Ian Hollins from Clear Building Management advises the power is in your hands!
So January is well underway and our New Year’s Resolutions are being tested. For many leaseholders these resolutions may include ditching the poor service and finding a new managing agent. But even when things are approaching rock bottom with your managing agent, switching can feel like a nerve-wracking and time-consuming process and, all too often, a ‘better the devil you know’ mentality can prevail and the decision to change gets put off.
At Clear Building Management we talk to lots of RMC directors and leaseholders who are keen to replace their managing agent but feel that the process of changing agent will be at best difficult and, at worst, nigh on impossible. However, whilst switching managing agent may feel like a daunting process, it really can bring a new lease of life to both your block and the community within it.
And change is easier than you think.
We set out below some of the questions and concerns we receive from leaseholders and RMC directors who want to change but are worried about the process.
How do we sack our managing agent? Do we have to do it?
When relations have broken down, RMC directors can feel anxious about giving a managing agent notice for fear of repercussions or a total downing of tools. An incoming managing agent should take care of this process for you and have the ‘difficult conversation’, removing you from the line of fire. Clear Building Management offers a very simple ‘one signature switch’ service. This means that we handle all dealings with the old agent, including any conflicts and what they can and can’t do until the handover is complete.
What will happen to services and repairs while the transfer is taking place?
This handover period can be a cause of concern to RMC directors and leaseholders alike when it comes to both planned works and emergency repairs, particularly if the outgoing managing agent is disinclined to be helpful! Again this is something that can be handled on your behalf by the new managing agent.
As mentioned above, the incoming agent should give the old agent instructions on what they can and can’t do during the notice period, such as restrictions on expenditure and details of communications. For example, when we take over a new block we take the pressure off the RMC directors by ensuring that all communications come through us.
Do we have to wait till the year-end?
A transfer is possible at any time and you don’t have to wait until the end of the financial year to change managing agents. This is subject to your contract and notice period with your current providers but, in our experience, this can often be negotiated away.
What about the funds and our service charge monies? Are they at risk?
This is understandably a common concern for RMC directors, particularly if there has been a lack of clarity and transparency over how service charge monies have been spent. It’s important to remember however that the funds belong to the RMC and not the managing agent so any funds will simply be transferred to the leaseholders’ account that is managed by the new agent.
Who can make the decision?
The power to change rests with the RMC directors, who can decide to change managing agent in the best interests of the block. It doesn’t need to be a long drawn out process or take an AGM or an EGM with 101 different points of view. If you haven’t yet acquired the right to manage your block then the Clear Building Management ‘one signature switch’ service can help you through this process too.
The power to change is in your hands.
Make 2017 the year when you take back control of your development and receive the service that you and your fellow leaseholders deserve.
