Management company/Residential advice

CaptainBB

Hi Folks,

Im currently paying €300 a year into a management fund . I've no complaints about this as i was fully aware about it when i bought my property and can see the benefits.
The estate is now 12yrs old and there is talk that the director of the company is winding it up and he says that we the residents will be legally responsible for services in and out/insurance going forward.
Surely that can't be ? Has anyone any experiences of this ?
Many Thanks

sunflower27

Sorry, no advice, but my management fees are €2k a year! They were €2.5k but were reduced last year.

I would happily get rid of the guys we have and do a bit of the work myself!!! Wonder if that is possible.....

FatherLen

op you have no chance in this forum try a more suitable one. i would link to one but i have no idea where it is.

helpfull i am

SEPT 23 1989

Could the Council not take it over?

Seachmall

AH probably isn't the best place for this.

Try Consumer Issues or Accommodation and Property.

optimistic_

Who are the owners / developers?
ie. who owns the vacant properties?

It is down to the owner or developer to assign a new managing agent. It's not uncommon for developments to manage themselves, this is usually decided at an AGM of the residents / and the original owners or developers.

By owner or developer I am referring to (for example) in an apartment complex, you may own your apartment, however someone does own the common areas of the building/complex - It is this owner's responsibility to assign a managing agent, however it is again not uncommon for the residents to be in charge of this. If it's a housing estate the same goes for this if it is not council owned public space.

I suggest holding a meeting of the residents straight away with the current managing agent in attendance, and from there decide to hire a new managing agent- ie, put it to tender. Ask your current agent for their current annual budget (line by line in detail including their fee) - use this as a starting point for hiring an alternative agent.

biko

From After Hours

paul71

You need need to check the legal status of the management company. It frequently surprises me that people who own properties in in shared developements are not aware that they are in fact the owners of the management companies. The usual scenario is that the land that an appartment complex stands on and the common areas of the the block are owned by the management company which is a company limited by Gaurentee, and each appartment owner has 1 share in the company.

The directors of the management company are elected by the shareholders and they will normally in turn appoint a property management company to care for the common areas, collect the annual fees and look after the legal and companies office affairs. If this is the case and you are unhappy with the way that the company is being run you are entitled to seek election yourself to become a director of the management company.

cookie1977

So I've an apartment and I'm on it's board of directors (made up of apartment owners). We hire a management company to run the complex with our guidence. Fees vary per apartment and are based on lots of factors but include complex electricity costs, buildings insurance, cleaning, chasing debtors, lift cover etc... a multitude of things to be honest. But one of these is to do with MUD act (multi unit dwelling) which requires:

Subject to subsection (6) the amount of the contribution to be
paid as respects a unit by each unit owner of such a unit to the
sinking fund in respect of a particular year shall be the amount of
€200 or such other amount as may be agreed by a meeting of the
members as the contribution in respect of the year concerned.

So your costs are very cheap. a 2 bed in our 58 unit complex (with a shop and a full time caretaker) pays 1600 euro a year. If they've a car park slot then they pay an extra 350 euro. Why not query who is on the board of directors at your complex. Things to ask are has the developer handed over control of the complex to it's owners. This would be important. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them.

CaptainBB

The common area is still owned by the developer and he still owns a number of properties in the estate, the funny ( yet i guess not uncommon) thing is that one of the directors of the company is a resident who hasn't paid fees for 5yrs now !!
The council are beating around the bush and will not commit to a take over date.
A few of us residents have gotten together to discuss all of the above and the main thing is we wouldn't mind running things but there is a fear factor if for example some of the kids fell and hurt themselves and needed medical attention where the finger of blame would lie, could the individuals be sued ?
Thanks for all your comments thus far

cookie1977

We're registered with the CRO as we have complete control (property was handed over). We've got director insurance too. You're probably best off speaking to the developers to see if they would be willing to hand over control or let you run it your own way while they remain in control. It took us about 4-5yrs to get developer handover but in the mean time they let us run the place the way we wanted and they just agreed to it all.

paul71

CaptainBB wrote: »

The common area is still owned by the developer and he still owns a number of properties in the estate, the funny ( yet i guess not uncommon) thing is that one of the directors of the company is a resident who hasn't paid fees for 5yrs now !!
The council are beating around the bush and will not commit to a take over date.
A few of us residents have gotten together to discuss all of the above and the main thing is we wouldn't mind running things but there is a fear factor if for example some of the kids fell and hurt themselves and needed medical attention where the finger of blame would lie, could the individuals be sued ?
Thanks for all your comments thus far

Regarding the fear factor for Health and safety and liability, your concerns are to an extent valid. Companies do have limited liability hence the name Limited in the name of companies. Generally this liability is limited to the financial assets of the company and when a company cannot pay its liabilities it is liquidated and the assets of the comany are sold by a liquidator to pay off a portion of the debts, the personal assets of shareholders and directors are safe.

There are some exceptions to the above rules, the most common is where it can be proven that the directors traded recklessly, the second is where a health and safety statement has not been prepared or implemented and insurance does not cover the level of compensation awarded in a personal injury claim. In both of these rare instances an application can be made to the courts to assign the personal assets of the directors (not shareholders) to pay off the liabilities of the company.

athtrasna

cookie1977 wrote: »

So I've an apartment and I'm on it's board of directors (made up of apartment owners). We hire a management company to run the complex with our guidence.

I think you mean management agent