Body Corporate members are no strangers to the challenges that come with managing their properties well. It takes a significant amount of time and a distinct skill set to maximize efficiency and increase ROI. That’s where the role of Body Corporate Managers comes into play.
In this article, we will take a look at why Owners need to hire Body Corporate Managers to maintain property value. We’ll then briefly explain the top 10 best practices to follow to ensure successful Body Corporate Management.
What is Body Corporate and Who is a Body Corporate Manager
A Body Corporate refers to a common property such as an apartment complex, office building, or shopping center, having shared ownership. A Body Corporate is also known as a Strata Scheme.
It is a legal entity comprised of several units or lots, each having its separate owner. Owning a unit in a Body Corporate makes you a member of the Body Corporate. This gives you a say in how the Body Corporate is run and maintained on an ongoing basis.
Having said that, Body Corporates are heavily regulated while the owners have little to no experience in handling property matters. This creates a gap between the Body Corporate’s needs and what the Lot Owners have to offer. Thus, Body Corporate Managers are appointed in the annual general meeting of the members. They undertake responsibilities including but not limited to:
- Issuing and collecting levies.
- Managing Body Corporate funds.
- Maintaining common areas.
- Providing advisory services.
- Implementing committee directives.
Importance of efficient management in maintaining the value properties
- It ensures that the complex is financially stable and has adequate funds to carry out repairs and maintenance work as needed.
- It ensures that the building is well-maintained, safe, and comfortable for the Occupants.
- Disputes among residents and between residents and management are effectively resolved.
- Ensure the property complies with the legal requirements of the state. These include building codes, fire safety regulations, and health and safety standards, minimizing the risk of getting into legal trouble.
- It helps enhance the value of the property to potential investors or renters.
Best Practices for Body Corporate Management
Ensuring effective management of all the assets in a strata-titled property or community scheme is important. For this reason, Body Corporate Managers need to follow a set of industry best practices.
1. Carrying out preventive maintenance
An important role Strata Managers play is ensuring the assets under the Body Corporate are up and running all year round.
This warrants regular inspections and upkeep of the property to identify potential issues beforehand. This includes inspecting common areas, individual units as well as the exterior of the property.
Preventative Maintenance ensures that Body Corporate Managers are able to:
- Minimize downtime
- Cut down money spent on costly repairs or replacements.
- Increase the assets’ life.
- Improve tenant satisfaction.
- Enhance the value of the property.
2. Streamlining regular maintenance management
Carrying out regular maintenance management is a vital exercise to keep the property safe, functional, and attractive for tenants. The direct benefit for the Owners is an increase in the property’s value thereby profiting the owners.
However, not having a streamlined process causes service requests to fall through the cracks. This can be in the form of delayed response, assigning work orders to unqualified professionals, and not prioritizing emergency requests.
Property Maintenance Management Software like i4T Maintenance is a great choice in helping Body Corporate Managers diligently follow this best practice.
3. Keeping a detailed record of maintenance work
Recording everything from financial transactions to correspondence between Strata Managers, Owners, Tenants, and Field Service Suppliers is vital. It ensures the conflicts are timely addressed and efficiently resolved.
These records should be as detailed as possible, with photographs where necessary. They should also be easy to create and maintain and should be readily accessible by all stakeholders.
4. Keeping abreast with the latest technologies
There is no doubt that IoT and AI are making huge strides in this property sector. Especially so, when it comes to upkeeping properties in the most efficient way. From maintenance scheduling and tracking to recording and reporting, workflows and invoicing all have been automated. Strata Managers that need to keep Tenants happy must keep themselves updated with these trends.
In addition to this, more and more Body Corporate Managers are moving towards sustainability options and green technologies. These include smart lights and temperature controls, EV charging stations, keyless entry and exit systems, and energy-efficient appliances. Property enhancements using these smart home technologies are helping managers retain existing Tenants and keep attracting new ones.
5. Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations
- Tenant health and safety.
- Lawful and ethical conduct by all stakeholders.
- Good governance and transparency into processes.
- Risk mitigation.
6. Engaging only with qualified suppliers
A great deal of the Owner’s/Occupant’s satisfaction hinges on the quality of work carried out by Field Service Suppliers.
A bad supplier can not only physically damage the property. They can also become problematic for you to manage and end up delivering a poor customer experience. This makes supplier management a vital part of Strata Management.
