The buck stops… where?

It isn’t compulsory for a complex to have a SM. You can opt for self managed. And a complex con decide on what powers their SM has (eg they can be authorized to issue NTC)

I think that if you choose to be self managed or want total control with SM implementing, then a compulsory course in strata management may be beneficial. Not only would those on the EC be more informed but I may deter those who think that being to the committee is enough and they can just sit in their units and not do anything, ever.

Personally, I would like to have a SM who had more authority and responsibility. Of course owners need to be brought in to decide on any proposed changes to common property or individual units. And an EC would be needed for contact purposes. In the past our SM has stepped in wherre they believe there is a safety issue for residents or general public coming into the complex. They didnt wait for EC approval – they knew that to get all members to reply usually took weeks! At best they could get half of them, at worse just me!

If our SM had more authority, the current maintenance issues in this complex would not exist. They are on common property outside of unit lots. Repairs would not require a change to the look of the complex. Repairs would negate any further damage. And best of all, the SM could address the few rogue parkers who still exist in this complex with a NTC. Which would include issuing such to our esteemed EC.

Of course the SM would charge more for this increased service. But then our EC’s procrastination on getting anything done will cost more to owners too, as the maintenance issues get worse and the list gets longer.

As I said, there are bad SMs in good firms and vice versa.  If your manager isn’t giving the service you require, ask the  head office to replace them.  If the Strata Management firm isn’t responsive enough, look at their contract and start working out how to replace them. 

But if your EC doesn’t mind or doesn’t care, your real problem is with your neighbours rather than the strata management firm who may not even be aware that there is a problem.

Regarding the money they make. don’t confuse the amount of money they collect with what they actually earn. Most of what they receive ion levies goes straight into bills to service the building.  I’m not saying there aren’t SMs making a decent living, buit there’s a lot of confusion between what SMs in general collect and what they get paid.

I’ve had a strata manager who held AGMs in his living room and prefaced every meeting by telling us how he had been trained to kill by Mossad. 

Another persuaded the EC of our block to sign an agreement saying that he wasn’t responsible for any decisions that he made regardless of the outcome (he then spent our entire sinking fun getting three out of 36 very ordinary windows renovated by a heritage restorer rather than a joiner).

Another one put our seal on a building management contract that we didn’t want to sign anyway because the developer had installed an incompetent and corrupt fool.  To make matters worse, he didn’t notice they had sneaked in a clause saying that if we forced them to replace the building manage we would have to pay the idiot’s salary until an equivalent job could be found for him.

So I know all about bad strata managers … and I know a few good ones too. And really we shouldn’t make sweeping statements about the whole industry based on a bad manager who’s badly managed by a bunch of amateurs who don’t know any better.

I’ve been writing about strata for about 10 years now and I agree, there are some doozies out there, but I can also say, hand on heart, the whole industry is a lot more professional than it used to be.

@Juan Durection said:
So, should strata managers be more accountable do you think, JT?

Absolutely.  So do a lot of strata managers whose reputation is being sullied by cowboys and no-hopers. Hence the accreditation program I referred you to.

So the SM is not acting on the instructions of the EC? The only thing I can suggest is that the EC has to keep on top of things. Put everything in writing, including following up phone calls in writing. If you ask the SM to do something, then make a note and follow it up.

Our SM was not fantastic, but by taking this course of action, things did get done. I would not tell an SM to do something then go away believing it would be attended to. I would wait and then ask the status of this matter. And the level of service very much depended on who was actually managing our complex at the time. We have had some doozys

If your manager is a very large one, they therefore will have lots of properties on their books. So when your matter comes before them, it could be overlooked becau of a another matter at another complex. I am by no means making excuses for strata managers. I complained constantly when I was on the EC. But some things can get over looked. So i would chase things up, they would apologise and start the ball rolling and the job would get done. And all would be well until the next time. Though there were many times that they did get things done immediately. But you can’t expect that.

A SM will have many clients, where as a complex has only one manager. So it is easier for you to know what hasnt been done at your complex than it is for them. So follow up on matters when you haven’t heard back.

Oxymoron = he word ‘good’ & the words ‘strata manager/managing agent/strata company’

This is from my personal experience with 4 of them as well as listening to the experience of friends and colleagues.

I often think I could run a hugely successful business by being a different style of managing agent ie efficient, reliable, pro active etc however I am sure the reality is different to the perception and perhaps I should be grateful that anyone would want to do this less than glamourous job?

PS: I wonder why it’s taking so long for people to pick up on the not so new terminology, even so called industry experts (not picking on anyone in this forum).  I’m referring to the term ‘Owners Corporation’ – I still hear/read ‘Body Corporate’ so much.

Yclept – I’m sorry, but even though your description of a Strata Manager’s role is probably based on personal experience, I strongly disagree with your interpretation.

An Owners Corporation (O/C) generally engages the services of a Strata Manager (SM) to provide it with good counsel by keeping up-to-date with changes to Statutory Requirements, to interpret those for the O/C, and to perform all the functions and activities required of an O/C and which can be delegated to a SM under relevant State & Territory Legislation (the Act).

I’ve in the past used the analogy that a SM is a Consultant to the Board of Directors (the Executive Committee), and whilst I agree that they’re not Project Managers, Facilities Managers, or any of the others you mention, the nature of the delegations granted to them by the O/C under a Strata Management Agency Agreement (Agency Agreement) almost always makes them responsible for getting all those things efficiently done (by others).

Perhaps it’s because some SM’s do regard their role as “a book keeper and co-ordination point for reports of repairs etc that need to be done” when that’s not what the O/C expects and/or it’s not in accord with the functions it’s delegated to that SM via the Agency Agreement, that many posts to this Forum are critical, and why more and more O/C’s are opting for self-management.

I agree with you that some SM’s are given too much responsibility, too many Plans to manage, and too little training and mentoring by Licensees, that some O/C’s expect to pay peanuts for “all the bells and whistles”, and that some SM’s under quote and are then forced to under-deliver.

Whilst the first three (above) are something for the Strata Industry to address, and they need to in my opinion, surely the latter two can be addressed by the O/C’s “wants” and the SM’s costs to provide those being clearly stated in some competitive Proposals, after which the O/C can decide upon and agree with the SM about what it really needs and is prepared to pay for before that’s enunciated in the Agency Agreement, which I must say in standard form is one of the better “contracts” that I’ve seen.