AGM Location

Selecting the AGM Location

In this article I will discuss how to get more owner involvement by increasing attendance at the Annual General Meeting.

Lack of involvement by property owners is a serious problem. Important items can be overlooked and payment rates decreased when individuals are unaware of the condition of the property, financials, maintenance, budgets etc.

Our most successful developments are the ones with active committees and high attendance at their AGM’s.  They benefit from healthy communal funds, proactive maintenance, site improvements because owners are aware and actually feel involved in their investments.

Location, Location, Location?

The first instinct when selecting the venue for the Annual General Meeting is the development/building itself.  This in many circumstances is ideal, especially if there are a large number of Cyprus Resident owners.

However many developments built in the last 15 years relied heavily on overseas investors.

Usually a development would have been marketed by a developer/sales firm to a particular market.  And of course one of the most popular markets to promote Cyprus Investment Property is the UK.

Most overseas property investors rarely visit their properties and travelling to Cyprus for the purpose of attending the AGM is both expensive and time consuming.  Because of this, AGM’s can be very poorly attended.

Where the majority of owners are located outside of Cyprus, I advise our clients to consider holding the AGM in that location.  For example where a development is owned primarily by UK Investors, popular AGM locations are Birmingham or Milton Keynes due to their central location and easy transport access.

Regulations?

The standard regulations from the communal property law do not specify where the AGM should be held, or restrict its location to Cyprus.  However if your property has submitted custom regulations, these should be checked to ensure there is no restriction on holding the AGM outside of Cyprus.

Russell Flick

International Property Professional, Public Speaker & Author of 'The Ultimate Committee Handbook'. In addition to his published books, Russell is a public speaker, columnist and founder of www.CyprusCommunalGuide.com, the online information portal for property owners to get support and advice on all aspects of communal property ownership and management. Russell is currently in the process of publishing his second book (expected to be released in 2018) the 'Step-by-Step Guide to Owning Investment Property'. While the first book is aimed as a support resource for committees, giving step by step instructions on the management and administration of their buildings. This second book is is a practical guide to assist property owners and investors with information and procedures in acquiring, maintaining and maximizing their property investments.