Services

ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COST - CALCULATOR

AMC Calculator 2013 - A2Z Repairs & Services for Apt/flat/ Residence/Office.

1. Any Repairs AMC Cost = 4999 Rs/ 1 Year Validity 2. Any Service AMC Cost = 4499 Rs/ 1 Year Validity You can also buy AMC in 4 quarters - Per Quarter - 3 Months 1. Any Repairs AMC Cost = 1249 Rs/ 3 Months Validity 2. Any Service AMC Cost = 1124 Rs/ 3 Months Validity Terms and Conditions Apply. Read Now

ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COST - KNOWLEDGE

ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COST - CALCULATOR
It might not be obvious what your annual service charges covers. In some estates, there is little or nothing to do but in others, there could be a lot of work to do and a lot of hidden charges that all the owners have no choice but to pay for.

Managing Agent fees
Unless it’s a very small estate or block, you’ll usually hire a company to do a lot of the leg work for you. This gives you one central point of contact, one person who knows all the finances and all the bills, someone for residents to ring and report problems, etc. This fee depends on the size of your complex, the amount of work involved, etc. It generally increases by 5% per year. For large complexes (over 200 units), a sample fee would be 150-180 per unit. Some services supplied by the managing agent will not be included in this. You should see them separately on your accounts, they could be things like company secretary, secretarial, out of hours service, etc. Insurance – block and public liability
Since you don’t own the walls around your apartment, the underground car parks or the grass areas and footpaths, you don’t have to insure them like you would in a house. Instead the management company [b]must[/b] do this for you. This means that public liability, malicious damage, fires, leaks, etc are covered by the company.

Fire System maintenance
Fire systems break, people pull wires lose, things go wrong. You’ll need someone to examine your system and fix any faults. Generally this happens two or four times a year but there’ll be a budgeted amount for extra callouts if something happens in between those checks.

Electricity for common areas
This will cover things like lights in stairwells, lights in underground carparks, gates, intercom systems, outdoor lights, etc. In a lot of complexes, it can amount to tens of thousands of euros per year.

Sinking Fund
This is an amount of money put away for a rainy day. It means that when large expenditure is needed (for example to repair lifts or repaint the outer walls), people won’t be asked for a sudden hike in their service charges.

Cleaning
This figure depends on the estate or block. Generally it includes tidying the interior common areas and outside of the apartments Waste disposal Unless every has their own bin and uses bin tags, you’ll probably have a communal waste disposal company where the charge is split between all the units.

Window cleaning
Usually charged to people living above the ground floor because they can’t safely clean their own windows.

Accounts
This service is usually provided by the managing agent but can sometimes be billed out.

Auditors
The owners (not the management company) hire an audit firm each year to examine the accounts and make sure they look okay before they’re submitted to the AGM and the CRO. It’s one of the ways the owners can ensure the company is being run properly.

CRO Fees
There are annual charges associated with filing returns, late fines, changing the names of the directors, etc.

Directors Insurance
This is an insurance policy that pays the legal costs of any court case your directors are involved in.

Landscaping
Grass needs cutting and unfortunately most councils will refuse to do it in a managed estate (Meath CoCo will refuse to cut it in an unmanaged estate!). This could also cover the cost of plating new plants each year.

Security
This is an option many larger estates like to have to discourage antisocial behaviour or crime.

Drains maintenance
In most estates, the council will refuse to maintain the sewage and rainwater drains under the apartments. This means you’ll have to have a support contract with a company who will keep an eye on them and clean them out when things go back.

Vermin Control
Depending on the location, you may need to set rat traps or poison boxes to keep vermin under control. It’s an unfortunate fact of city living.

Lift maintenance & support
They might be a life saver when the alternative is to haul your shopping up four flights of stairs but you don’t want to get stuck. If you do, you’ll be glad that your management company has paid for someone to be on the other end of the phone so they can come rescue you. Lifts, like everything else in life, require regular maintenance to keep them running. If you have a lift, expect high service charges – these guys don’t come cheap.

Gate maintenance
If you have gates, they’ll break down. An annual service charge means someone will come out to fix it quickly and without having to “order a part” which could cause delays.

Service charge collection
If you’re a director (or even an owner) in a management company, service charge collection will be one of your priorities. However distasteful it may seem, without those service charges, nothing happens. The bins will start piling up, the lift won’t work and it’ll be very dark at night on the stairs. Unfortunately not everyone will see it that way. Some people didn’t realise when they moved in that service charges are part and parcel of apartment living. Others will think they’re not getting value for money. Some people will prioritise other things above service charges. There are some things you can do to help keep the cash flowing.

* Communicate well
If people understand what they’re paying for, where their money is going and that it’s not being pocketed by you, the managing agent or anyone else (lots of people do believe those even if they’re rarely true), they’ll be happier paying. If they can see the effects of their service charge (painted walls, clean carpets, etc), they’ll be even more likely to pay. Prioritise visible things once the essentials are paid for.

* Get people involved
Get people to help you look for new companies. Not only will they help you conduct more thorough tenders but they’ll be happier paying if they know they’re getting good value for money.

* Send bills out early
Give people time to digest the bill, to talk to you, ask questions and clear up any confusion. Give them time to gather the money.

* Be flexible in accepting payments
If you can, accept payment every month or even any quarter instead of just once a year. It will make it easier for people to afford. Be careful because cash flow can become a problem, especially if people stop paying in the middle of the year.
If you’ve done all that and you’re still having problems, you’re not alone. Here are some more forceful measures people have been forced to take.

* Charge interest to the owner.
This can only be done if your Lease Agreement specifies it. It can rack up very quickly so it’s in owners interests to pay you as soon as possible.

* Send warning letters through BusinessPro.ie
These letters will go out on Stubbs Gazette (a newsletter of all people who’ve had High Court payment judgements against them) headed paper and usually get a prompt response.

* Deny interest letters
If the owner wants to change their mortgage provider, the bank will ask the management company for an interest letter. You can refuse to issue these letters until the service charge has been paid.

* Deny parking permits
If your block or estate operates a parking permit scheme, you could refuse to issue or renew parking permits for owners who are in debt.

* Hire a debt collection solicitor.
These are firms who specialise in collecting payments. They’re not the ‘show up at your job’ or ‘send the boys to your door late at night’ type of people you’re probably thinking of. The truth is rather more mundane. They send the dreaded solicitors letters. If that fails, they’ll take the owner to court where you should get a payment order or instalment order. Depending on your lease agreement, you should be able to charge the solicitors and court costs back to the owner.

* Insurance Policy
Every service charge includes a contribution towards the block insurance policy. If a person is a persistent non-payer, you might be able to instruct your insurance company to remove them from the list of policy beneficiaries. This means that if there are any problems in their unit, they won’t be able to claim from the block policy. The insurance company should also notify the owners mortgage bank (if any) to let them know the unit is uninsured. This should void their mortgage forcing them to pay or sell. This is a risky option because their lease agreement states that you must provide cover but it has been done for people who have never paid at all. However, for unknown reasons, none of the banks involved took any action.
Hopefully by the time you’ve done all that, you’re finances will be a better state. You do need to keep an eye on it then to make sure that actions are being carried through and that new offenders don’t slip in unnoticed. Also make sure not to rely on managing agents – collecting fees isn’t always top of their priorities.