Management Information

Developer: Trevor Homes Pty Ltd Dear John Lim & Ben Fabretto ( Trevor Homes PTY LTD ) What follows is a revised rundown of services we provide and a fair indication of our charges so that you have an understanding you may wish to pass onto some of your other members, and as I mentioned we would be more than happy to arrange a time to meet with you again to go over any part of this proposal. Our aim is and will always be to give superior service to all of our clients no matter how big or small their owner’s corporations may be. We believe strongly in personalized service and delivering what we promise. Our company have managers in Geelong & Werribee & the Western Suburbs. We have a full understanding of the owner’s corporation act and the compliance required by owner’s corporations today. We have been assisting Trevor Homes PTY LTD now for 4 years and we look forward to continuoing the relationship and would always look for ways to add value to your business through providing initial management information as well as ongoing support and serivce..

We submit this information to you in good faith and trust that the information provided to you here will give you a better understanding of exactly what is completed on your behalf in setting up the initial owners corporation and the ongoing management.

Set-up and Compliance Please be aware there will be a one-off set-up charge of $220.00 (in total) to establish your Owners Corporation on our Strata System this cost covers. This cost is to establish your owners corporation into our software and set up all of the nessacary links with your owners corporation / member / managing agents and creditors. 

Owners Corporation Stamp

$67.00



Owners Corporation Sign

$55.00



Notification to Land Vic ( a requirement of every owners corporation )

$58.30

Total

$180.30

*As you can see there is approxamatly $40.00 left from the original $220.00 for Admin Expenses.

This fee also covers our attendance to all legislative and statutory requirements, both State and Federal, including arranging and being in attendance at your Inaugural General Meeting as well as the owners corporation plaque , seal and registration.

Management Services As a professional Owners Corporation management company, our services include, but are not limited to: 

Establish and operate a bank account.



Accounting Procedures



Keep books of accounting covering all income and expenditure and assets and liabilities.



Prepare annual financial statements and distribute to all members.



Reconciliation of bank account.



Issue all fee notices and special fee levies (as required) set by the Owners Corporation.



Follow up members who are late paying fees or levies and instruct the Owners Corporation legal representatives to recover debts as required.



Pay all invoices and attend to account queries.



Arrange insurance or renewal as required by the Owners Corporation Act 2006.

Insurance 

Arrange a valuation of the cost of reinstatement and replacement of buildings when requested by the Owners Corporation.



Prepare and lodge routine insurance claims with insurers or brokers.



Maintain roll of owners’ names and addresses.

Meetings Meetings are a very important part of your owners corporation. Meeting dates for the following AGM are generally set at the AGM by the members.



Having the meeting at your residence or on site is an option offered to all owners corporations



Clifdale Strata allocate 90 minutes for each annual general meeting



Clifdale Strata Management operate Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.30pm and Saturday mornings from 9am to 1.00pm, meetings can be sceduled anytime in these hours to assist members.

Documentation 

Maintain a complete register of the Owners Corporation.



Issue Owners Corporation Certificates as required.



Deal with all correspondence.



Keep and supervise the use of the common seal.



Keep the records of the Owners Corporation including all minutes and postal ballots



Attend Annual General Meetings held at the Managers Office, or at another place agreed by the members and the Manager.

Annual General Meetings (Generally the annual general meetings are held after 5pm or on Saturday mornings; there is no extra charge for out of hour’s meetings. Meetings are generally held at the property, at our offices or at a venue close by and are arranged by Geelong property group.) 

Convene, attend, and submit a budget and financial statements to, and record minutes of, the Annual General Meeting.



Provide a Notice of Meeting, including all reports and information required under the Act



Be available to act as Proxy for any member(s) unable to attend an Annual General Meeting.



Provide a Manager’s report to each Annual General Meeting.



Arrange for repairs and maintenance of Owners Corporation property.

