There are many duties carried out by property management companies. There are many different types of property managers – estate agents, landlords, lettings agents etc. However, the term property management company usually suggests a company that looks after a communal building, taking care of all its managements needs. This kind of company might look after a block of flats, or perhaps a commercial building, in order to keep everything running as it should be. If you are looking for property management in Kettering, these are the kinds of services that should be considered.
With blocks of flats, the ownership can seem a little complicated at first. There will be a landlord who owns the block of flats and the land that it sits on. There will then be individuals who own the individual flats in the building (although they will usually just be leasehold, meaning that the owner only owns the flat for a certain number of years). It will usually be this building owner who appoints a property management company, although in some buildings, the individual flat owners form a residents’ association and become freeholders as well. If this is the case, they will be the ones to appoint the building management company.
The flat owners will pay a service charge to building management companies, which will cover costs for anything that needs to be done to the building. However, this will not always be enough. If there is something more expensive that needs to be done to the building, such as a new roof needing to be put on, the freeholder will usually ask the individual flat owners to pay more money for this. It will be the job of the management company to sort out the work and make sure they secure the best possible price for it.
Flat leaseholders may also pay ground rent to the freeholder. If so, it will also be down to the management company to collect ground rent and make sure it is paid on time. However, the freeholder does not always ask for ground rent to be paid, as it is a fairly nominal amount of money anyway. It could end up costing them more to instruct the management company to collect it!
The building management company, perhaps also known as a block management company, will be responsible for many different aspects of the upkeep and maintenance of the building. They will be responsible for anything that is not within the flats themselves. They will have to ensure that the heating systems are working, and are heating up the building adequately. The costs for this will come from the service charges. They will also have to make sure the building is in a good condition and carry out inspections. If there are maintenance issues, they must book in the work and make sure it is scheduled in with reliable contractors who will do the job well. For larger repairs, they will usually get various quotes so they can compare costs and find the most cost-effective company to do the work. If the building has any communal gardens, the management company will also arrange for regular maintenance of these. There will be plenty of options for you in Kettering. Speak to a few different management agencies and see what they can offer you.