The contractors experience - Sinking funds and sink holes of time.

One of the more challenging clientele we deal with is the Body Corporate, AKA – Owner’s collective or committee.

Almost 100% of our interactions over 20 plus years has been from a reactionary point of view where the contact comes from, we have a problem that now needs fixing.

In reality it is a problem that has been brewing for a number of years (usually decades) and now they would like to address it.

Since 2011 the most common dialogue when attending the property is, we have just had our roof replaced, the upper units are still being refurbished from the water damage, as the walk through progresses, we have had the tiles replaced on the common walkways as they were lifting (no the root cause wasn't addressed), some of the balustrades have been replaced however we can’t touch those without replacing them as they are non-compliant height and we would have to replace them all if we remove them now, we need to have some trees removed – we have quotes for that, we know about the concrete driveway but we aren’t looking at that at this stage (usually beyond repair), let me show you the concrete repairs we would like you to look at (usually the balconies, sofit). At the same time as the running dialogue is a list of the costs associated with those repairs.

This usually gets muddied with ‘Fred’ or ‘Jane’ knew about these things and did nothing about it for ‘x’ number of years, I have just taken over and we a trying to get this building manitenance back on track. It’s like a standard playbook.

So when you do see what you are there to do, it becomes apparent the work required is extensive (if addressing everything you see), and as part of due diligence you inform said representative of that fact, the play book starts again, how much do think it will cost?, we don’t have much money left over since the roof repair, we don’t want to impose a levy, meanwhile you haven’t got the tape measure out yet, but you know from experience its cost potential is substantial, you intimate that fact.

Playbook rolls again, can we just fix the worst bits?, oh by that do you mean where the embedded reinforcement is clearly exposed and in some cases non-existent?, yes, so you get up on a ladder just to highlight what is obvious to yourself, when we repair this section for example if you listen to my acoustic hammer you will hear how drummy this section is and see that it likely this whole edge will fall out (mind you your only looking at the first story balcony at this stage), and the tiled area above is likely to be affected as it will no longer have any supporting concrete, and you will note that the balustrade fixings in this section have corroded away actually contributing to the concrete spalling here, at this point there is actually nothing holding the balustrade on to concrete which represents a pretty serious risk not to mention this large chunk of concrete is likely to fall at any point which might injure someone or damage a car coming out of the carport below.

I swear I have had about four viewings in a row with the same story!

I usually get a comment like Johnny in unit 4 just said to get a painter to fix it, and while I am aware there are painting crews that can do concrete repair, I have also repaired coastal units that had gypsum based repairs with paint over the top, which looked great at the time, however caused a multitude of problems down the track by exacerbating the real reasons for the spalling in the first instance.

This is only the start of the fun, because with a bit of explanation and cajoling you suggest that you can come up with strategy that might be worth considering, things like staging the repairs over a set period of time. So, you spend a further 2-3 hours on site measuring what you can with the access that you have access to, you spend another 2-3 hours formulating a report and quote, breaking it down and explaining as you know you are predominately dealing with people outside of the building profession. (Although there is usually as ex-builder, or daughter of builder, on the committee to make it more interesting). You submit what you think is a pretty good document considering it hasn’t cost them a thing at this stage (A borderline engineers report and pricing).

Then phase I call – “I see dumb people” starts, and it starts because it is going to cost a truck load of cash to fix the problem. We don’t understand the breakdown (sure they are just sections of the building that make sense to complete as one project in terms of set ups and operations), that’s a lot of money (yes it is, that why we have presented you with a possible staging of the works over time), can you re-quote and just include x, y, z (effectively we have already priced this as part of..), we have to get three quotes do you know anybody (sure I can put you in touch with ACRA the industry body who may be able to help you with a list of suitable contractors in the area), why is this area so expensive (oh you mean the area where the garden bed is, poor access, sloping block, and I have to get to level 3 from the ground?).

I have to be honest, as a contractor, in some of these examples over the years, I have worked through the process and have executed the work, some proposals have gone on for 2 years before commitment to the project, some I have walked away from out of frustration. When I can see a clear extent of work that is going to be costly, I offer to produce a bill of quantity, condition report, and tender documentation to go to the open market for a fee – this rarely gets taken up.

Our experience with Strata Mangers, some Property Managers, and Maintenance Management Services has been pretty good as it eliminates a lot of the firsthand dealings with owners, tends to be more quotation based and often in connection with surveys or condition reports.

It would be great to see onus put on multiple dwelling arrangements to conduct maintenance reporting and engage external parties to produce the report at least yearly. Body Corporates to have some formalised training in the management of their committees and obligation to prioritise maintenance surveys.

It is hugely apparent that there is a lack of control among committee members and the basics of protecting their investments. Maintenance items are being left to such an extent those items are often serious structural defects or limiting the use of the property. This also includes owner occupiers, where we acknowledge the rental market has always been the wild west.