Welcome to the 2015 Winter edition of Illawarra Strata Management’s quarterly news-letter. 

As is usual in business, there have been some recent changes to our personnel. At this point, we continue to have three strata managers, who are Tracey Payne, Bronwyn Turner and Louise Hill. In addition, the managers are supported by Rachael, Kerry and Christie with Lynne carrying out all account related tasks.

Generally, with change, there is challenges and we are meeting those challenges head on. There has been some change to our structure and our standard reporting processes. Accounting records are distributed monthly and manager reviews are sent to the committee on a monthly basis, or less often if your scheme has requested it.

More information is being placed on the owner portal, meaning greater transparency. Finally, if you have time, please take a look at our new upgraded website. This newsletter, and those from archives are being posted to the website to allow easy access.

If you’d like your testimonial to be added to the website, please send it through. In addition, if you have constructive feedback, we will welcome that also.

Yours sincerely,

Illawarra Strata Management

STRATA LIVING

Strata Living isn’t so bad so long as you learn to accept, give way and compromise.

The biggest tip we can give for successful strata living is to know your scheme. Make sure you understand the difference between lot property and common property. Obtain a copy of your by laws, read them, understand them and implement them in your strata life.

Respect your neighbours. You live in a community environment and therefore, your actions on common property affect others. Be mindful of your behaviour and that of your visitors whilst on common property.

Understand your role as a unit owner and the different role of the committee. Try to attend committee meetings and understand what functions they fulfil in assisting management of your scheme.

Find out and understand the process surrounding repairs and maintenance.

Know your rights as a strata lot owner and understand your obligations as a member of the Owners Corporation.

Ask questions – ask lots of questions so you have a greater understanding of how your asset is managed.

WINTER TIPS FOR THE BODY, MIND & SOUL

* Exercise – find something you like to do & enjoy some of the winter sunshine. Go for a walk or run, or join a team sport.

* Eat Healthy. Everyone likes to indulge on yummy comfort food when it’s cold. Try & mix it up with some lighter options to keep your energy levels stable.

* Vaccination? Get a flu shot.

* Stay Connected – organise a night out with friends. Even though it is cold, stay social – it invigorates the mind & soul.

* Have Fun – in the Sun! Stock up on Vitamin D. Put on a coat & scarf & kick a footy around with the kids (or grandkids). Have a picnic – go out and enjoy.

WINTER TIPS FOR THE HOME:

• Most importantly, have an adequate number of suitable smoke alarms installed throughout your home and make sure that you test them regularly.

• Check electric blankets for damage or frayed cords before placing on the bed.

• Take care to keep curtains, tablecloths and bedding away from portable heaters.
  

• Always extinguish candles or any other open flames before going to bed.

• If you use a clothes dryer make sure you clean the lint filter each and every time you use it.

Welcome to the Autumn 2015 edition of Illawarra Strata Management’s quarterly newsletter.

In this newsletter we are covering a very important topic – communication.  I hope you all find the information beneficial.

If there is anything you would like included in one of our upcoming newsletters, please do not hesitate to ask.

Yours sincerely,

Illawarra Strata Management

COMMUNICATION

When it comes to Strata Schemes, clear communication is imperative and it’s important to remember how many “relationships” exist within this one entity:

Strata Manager <-> Owners Corporation

Strata Manager <-> Individual Owner

Strata Manager <-> Executive Committee

Executive Committee <-> Owners Corporation

Executive Committee <-> Residents

Strata Manager <-> Property Manager

Individual Owners <-> Property Manager

Strata Manager <-> Contractor

Executive Committee <-> Contractor

Individual Owner <-> Contractor

And the list goes on…

Overleaf is a diagram of how communication flows in most strata schemes.  Some scheme’s may deviate slightly to suit their needs but in general you will find this is how Scheme’s run.

