8 steps to selecting the right managing agent for your block

The Clear Building Management checklist of questions to ask a potential managing agent.

Choosing a managing agent for your block comes down to a mix of personality and practicality: you want to get on with the people who will be taking care of your development but you also need to be confident that they have the right mix of skills to deliver an excellent property management service.

We’ve no crystal ball but, as managing agents ourselves, we would expect to be asked the following questions by any RMC directors or leaseholders seeking to understand our property management capabilities and services:

1. How do you charge for your property management services?
2. Do you take commissions for insurance and other services?
3. Where will service charge monies be held?
4. How do you deal with unpaid service charges?
5. What is your approach to reserve funds?
6. How many blocks do you manage?
7. How often will you visit the development?
8. What communications channels do you offer (eg: emails, portals, newsletters)?
9. How do you stay up to date with the legal and regulatory requirements?
10. How do you select and monitor contractors?
11. Do you have a contractors’ charter?
12. How will you deal with the outgoing managing agent?
13. What is your complaints procedure?
14. How do you deal with leaseholders in breach of their lease?
15. How do you deal with out of hours emergencies?
16. Which professional / trade bodies do you belong to?

We also recommend you ask to see:

• An example of a service charge demand they issue
• An example of the service charge accounts they prepare
• A specimen buildings insurance policy
• Full details of their professional indemnity insurance
• A copy of any standard contract they use
• Contact details for Directors at some sites they manage so you can ask for first-hand experiences

This checklist was prepared by Clear Building Management, residential property management specialists based in Manchester, serving leaseholders and RMC directors across the North and Midlands.

Contact Clear Building Management here or call a member of the team on 0333 344 4996.