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At Kents Property, we believe effective residential block management should be about much more than simply administering a building.
A good managing agent should protect the property, plan ahead, communicate clearly and give leaseholders confidence that their service charges are being spent carefully.
So, if you are a director or leaseholder of a residential block in Farnham or the immediate surrounding area, how do you know when it might be time to consider a change?
One of the clearest differences between good and poor block management is whether problems are anticipated or simply dealt with when they become urgent.
A leaking roof, failing external decoration or ageing communal equipment rarely deteriorates overnight. Regular inspections and sensible planned maintenance should identify many potential issues well before they become emergencies. Reactive maintenance can also be expensive.
When work has to be undertaken urgently, there is less opportunity to obtain competitive quotations, coordinate contractors or plan expenditure through the service charge and reserve fund.
A well-managed residential block should therefore have a clear understanding of what maintenance is likely to be required over the coming years – not just what needs repairing today.
Can a residential block really be managed effectively from a desk many miles away?
Technology has made administration considerably easier, but it cannot replace physically inspecting a property.
Regular site visits allow a managing agent to identify issues such as damaged communal areas, poor cleaning, landscaping problems, blocked gutters, external deterioration and maintenance concerns before they escalate.
They also provide an opportunity to check that contractors are actually delivering the service being paid for.
For residential blocks in Farnham, using a local block management company can therefore offer a significant advantage. Your managing agent should know the building they are responsible for – not simply recognise its address on a spreadsheet. We have been operating as a family business in Farnham for over 50 years.
Increasing service charges do not necessarily indicate poor management.
Insurance premiums, utilities, contractor costs and statutory compliance expenditure have all increased substantially in recent years. Sometimes a higher service charge is necessary to maintain a building properly.
The important issue is whether leaseholders understand why.
A good service charge budget should be transparent, realistic and supported by a clear explanation of anticipated expenditure.
Directors should be able to understand: what was spent last year; what is budgeted for the coming year; why individual costs have changed; whether expenditure is running above or below budget; and whether sufficient money is being put aside for future major works.
If the annual service charge demand simply arrives without meaningful explanation, directors should be asking whether they are receiving the financial oversight they need.
Block management involves people as much as buildings. Leaseholders need answers. Directors need information. Contractors need decisions. Freeholders and management companies need confidence that issues are being followed through.
If emails regularly go unanswered, different people provide different answers or directors constantly have to chase their managing agent, something is wrong.
Good communication does not mean that every problem can be resolved immediately.
It means acknowledging the issue, taking responsibility for progressing it and keeping the relevant people informed.
Sometimes the most important quality in a managing agent is simply accountability as well as being located in Farnham, so there is a face behind a name.
Reserve funds can be one of the most important elements of responsible block management.
Roof repairs, external decoration, communal flooring, gates, lifts and other significant items can involve substantial expenditure.
Where the lease allows for a reserve or sinking fund, building up appropriate funds over time can help reduce the risk of leaseholders suddenly receiving significant demands when major works become necessary.
But simply accumulating money is not enough.
Reserve fund contributions should ideally reflect an understanding of the building, the likely lifecycle of major components and the anticipated timing of future expenditure.
If nobody can explain what your reserve fund is intended to pay for, it may be time to review the block's longer-term maintenance strategy.
This is a surprisingly common, even with the degree of todays rules and regulations.
A managing agent has been appointed and is receiving an annual management fee, yet the directors still find themselves: chasing contractors; checking whether maintenance has been completed; dealing with leaseholder queries; identifying repairs; obtaining quotations; and repeatedly reminding the managing agent what needs to happen next.
Directors of residential management companies inevitably retain an important role in decision-making.
But there is a difference between directing your managing agent and doing their job for them.
Professional block management should reduce the administrative burden on directors, not create another layer of administration for them to supervise.
Every residential development is different.
A converted period building in central Farnham has very different maintenance requirements from a modern purpose-built development. A nine-apartment building with landscaped grounds and automated gates requires a different management approach from a small block of four flats.
Effective management should reflect the individual property. That requires understanding the leases, the physical building, its maintenance history, the service charge structure and the priorities of the people who live there.
At Kents Property, we believe this is particularly important for smaller and medium-sized residential developments in Farnham. They deserve to be actively managed rather than becoming one property amongst hundreds on a remote portfolio. We cannot stress the importance of being local enough.
There is no requirement for your managing agent to be based near your property. But there can be considerable advantages when they are. A local managing agent can visit quickly when necessary, undertake regular inspections and develop relationships with reliable local contractors.
There is also something less tangible but equally important: reputation. When your managing agent works in the same community as the properties they manage, accountability becomes much more immediate.
For Kents Property, Farnham is not simply another territory on a national coverage map. It is our home market. We are based in Farnham and our property experience in the area gives us an understanding of local buildings, contractors and the expectations of property owners and residents.
Directors should periodically review whether their management arrangements still represent good value and whether the service being delivered meets the needs of the development.
The end of the management company's financial year can also be a particularly sensible point at which to review arrangements. It can provide a natural opportunity to assess budgets, expenditure, contractor performance and the overall quality of the management service before the next financial period begins.
A review does not necessarily mean changing managing agent. But it does ensure that directors are making an active decision to retain their existing arrangements.
Kents Property provides professional residential block management in Farnham. Our approach combines professional property expertise with local, hands-on management. We work with residential management companies, freeholders, developers and Right to Manage companies, providing services including service charge budgeting and reporting, reserve fund planning, regular property inspections, contractor management, maintenance coordination and ongoing liaison with directors and leaseholders.
Most importantly, we believe the people responsible for managing your building should actually know your building. If you are a director or leaseholder and are questioning whether your current block management arrangements are working as well as they should, contact Kents Property for an informal discussion.
