Saves You Money
O'Connors offers a very economical Record Keeping Service for those wanting to save on the cost of Full Management.
While there are some medium-sized schemes (i.e. 8-20 lots) using this service, it's generally better suited to the smaller ones - ideally from 2 to 7 lots.
You might ask "Why only for the smaller schemes?" - well, because the effort required to co-ordinate, organise and execute the repair & maintenance tasks for bigger complexes can be very time consuming and many Executive Committee members are simply not prepared to put in the time needed.
Savings Have Occurred
Some EC's have reported excellent savings in both time and money due to the greater level of control they can exercise, not to mention the reduction in the Strata Manager's fees due to the reduced workload. These savings can make it worth the effort but it does require an extra time commitment from the EC members - and the bigger the strata scheme, the bigger the commitment.
REMEMBER: The larger the scheme, the more responsibility there is and the more the time required to do all that needs to be done
How Does It Work Exactly?
Record Keeping is where a Professional Strata Manager handles all the onerous paperwork and procedures for the accounting and records side of things as well as all the compliance and legislative issues as required by the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 1996.
This leaves the co-ordination, control and payment of all day-to-day (and preventative) maintenance and repairs to the Executive Committee (EC) of the Owners Corporation. The EC will also be responsible for dealing with any 'neighbour/owner/tenant' (i.e. community harmony) issues that might arise.
What is the Main Benefit?
The really big benefit for the owners of a strata scheme under the Record Keeping Service is that it allows the Executive Committee to be in total control of the vital maintenance & repairs part of scheme management thereby making sure that costs for maintaining the complex can be known and controlled at all times.
At the same time, all owners can be confident that the other very important, always difficult and quite complex areas of dealing with the accounting, compliance and legislative side of Strata are being looked after by the experienced Strata Manager.
The Best of Both Worlds...
This is truly the 'best of both worlds', in the eyes of many, as there are some owners who don't like giving someone else 100% control of everything to do with the running of their strata scheme. They are ALWAYS worried about the costs blowing out or jobs not being done as quickly as they'd like.
As a Record Keeping customer, the owners are in complete control of
where, when and how the jobs are scheduled and completed
and where, when and how the scheme's money is spent
By the same token, having someone (i.e. the strata managers) experienced in all the possible 'twists & turns' that can (and will) occur in the more complicated areas is 'peace of mind' stuff. Experience & knowledge, when it's needed, is invaluable.
Not for Everyone...
Always keep in mind though that this style of strata management does NOT suit everyone. There are still many out there in Strata-land quite happy to let someone else (i.e. the strata managers) carry the entire load. In fact, the majority prefer to have it all done for them.
If you are one of these then get a quote for the Full Strata Management Service.
