ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Orner, Head of Property Management

SPL Management

Ten years ago I went on a trip to Norway, where romance with my, now, husband, blossomed.  It was September and I was invited to join him and his family on a holiday to a remote island off the west coast of Norway, where we would go fishing, walking and relax.  I was young, naïve, and had had my eye on this guy for ages so I jumped at the chance.  Relying on my beau’s Norwegian citizenship and knowledge, I was happy to hear that September would be warm and sunny.  This gave me the perfect opportunity to pack my nicest clothes and look forward to an enjoyable holiday.

However, what I was to find would be that the promised “warm and sunny” weather, was actually driving rain, gales and freezing temperatures, due to a passing storm.  I was completely unprepared and as such spent the majority of the week in hoodies which were much too large, completely inappropriate footwear, and with a bright red nose, full of the cold.   Not the most attractive, I’m sure you will agree!  Nevertheless, he married me and we remain happily married today.  What has changed, is that I now check at least 6 different weather sites in advance of any trip so that I can make sure that we are adequately prepared.

The same applies, in my view to property management.  I am sure that we are all too aware of the Directors who think our job is easy and doesn’t warrant any significant fee, and the opportunists who see an easy way to make some quick and easy money managing properties, after all, “there’s not much to it”!  In a lot of these cases the management can run along fairly smoothly, potentially with all parties ignorant of the legislation and regulations which need to be complied with.  However, when that leaseholder moves in (you know, the one who knows it all and wants to query everything) the “give it a go Joe” is going to quite quickly come unstuck.

I recently had a call from a gentleman who owned a block of 6 flats where they had managing agents involved, a one-man band with no qualifications, and they had replaced the roof.  The agent had demanded money from each leaseholder and had instructed the works.  The works were 50% complete and the contractor was due his interim invoice.  At this point the gentleman was told by the agent that he would need to front the cost as the leaseholders had not yet paid and that a few had said that they disagreed with the works and wouldn’t be paying.  As a result the agent also tendered their resignation.

The freeholder had no clue what to do and wanted to appoint an agent who would be able to collect the costs of the roof and stop him having to pick up the final bill.  After a long conversation I found that no consultation had been carried out, service charges hadn’t been demanded as per the terms of the Lease and the contractor who had been appointed appeared to have links to the outgoing agent.  Whilst I quoted him a fee for working with him to sort this out, he didn’t come back to me and I can’t say how things worked out in the end.

However, I can say, with some confidence, that a little education on his part would have gone a long way to avoiding this situation.  He may have known what to look out for, what questions to ask and would have identified the shortcomings of the agent before they caused him significant difficulties.

In relation to the agent, I would like to think that if they had completed their IRPM exams they would have been aware of the issues they were getting themselves in for in not complying with the terms of the Lease or the restrictions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended).  Whilst they may have walked away from the contract, if I was the freeholder, I would be looking at a significant claim against the agent.

I understand that exams and studying aren’t for everyone, but I firmly believe that anyone who is seeking a reputation as a Property Manager to be respected and whose opinion is to be valued, should be able to demonstrate their competency by completing their IRPM qualifications.  There is sufficient support and learning material to enable everyone to gain their qualifications and have the sense of personal achievement and recognition these bring with them.

Whilst I agree that not everything can be learned in a classroom, or by adopting a purely theoretical approach, I firmly believe that in order for experience to be recognised and respected, property mangers should be able to back this up with relevant and current qualifications. 

I am sure we can all picture the retired surveyor, lawyer or accountant who is now the leaseholder of a block of flats and think that they know the correct answer because of their exhaustive experience in their working life; but how many of them are correct?  How many Directors have given you the argument that it’s always been done that way?  Does that make it right?

If we are to argue that Property Management is a profession to be respected I would argue that each individual has a duty to demonstrate their knowledge, competency and skills by undertaking the necessary education and being assessed through the examinations.  Yes, some will fail and some will find this difficult.  However, with a supportive network, both in-house and through the IRPM, we can all learn from any mistakes, address any problems, and overall, enhance the sector and the quality of Property Managers.

We need to all ensure that we have the correct clothes in our suitcase for the journey ahead.  After all, the potential repercussions and not just a nasty cold!

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