Hi All,
Wonder if anyone out there has a handle on where the body corp fees are spent and what is reasonable expenses. I receieved a list of expenditures from my body corp for an IP I have in Melb (building only 18 months old,23 units, 3 levels, no lifts, no pool, no gym etc).
There is a caretakers fee for next 12 months of approx $9500 (split among all owners). Caretakers visit building once a week to make sure things like external lights, pot plants, external carpets, etc. I can’t imagine there would be much to do as it is a fairly new building (they don’t put the bins out either -thats up to tenants).
There is also a body corp mgt fee of $3500 for the year.Obviously this and the caretakers fees are split up among all owners. Yearly body corp payable by each owner is $1000 this covers everything inc caretakers fee).
My query is do the caretakers fees and body corp mgt fees seem reasonable? All opinions welcome.
Hi DSmith,
Body corporate fees cover all common areas & common costs which would include the building insurance, maintenance of the grounds, fire regulations such as blankets & extinguishers etc etc etc. There is also the body corporate management fees to hold meetings, collect & pay the above bills, similar to what a real estate agent would do when managing the rent.
The other cost that may be included is a sinking fund. This is basically an amount which is set aside to pay for larger jobs when required at a later date. Okay, that doesn’t make much sense but it is for external painting, maybe relaying a driveway, maybe replacing garage doors, replaceing the air conditioning unit. You get the idea.
I have always just gone through the budget for the properties I have in a strata & make sure their estimates are fair. You can also request to see a copy of the receipts being paid. We have one person nominated as secretary & he receives all receipts in case we would like to check.
I hope this helps.
Kim
Thanks for the reply Kim,
In your opinion, are those fees for caretaking $9500 and body corp mgt $3500 reasonable given there the lack of extra facilities as mentioned above?
Cheers
DannySorry Danny I can’t answer that one. The properties I have under strata are commercial properties hence we do not need caretakers.
Yes, it sounds reasonable to me. However, you can check with the other owners if you’re concerned. There is an annual meeting that you as an owner can attend and you can bring it up there if you all think the fees are too high.
I would question why you need to pay $9500 for somebody to check the building each week. Light blows– somebody complains to mangmtagent, anything else goes wrong –complaints go to him/her and repairs etc are put to quote. The properties I have stayed in or own , owner-occupants in the stratacomplex quite often fix little things themselves for the good of the premises. Cheers Len
I live in Sydney so may be a little different
$3500 is standard mgt fee
$1000 per yr levy is cheap
$9500 caretaking is questionable,there should be a written quoate/job description of services to be rendered eg, cleaning,mowing,lights,etc.
Given this is nearly $200 per week I would expect most of the day would be spent there.If not then this is expensive.Cheers
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