ARTICLE: Should you hire a communal property professional, or self-manage your building
A major decision most committees need to make is should you hire a communal property professional, or self-manage your building?
First to declare that as a professional communal property manager by trade, I do have an obvious bias in this question. However, it may surprise many readers of this article when I say that in many circumstances it makes perfect sense for a committee to select to self-manage part or all of their building’s operations.
If you have individuals on your committee willing to dedicate their time and skill in performing these tasks, then this can save your building significant sums of money.
But before making this decision, you must make sure
a) The committee member has sufficient knowledge and experience in performing that task
b) They are willing and able to dedicate the time required to fulfil that task which can be significant especially on larger buildings or resorts.
One of the biggest mistakes I see committees make is to try to save money by doing things in-house when they don’t have enough time or any real experience in managing what is usually millions of euros of property in a country with very strict regulations and requirements for communal property.
What usually happens in these types of situations is things start to slowly slip. Maybe the accounts are not produced clearly or correctly, owners who are late paying their fees are not chased properly or reports and notices are not sent on time to unit owners. Even worse a mistake could be made during the AGM which needs to be organised exactly as required by the law to avoid potentially invalidating the committee or removing their ability to take legal action against debtors.
When things like this happen, the communal finances tend to get worse not better as unit owners don’t pay their fees due to dissatisfaction or simply because they feel they can get away with it as they have been given lots of ammunition in arguments with the committee. This lack of funding only adds to the problem continuing a downward spiral.
The positive thing today, is that there is allot of information out there to help the committee understand the requirements and how to properly manage and operate their buildings. Plus most communal property professionals provide customised service, so if your committee can perform most things in-house, but need a professional to fill in a gap or two where you don’t have experience or the time required you can just hire a professional for those tasks keeping your costs down.
Looking for more?
If you are a member of your management committee, (or are looking to set one up) you will know that while the communal property regulations are comprehensive, they are sometimes a little difficult to understand and even once understood its not always easy to apply these generic regulations to your individual building with its specific challenges.
To help with this problem my most recent book the Ultimate Committee handbook gives you detailed and step by step instructions on every aspect of being on your committee and running your building. It explains the communal property law in simple terms including real world examples and instructions on how to best apply these regulations.
To get more information on this book, and view a book preview you can click the below link.
Unlock the true potential of your apartment building or resort with The Ultimate Committee Handbook.
Russell Flick
The Cyprus Communal Guide
Helping you unlock your buildings true potential.
