Our insider tips on the questions to ask your potential Strata Manager.

Good or bad, most people judge an entire strata agency by the working relationship they have with their strata manager.

We’ve put together this short list of questions to ask yourself before making the decision to appoint a new Strata agent.

How many buildings does the proposed new Strata Manager already handle?

Your entire strat experience depends on this one simple question. Most agents handle large portfolios, to the point where they may spend most of their time putting out fires instead of giving you the proactive service you’re looking for.

What is included in the monthly management fee

Most agencies charge a monthly management fee that covers the agreed services. Works carried out outside of the agreed services are charged as an additional fee. You can negotiate with an agency to have fixed-price out-of-pocket payments to give you a clearer understanding of how much your plan will pay per year.

Ratings

The Strata Manager who will manage your building must have at least a Certificate 4 in Strata Title Management. Ideally this would have been obtained through a Tafe course. It is possible to obtain a Certificate 4 in Strata Management by paying to do a 2 week course. It’s also a good idea to ask how long they’ve been with the agency.

Experience

When approaching a potential new agent, it’s a good question to ask how much experience the strat manager who will actually be managing your building has, and in the event things go wrong, how much experience they have attending mediation and court hearings.

Reports

How often are financial reports produced and delivered by just the treasurer to the entire committee? Ideally this will be available on a monthly basis.

Service Level Agreements

Strata management is customer service. Your new agent should be able to provide you with timeframes in which your requests will be processed, emails answered, and phone calls returned.

Your money, your input

It’s your building and you don’t necessarily want the Strata administrator to do everything, so it’s important to clarify how much input you’ll have to approve creditor payments and what level of input the committee will have when the agent is preparing the proposed budget.

terms of agreement

When appointing a new agent, most will try to lock him up for a maximum period of 3 years. If the services do not meet your expectations, you will be locked in for the contract term, unless your scheme decides to pay for the remaining contract term. It is a better option to sign a one-year contract and see how things go.