Maintenance   

Provide guidance to the Owners Corporation so it may properly perform its duties and functions. Arrange quotes for repairs. Arrange repairs to common property and ensure that all members are aware of repairs and work to be completed.

Our Fees and Charges 

I think its very important that every member of the owners corporation has a full understanding of the fees and charges for therir owners corporation. Our company has a transparent policy in relation to all fees and urge you to make a time to sit down and go over your contract of appointment thoroughly.



We are fortunate enough to enjoy a great rapport with our clients and we would relish the opportunity to assist you with the day to day management of your owner’s corporation.



It is important to note when looking at costs for the management of your owners corporation that some management companies do charge additional costs to members for incidentals. It is our experience that the costs quoted here should in most cases be the only costs payable for the management component of your owners corporation. Management fees (per lot) Item Management Fee Disbursements Software fee Total

Cost $200.00

$20.00

$10.00 $230.00 per lot

Once your owners corporation once set up in our software we would then enable all of the logins and portal leads to your owner’s corporation web page through the Clifdale Strata web site. Once on the site each individual owner would have the ability to view  Work orders  Invoicing  Account ledger  Minutes of meetings  Rules and By laws  All associated documentation

Each owner’s corporation has a link through our website to an area that displays all of the relevant information to your owners corporation as well as particular information relevant to sales certificates and general all-purpose property information.

Communication The owner’s corporation body corporate management industry is like all industries and is reliant heavily on communication. We fully understand that owners/members want to communicate directly with the manager of their owners Corporation. All staff at Clifdale Strata management are under strict instructions to reply to communication promptly. The vast majority of communication we receive from members tenants landlords is via email that is our preferred method of contact however if a member does make a phone call into our office or on one of the managers mobile phones we ask all staff to return a call within 24 hours or as quickly as possible. We fully understand that it is very frustrating not having a call returned or an email reply to and we do everything possible to reply with relevant communication to all inquiries.

Website We do try to include a lot of the information for your owners corporation on the owner’s corporation portal. We are by no means 100% reliant on this portal for your property but in saying that a lot of members do find all the information they require on that site. If your information that you require is not there or you do not have Internet access you are always welcome to call the office and speak to a manager.

Summary In our experience working for developers over the last 5 years, there are 2 main parts that are of a concern to a developer. 1. Getting the owners corporation set up and running with as little fuss and wihout any delays as to affect purchasers settlement, this means working closely with the developer and the developers legal representative to get things completed in the specific times required. 2. Ongoing management and communication. Having a manager of an owners corporation that is effective and efficient is an extension of your business. We feel that we have always provided and will continue to provide a superior service to those members of owners corporations we manage and we share good relationships with new members offering not only out time and expertise but our understanding in providing ongoing support to new members who may not have a full understanding of how an owners corporation works. We sincerely hope that the information provided to you here assists you with all of your questions.

Note: the information provided in this document is provided to the peron named at the top of the document only. Forwarding, sharing or reproducing this document is firbiden by the owner of this document, Clifdale Strata Management License No 666

Clifdale Strata is a proud member of Strata Community Australia.

