General Maintenance
There is always regular, routine maintenance required in residential developments. Our job is to ensure that it is all carried out by the right contractors, at the right time and according to the right specifications.
Tasks include:
- Landscape maintenance – grass cutting, weeding and edging
- Internal cleaning – corridors, communal entrances and windows and bin store areas
- Communal safety and security compliance – electrical testing, fire safety equipment testing, lift testing and secure car park access.
The maintenance list is extensive with other tasks like roof and gutter inspections, drainage maintenance, boundary wall inspections and plant and machinery maintenance.
Long Term Maintenance
We are very much aware that buildings do not look after themselves so detailed, proactive planning is required. We undertake to provide a long term (5 – 10 year) rolling maintenance programme to enable planning for future renewals, enhancements and replacements.
Everything has a useful and safe lifespan and while we aim to maximise that period, replacements are inevitable for everything from lifts to light fittings. Planned painting of communal areas, both external and internal, serves to maintain the integrity of original materials used whilst ensuring the aesthetics of a development are maximised.
Proactive planning enables budgeting for projects, effective tendering and staged collection of funds from clients. In all such planning our Development Team’s expertise is pivotal as an in-depth knowledge of the both the structure and workings of the buildings is crucial for long term successful management.
Client Communication
Building strong client relationships is our aim, after all we don’t communicate with bricks and mortar but rather with real, live people. We know how we like to be communicated with so want to treat our clients in exactly the same way.
We want to give confidence to clients that we know what we are doing and we are working in partnership with them. Experience tells us that face to face communication is best as it enables proper conversation. Knowing this our Client Relationship Managers aim to meet clients during all regular site inspections and are always eager to attend regular residents meetings. When individual clients require some clarification we find it easiest to meet on site to discuss such matters rather than try to do so some other way. Sometimes our communication is simply conveying information in a timely and clear manner so conversation is not necessary.
Our client portal is the primary source of such information as it gives clients individual access a wide range of relevant information including viewing insurance details and account balance, making payment of amounts due, viewing contractor specifications or the status of current projects. All other usual modes of communication are of course used too though our preference is always to speak face to face.
Financial Management
Money required to carry out all necessary maintenance comes from the property owners themselves. Looking after that money on their behalf is another of our big responsibilities.
We give clients confidence that their funds are ring fenced and for the specific use of their development only; that each individual’s client balance is accurate and up to date; that client funds are fully protected in designated client accounts. Through our knowledge of the cost of maintaining a development we can estimate annual costs so ensuring adequate cashflow is available for all necessary projects. Each quarter we provide individual, detailed invoices showing the actual expenditure incurred.
From experience the most efficient payment options are either through our client portal or via direct debit as these require the least amount of administrative resource. Ensuring timely collection of client monies is fundamental to enabling all maintenance jobs. We have a dedicated credit control team following robust procedures who ensure this is indeed the case.
Project Management
As well as significant routine maintenance there will also be non-routine work required. Non routine work can be as a result of long term planning, emergencies or other unforeseen events and would include extensive paintworks, major roof repair, CCTV installation or door entry replacement.
Projects will inevitably range in size, expense and complexity. Our in-house technical expertise enables us to fully manage such projects on behalf of clients. The process starts with providing a robust specification using working knowledge of the development followed by the tendering process where the balance of contractor expertise, expense and proposed solution is carefully assessed and recommendations to clients made.
On going project management and subsequent sign off on successful project completion complete the process.
Buildings Insurance
For communally owned areas in residential developments we believe it makes sense to have a single block insurance policy. In many instances this is in fact a requirement in your Deed of Conditions. We have the responsibility of sourcing a suitable policy for owners in terms of both cover and cost.
This policy covers the fabric of a building as well as communal areas such as entrances, landscaped areas and roofs (it does not cover any contents within individual properties). Having one collective policy instead of many individual policies ensures not only that the building is insured, but also there can be fewer complications in dealing with claims, particularly when more than one flat is damaged.
A block buildings insurance policy premium covers two main cost elements a) the cost to the insurer of insuring the risk and b) the cost of placing and administering the policy. The second element includes underwriting, risk management, claims handling, adjustments for property sales, renewal communication, premium collection and arrears control.
It is common practice for the insurance provider to outsource responsibility for these tasks to the broker. Our broker Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited in turn, on our portfolio outsources many of these tasks (renewal communication, premium collection, arrears control, management of communal claims) to Charles White.
*Policy limits and exclusions may apply, please see the policy wording for full terms and conditions.
Copy of Zurich Policy Document for Residential Property Owners (01/23 version)
httpsWording.pdf://charleswhite.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Zurich-Policy-
Charles White Limited & Charles White (NI) Limited are appointed representatives of Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registerd off: Spectrum Building, 55 Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC108909.