COMMUNICATION & THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The main role of the Executive Committee is to liaise with our office to ensure that matters requiring action move forward.  In between general meetings we follow the instructions of the Executive Committee and this means that if we are not receiving instructions from the majority of the committee there is very little that we can do to action outstanding items.

In large schemes the secretary has the role of being the contact point for the whole committee.  This means that the secretary should collate the responses or instructions of other committee members and then inform us of the majority’s decision.  It’s not necessary for us to be part of the general back-and-forth that happens for the committee to reach a consensus. This model is also true for schemes that are smaller, but have a higher level of involvement by the committee.

We have many buildings that operate very efficiently in this manner and the result is that all items are finalised in a timely fashion.

For most committee members the time commitment is around 1 hour per fortnight answering our emails and providing instructions. Some committee members choose to spend more time on their functions in order to save the Owners Corporation administration costs.

We would like to thank all of our active committee members that already communicate clearly and effectively.  These members keep their Owners Corporation’s functioning well and we are grateful for their input.

Communication Flow Chart

There are various ways that owners can communicate with our office regarding strata matters and different staff members that may be best suited to helping you, depending on your query.

Rachael on reception handles general enquiries, anything to do with keys, and maintenance requests.

Christie is in place to support our administrative staff and our managers with common tasks such as general enquiries, maintenance requests, fire safety and lift registrations.

Lynne in accounts handles any accounts enquiries including questions about levies, debt recovery or accounts payable (contractor’s invoices).

Louise, Bronwyn and Joanne are strata managers and can handle enquiries specific to the schemes that they manage.

Tracey also handles enquiries specific to the schemes that she manages as well as new business, Tribunal actions or business-related enquiries.

Our preferred method of communication is email because it is the fastest written form – it means that you get your answer quickly when required and we maintain our “paper trail”.

Other ways to communicate with our office include telephone, fax or in person (by appointment or during a scheduled meeting).  If you would like to see us in person it is very important that you phone or email ahead of time to ensure that we are available and have put aside the appropriate amount of time to speak with you.  If you do not make an appointment you may be disappointed to find that we are not available as a large part of our time is spent in meetings and site visits.
We are now offering alternatives to attending meetings in person via a facility called “gotomeeting” which is a web-based Citrix product. This allows an owner to attend a meeting via telephone or web / online.  At this stage, the program is still in a trial period, however we hope to have it available for all shortly. If you are unable to attend your scheme’s general meeting please contact your strata manager for more information.

Welcome to 2017

We’re  keeping our focus on the simplest of human needs this year. We are aiming to improve our communications and build on our many excellent business relationships with you. 2017 sees us coming into our 14th year of strata management in the Illawarra. We’ve been looking after some of you for that entire time and we greatly value your loyalty.

With the changes in legislation and the new Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 coming into effect on 30 November 2016, we’ve been working on new procedures & policies to bring these changes to you as seamlessly as possible. As is our way, we have been passing on all our new knowledge and will continue to do that well into the future.

Excellent Strata Management service is what we intend to bring to you and we welcome your feedback and any ideas you’d like to see implemented to provide greater transparency and efficiency.

Strata & Community Living Winter 2015- generic – web

Click here to view our 2014 Summer Newsletter.

Click here to view our 2014 Spring Newsletter.

Click here to view our 2014 Winter Newsletter.

Click here to view our 2014 Autumn Newsletter.

All the staff at Illawarra Strata Management have a strong committment to our local community and charitable events. Our most recent philanthropic effort saw us enter the 2012 Mud Run on Saturday, 1st December 2012.

We braved the soaring temperatures at Sydney Equestrian Centre and trudged our way through a 7km course of muddy obstacles. Two hours later and completely exhausted, we are very proud to say that we managed to complete the course, get extremely dirty and have fun all in the name of charity.

We wish to thank our valued clients who donated to NSW Cancer Council by sponsoring our team – Team Laneyrie & Illawarra Strata Management. A couple of photos will be uploaded shortly.