What is the benefit of having a professional manager, rather than self-managing the owner’s corporation? As many of the one million Victorians affected are beginning to discover, the Owners Corporations Act and regulatory regime has increased the responsibilities for unit and apartment owners to such an extent that just getting a grip on the requirements is challenging. Self-managed owners corporations are expected to perform the role of a property manager, with the expertise of a lawyer, valuer, insurance broker and accountant on tap….just to ensure they comply with the laws. Owners need to understand the legal, financial reporting, record keeping and insurance requirements. In addition, all owners’ corporations are well advised to make short and long term plans for ongoing, periodic, routine and urgent maintenance management. The committee elected by the owners corporation need to know how to administer the day to day running of the property, plan for and anticipate future needs, run a meeting, establish and administer grievance and dispute resolution procedures. As a result of the complexity of the laws, many owners corporations are moving away from self-management and turning to professional managers for assistance, who are experts in the administration of all aspects of owners corporations and strive to protect owner’s assets. The effective operation of an owners corporation is largely determined by the willingness of members to engage with, and assume responsibility for, the operations of the owners corporation. The process and effective operation of owners corporations is facilitated and enhanced when a professional manager is appointed. It is not uncommon that a professional manager is appointed to solve intractable problems and relationship breakdowns in previously selfmanaged properties. Professional owner’s corporation managers play a vital role in an increasingly complex environment by ensuring owners corporations are compliant with their legal responsibilities, efficiently and effectively protect and maintain the owners’ assets and plan for the future. Owner’s corporations now have more legal responsibilities for matters including financial management, record keeping, dealing with complaints and meeting procedures. Many owners’ corporations use professional managers to assist with finances, insurance, administration, meetings and maintenance functions.

What qualifications does an owners corporation manager need to have? Managers are now required to be registered with the Business Licensing Authority [BLA] and it is an offence to carry out any function as the manager for fee or reward unless the person is registered under Part 12 of the Act. An owners corporation Manager must have Professional Indemnity insurance covering claims up to $1,500,000 and be an Authorized Representative of an insurance company. There are currently no formal educational qualifications required in Victoria relating to owners corporation managers. If you appoint a manager that is a member of SCA (Vic) the manager will also have had a police record check and must comply with our Code of Professional Conduct. To be awarded post nominal SCA (Vic) members have to comply with the Continuing Professional Development [CPD] program. Upon commencement later in 2008 members may also be required to undertake the national qualification - Certificate IV Property Services [Operations]; CPP07 PDSM [Property Development, Sales and Management]. Currently new managers may purchase the SCA (Vic)’s recorded self-paced introductory training course which is aimed at new entrants to the industry starting their own business with no mentor or supporting employer.

Is there an industry standard Contract of Appointment? Yes, SCA (Vic) has an endorsed Contract of Appointment – Owners Corporation Manager. All SCA (Vic) members are entitled to use the SCA (Vic) endorsed Contract of Appointment. This has been developed to take into account the changes to the regulatory environment brought about by the operation of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 and the approved form published by Consumer Affairs Victoria. Attached below is the CAV approved form of Contract of Appointment.

How often does the owners corporation have to meet? An owners corporation must have an annual general meeting if it receives or pays out money in any financial year. The time between those annual general meetings must not exceed 15 months.

What does the committee specifically do (what are the specific roles), and what is the benefit to an owner of being on the committee?

A significant change of the strata laws a few years ago was the restoration of the committee as the executive of the OC and acts as the executive of the OC. The committee now has the power and responsibility to act as the OC between general meetings of the OC. A committee has all the powers and functions that may be delegated by the OC save for those requiring a unanimous resolution [100%] or a special resolution [75%] or where the OC has otherwise determined must be decided by ordinary resolution [50%] at a general meeting. The OC can also decide on what powers and functions it wants to delegate to the committee. The committee must elect a chairperson and secretary, who are also the chairperson and secretary of the OC. The chairperson’s role is to ensure effective conduct of meetings, and the secretary’s role is to ensure the proper handling of proxies and ballots. If the OC has a professional strata manager, then the strata manager typically performs the roles of chair of a general meeting, and can also act as secretary. It is worth an owner taking the time to be involved in the OC since the apartment is one of the biggest investments they will have in their life. You want to not only maintain and increase the value of the asset, but also to play a part in promoting the communal living that is fundamental to living in an OC. It is in everyone’s interest for owners to ensure they make informed decisions and meet their compliance responsibilities under the strata laws.

I hope these answers to a few commonly asked question clarify your idea of owners corporations. If you have any further questions at all please feel free to contact us.

Sean Mennen Clifdale Strata Management - 1300 79 59 29 www.clifdale.com.au | 1300 79 59 29 | [email protected]