Hence one of the best practices is to assign maintenance work orders only to qualified suppliers. This means they should have:
- Sufficient background checks
- Valid licenses, and insurance certificates.
- A good reputation within the industry.
- Experience matching the Strata Manager’s requirements.
i4T Maintenance is one such platform that allows Body Corporate Managers to find and connect with certified professionals. It also lets you track their performance in real time so SLAs are met as per expectations.
7. Effective communication with all stakeholders
A great deal of the Owner’s/Occupant’s satisfaction hinges on the quality of work carried out by Field Service Suppliers.
A bad supplier can not only physically damage the property. They can also become problematic for you to manage and end up delivering a poor customer experience. This makes supplier management a vital part of Strata Management.
Hence one of the best practices is to assign maintenance work orders only to qualified suppliers. This means they should have:
To ensure Owner/Occupant satisfaction, effective communication is key. Clear communication ensures service requests are promptly handled, and suppliers are informed in detail about the work order. It also ensures funds are timely released, approvals are obtained, regular updates are provided and feedback is collected and actioned upon.
- Strengthen trust.
- Build relationships.
- Resolve conflicts.
- Provide transparency
- Develop a growing sense of community.
Better communication ensures responsibilities are well understood and everyone works towards a common goal.
8. Budgeting correctly
- Priorities must be set.
- Required funds should be allocated to each task.
- Expenses must be tracked.
- Regular financial reviews must be carried out.
9. Creating an emergency response strategyy
Emergencies and disasters come without warning. Not having a plan in place to mitigate them can end up costing owners their money and reputation. Without the right response from the Body Corporate Manager, the situation would be nothing short of chaos.
People get panicked, resources run short, decision-making is flawed and the response is disorganized and even dangerous.
Whether it’s a natural disaster or a man-made one, you need to put a strategy in place. This should outline procedures for evacuation, communication, and emergency response if such an incident takes place. Also communicate with the tenants and owners, their roles and who should they contact in the case of an emergency.
10. Obtain feedback for improvemen
For Body Corporate Managers, it's highly critical to ensure Lot Owners and Occupants are satisfied with their services.
Obtaining feedback from them will not just help improve the quality of service but also helps strengthen client trust.
Feedback helps identify potential issues before they get out of hand. Additionally, managers might be able to identify areas where they may be falling behind in terms of legal compliance.
There may be instances when Lot Owners or Occupants are not satisfied with the services provided by Body Corporate Managers. In such a case Owners might decide to change the Body Corporate Management.
Using i4T Maintenance to Implement Best Practices for Body Corporate Management
i4T Maintenance is a state-of-the-art Property Maintenance Management Software. It helps Authorized Service Agents, effectively implement best practices when it comes to handling property maintenance issues.
If you are a Body Corporate Manager and want to learn more, get in touch with us to book a demo.
FAQs
What is a Body Corporate Manager?
A body corporate manager is a person or a company assigned by the owners to carry out administrative and managerial duties of a strata-titled property or community title scheme.
What does a Body Corporate Manager do?
A Body Corporate Manager ensures legal and regulatory compliance, prepares and allocates budgets, manages finances, oversees the management of repairs and maintenance work orders, manages insurance, enforces by-laws, and handles all correspondence with the owners and tenants.
Why do I need a body corporate manager?
Owners of a Strata Scheme or Body Corporate might not have the necessary skills and experience in managing properties and assets. Hence, to meet the requirements of a Body Corporate, legal or otherwise, you need to hire a body corporate manager.
How do I select a good body corporate manager?
Your Body Corporate Manager should be a professional, having the right experience and knowledge in the kind of strata scheme or community-titled property that you own. Consider looking for customer referrals and consult industry experts to find a good Body Corporate Manager. Conduct an interview and make sure they understand your needs and expectations, before signing a contract.
What services do Body Corporate Managers offer?
The services offered by Body Corporate Managers include administration of managing common areas, ensuring compliance with the state’s legislation, organizing and conducting meetings, resolving disputes, arranging insurance policies, providing advice on important matters, arranging repairs and maintenance, preparing budgets and financial statements, and keeping owners and tenants informed on maintenance schedules, policies, and meetings.
How do Body Corporate Managers communicate with owners and tenants?
There are a number of ways Body Corporate Managers can choose to communicate with owners and tenants. This can be done through emails, phone calls, mail, and in-person meetings. They may also use dedicated client portals to address specific issues such as maintenance work orders or addressing complaints.
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