general duties and responsibilities that are expected from a good strata manager and the key qualities to look out for.
Property Management Experience
Managing a tenanted building is not as easy as it seems. Things go wrong all the time and it’s important your strata manager has the expertise to handle the volume of work coming through. Without proper experience, it can be very easy to crumble under the pressure and give up.
An effective strata manager has the ability to work with multiple stakeholders at any given time, responding to and managing an influx of enquiries as they come through. Whether it’s a building of 4 tenants or 50 tenants, good time management is absolutely essential to ensure equilibrium, peace and happiness amongst property owners.
Some of the most common duties expected from a Strata Manager include:
- Organising & managing tradespeople on behalf of tenants
- Arranging insurance quotes for the building
- Collecting strata levy payments from lot owners
- Ensuring safety, maintenance & cleanliness with each individual building
- Managing financial accounts & annual reporting
- Carrying out & attending Body Corporate meetings, distributing minutes & notices
- Payment of invoices on behalf of tenants
There are many rules, regulations and laws that must be understood by Strata Managers.
Strata Management requires an in depth understanding of complex laws that may not easily be understood by tenants and committee members. If there are things that need to be actioned, your strata manager will need to ensure it’s within the parameters of local government rules and legislative requirements before making a decision.
Furthermore, committee members usually don’t have the time to keep up with rule changes and will often rely on their manager to keep them up to date with issues concerning their building complex. If you’re part of a body corporate committee, it is also your duty to stay on top of any regulation changes and speak to your strata manager about any concerns that you might have.
What Makes A Good Strata Manager?
There are so many qualities that make a Strata Manager excellent at their job. Consistent communication is one of them. Proactively seeking ways to communicate with committee members goes a long way to forging good relationships and making a great impression every time.
Another important skill is the ability to source different quote from trades, which helps save valuable time and money for members. Thirdly, being able to manage disputes and conflict resolution strategies. Without this skill, it can be easy for members to lose respect and trust in you – particularly if they are looking to you for answers and industry expertise.
In Summary
Finding a good Strata Management Company usually requires first hand experience. If you’re unhappy with your existing manager and find yourself constantly running into issues, lack of communication or poor management, it’s up to you to make those changes and look for a new one.
Just like anything, you have to find what works best for your needs and make the decision as a committee to move elsewhere.
At Strata United, we thrive on the management of buildings and delivering high levels of client satisfaction.
We provide tailored management solutions and reassuring levels of quality and efficiency. If you’re looking for end-to-end management, value, honesty and transparency, give Strata United a call today on 1300 445 900 or email: info@strataunited.com.au for a confidential chat.