176 High Street

The Resident Management Company appointed Pembroke Property Management in 2014 and the following issues needed to be addressed immediately:

• The Fire Alarm and Automatic Opening Vents (AOV) control unit had a power surge and needed to be replaced.
• No funds were transferred at the time of the management handover.
• Some arrears were outstanding from the last financial year.
• The property looked in very poor condition. There were scuff marks all over the walls, and the corner edgings were damaged.
• There had previously been a leak in the roof but there had not been enough funds available to investigate or repair the issue. There was no reserve fund in place.
• Three months into the management we were informed by the previous agent that there was a £6,000 deficit from the previous financial year and they had outstanding invoices which needed to be paid.

The first issue to tackle was replacing the fire alarm. The existing contractor who maintained the system provided a quote of £8500 to replace the control unit. The Directors of the Resident Management Company had asked the previous agent to submit a claim. The previous agent said that the damaged caused to the control unit was not covered by the buildings insurance.  We opened up a claim with the insurance company.  In parallel, we started a section 20 consultation for the tendering of the replacement of the system. This was carried out because there was no guarantee that the insurance company would pay the claim.

The leaseholders and residents were kept informed about the situation. In the end, the cost of the replacement of the control unit was £4,900. The insurance assessor attended the site and reviewed the system and decided the claim should be paid.

In the first week of taking over the management, the maintenance contractors attended the site and carried out a deep clean of the communal areas.  We carry out block management in Tonbridge for several developments and have a list of approved maintenance contractors who can help. The property manager met with residents on site to further discuss their requirements with regards the property maintenance and management.

6 months into the management of the property and the development is looking a lot better.  A meeting is being arranged with leaseholders to discuss the future management of the building, to review the budget for the next 18 months, and to build up suitable reserve funds.