Hi there
I own a townhouse, on a block with about 25 other townhouses.
The house is in a crummy area and the body corporate is quite pricey and keeps going up.
It's currently at $390 quarterly.
I was wondering if anyone has ever changed management companies? And how difficult it was.
Any experiences/opinions would be appreciated.
how much is the starta body corp managers charging?
$390 is for the total BC fees, like building insurance, sinking fund etc so maintenance can be done in the future.
Changing companies doesnt change that fact, find out the starta anagers cost and see if other are better/cheaper. (but $390 is not a lot)
There are many components to a Body Corporate charge. You should only compare on the actual fee they take out of the quarterly fees they collect. I recently changed the BC company for my apartment block and this was done through a Body Corporate Broker. It was quite hassle free. If you are in Melbourne, I can give you the contact number.
Thanks Alexlhb, if you could message ot that'd be great.
I understand the purpose, there is a communal pool that is rarely maintenanced, the townhouses are all over 30yrs old and worth around 260-300k each.
I've had the place for 7yrs but have never looked around at competition.
$390 is cheap. Is your sinking fund extra or included?
Have a look through paperwork sent before the AGM to see the budget breakdown. Insurance is a big cost. Do you have individual water meters? Townhouses probably don't use much common area electricity compared to units.
No my sinking is billed separately (I believe) and we do not have separate meters, my water bills are huge as they work out the average per unit.
If i choose to instal my own meter, then body corp will have to pay my share (only 1 person has their own meter).
I have asked when the next AGM is and look through the paperwork.
Thanks for all the feedback, just wanted to ensure I wasn't getting ripped off.
$390 is not a lot to be honest. Think of it this way. If you owned a house … yourself, and in 1 year, you only paid $1600 towards maintenance and home building insurance, cleaning and a savings fund for wear and tear. I can imagine your house looking pretty run down. If you are stating that your pool is rarely maintained, and your building is looking its age, reality is, your body corporate needs to look into increase levies so that the proper maintenance can be carried out. However most people see strata as dead money, and refuse to increase levies, that's what is keeping your property at 260-300K instead of more.
You levies go towards, building Insurance, grounds maintenance, water usage fees, general repairs, capital repairs and your management fees. Management fees on average would be around $200 per unit per year. So the Strata Manager runs your books, annual meeting and manages maintenance. Especially if there is a swimming pool, they are expensive, and capital replacement cost is included in sinking fund. So if you were to change managers, the you might save on management fees, but lose on service. The cost of maintaining your building generally won't have much difference, unless you have an executive committee, willing to search high and low for 10 quotes on every job, negotiate cheap as trades and do things themselves….
You can't install a separate water meter just for your unit. The whole body corporate needs to invest in separate water meters. Otherwise you will find yourself paying for your water meter usage as well as strata levy. Can't deduct, as it's mandated by law.
When looking through AGM paperwork, pay attention to the income expenditure report, you can query any item that looks odd to you.
~100sqm unit in a 10yr old block of around 18 units. pay 900/qtr
no lift or pool.
I wish all mine were $390.
d you have pools? gym? fence remote controlled? do people take ur garbage out, do you have common areas where you water ur garden? how old is ur place?
these considerations will impact the price
390 aint that much currently but depends on what they do for ya