Step 1 – Meeting with your neighbours
You may not know everyone but this is the perfect opportunity to have a real discussion over the current state of the building and where you all want it to be in the coming years. A open discussion over the issues needs to be had and the best way really is to grab some food / wine and simply let it all out.
There will be people more interested than others but its quite simple, this is their opportunity to have their say, if you don’t turn up, you can’t complain later.
After you have put all your issues on the table, its now time to start the process of finding a managing agent.
From experience, the best way to do this is to ask either the Directors of your Residents Management Company (RMC) or a small number of interested residents to go away and complete their own searches within the next 7 days to bring 1 company to the table.
This can be good and bad (and we have seen both!).
On one hand, you can bring back a small but varied sample of companies that people believe are worthy of your building, you can also see any trends appearing, for instance if a few people come back with the same company, there must be some synergy there!
On the other hand, you could come back with 10 different companies and it turns into a real struggle to whittle them down!
Lets just assume you have scenario 1 and you now have a group of 4/5 companies that have provided initial proposals and quotations for the management of your building.
Step 2 – Find out which London block management company is best for you?
Here is the slight problem that many Directors of RMC’s face….your lease will say what the responsibilities are for the managing agent, what needs to be maintained, what needs to be charged and so on. This means that the question ‘What can you offer us’ is now void because each managing agent has to provide what is legally contracted in the lease.
You therefore need to be asking ‘How do you manage a building’ rather than ‘What services do you offer’.
I cannot tell you the amount of times Directors have discussed new management proposals with us and they have said ‘oh, you all seem to offer the same service’. Which of course is true because we have to.
It really comes down VALUE.
The above questions are all based on company behavior rather than the services on offer, therefore allowing you to really delve into the experience, structure and personality of the company to find out which one is right for you.
These questions will separate the good from the average and give you a good feeling of what value the London block management company will bring to your building and you will be in a position to create the shortlist.
Step 3 – Meet with your shortlist
The next stage is the ‘meet and greet’ which is a vital part of the process.
We know it takes time to get all the Directors together to meet 2 or 3 different agents but it is necessary.
During the meeting, which is typically a Q&A style meeting, you get a real feel for who you will be working with and how well you get along with them.
It is also essential to actually meet the property manager that will be undertaking the management of your building. You can be sold any type of dream management service but if you never meet the person carrying it out until after you have signed the contract, you may be in line for a surprise that could have been avoided.
So by this stage you will have found out all the problems at the building from your neighbours, you will have received proposals from a number of London block management companies and whittled them down to a shortlist. You will then have met each of your shortlist to find out who you could work with.
Now all that is left is to make a decision……..
P.S. to make things EVEN EASIER, we have compiled our three steps into an easy, printable checklist below:
Further resources:
http://www.lease-advice.org/documents/Appointing_a_Managing_Agent.pdf
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” Anatole France…
The quiet enjoyment covenant, a fundamental principle in UK leasehold law, can often be misunderstood.…
As a property owner or manager, understanding the intricacies of building insurance for flats is…
Owning a leasehold property often entails a plethora of financial commitments, one of the most…
The weather in London has definitely changed this month and people are now noticing condensation,…
Switching block management companies can appear a daunting process. However, with the right guidance, it…
View Comments
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.