Need a new RTM management company- any suggestions?

[sunglasses]

We formed a RTM around 10 years ago. We appointed a management company to assist with day to day running, service charge demands, account keeping etc. They were taken over by another large company but I’m not sure they are right for us ( various reasons!)I think we need a company who understands that we are 5 flats in a converted house (no communal areas) and can help us manage our minimal needs. Any ideas or suggestions of companies I could approach?

Do you have a local Estate Agent who also does Lettings and Block Management?

When we were sole freeholders of a block we used a local management company who had the contacts and the experience in the local area. They could get trades out quickly if needed and they took all the stress off us. It's not easy being a freeholder and living in the block.

Look for someone local and ARMA registered. Ask for references from existing clients and make sure you actually speak to those people.

https://arma.org.uk/

Thanks. I hadn’t thought of an Estate agent actually. I suspect the company we have now might be ARMA registered but I will check. Someone local would be good in relation to trades etc although neighbours recommendations are useful too. We only need the company to ‘assist’ us with management not necessarily to do the whole thing. Will start looking for local places.

I would try local estate agencies or surveyors companies as you are a small block and perhaps d not need a lot of management. We are just going the other way. We are a larger, older block and feel the small agency we currently use is not quite up to the task of some of the bigger repairs we now need.

The assistance we need is mostly with finance- record keeping, accountancy etc, sending out service charge demands, arranging buildings insurance etc however I worry that we are spending a fair bit on service charges every year and most of it covers all the ‘insurance’ - block building insurance, terrorism insurance, directors and officers ins, company secretary as well as management fees, accountancy fees etc and leaves little to spend on our actual property. When we do want to do any work anything over £250 per flat spend has to go through a lengthy section 20 process( even if we have funds) any contractor doing even a small job needs to register with the company ( not always straightforward) to be an ‘approved contractor’ in order to pay them or we have to pay them cash ourselves and claim it back.
The idea of being an RTM was to get back control but it feels like we are still quite tied to a management company for most purposes. Perhaps that’s par for the course and all management is the same??

You will still need to do the s20 process regardless of who your management company is, and I suspect all of the insurances will also be required (or at least advisable). Insurance costs are huge for properties with multiple properties at the moment and we are seeing the same for our bigger building. Adding things like terrorist insurance won’t be increasing the premium materially I wouldn’t think. I would assume you all would like to have directors insurance etc for your own personal peace of mind.

I’d look at the costs that you are being charged for the management and see if you can reduce those, but note that by going with a smaller management company you might lose some economies of scale on things like tradesperson costs and insurance costs.

any contractor doing even a small job needs to register with the company ( not always straightforward) to be an ‘approved contractor’
That sounds OK. I presume that the management company is checking that the contractor has qualifications (if necess e.g. electrician), insurance, etc.

Yeah you will still have to carry out s20s regardless of how big or small you are and it is worth getting it right as they can be legally challenged.

The issue with very small blocks is you can need more s20s due to the fact that it doesn't take long to reach the £250 per flat limit for work whereas with larger blocks you need to rack up a fair bit before s20 obligations kick in.