MCST Managing Agent Problem

[5kylark]

Hope to start a thread on Managing Agents to avoid.

[Icedbs]

  On 3/30/2008 at 1:55 PM, Achtung said:

I have a genuine problem and I hope brothers here who are familiar with BCA, Strata rulings etc will be able to help.

 

I just bought an old Condo Apartment recently. As it is more than 10 years, I can see that the outlook or aesthetic of the building has been marred by owners doing their own stuff. For example, residents using the fire exit stairwell to house their pet dogs; aircon trunking were ran out of a few apartments; windows were differently colours; Window drills for many apts were placed inside and some placed outside. In short, the entire block is riddled with differences.

 

Std Procedure, I applied for reno permit and was approved. No rules and regulations were given. Except what time we can do our reno. To cut the long story short, we changed all the windows in the apt to plain silver ones. The next thing that happened was the Managing Agent came over to my Flat and fugged my contractor (which hap to be my fren). He demanded that my contractor removed them immediately as it does not conform with the aesthetic of the bldg. We then contacted him via phone and asked him to take a look at the building itself. His reply was: Why dont you write in to complain the individual owners who has not conformed? What u see is BEFORE my time! So not my business. I have not time to talk to you, you know, I manage many other condos! U better remove it or I will sue u.

 

My reply was simple: Go ahead then.

 

I am quite tu lan with this a**hole. I read thru the rules stated on MCA wensite and many are broad based. Any one who is an expert on this matter, care to comment objectively?

 

Actually there is no need to emotional about such thing. In everyday's life, we meet with all kind of people (and also all kind of drivers) , from reasonable to nasty.......why want to upset yourself with such thing?

 

Just ask him what is compliant and just follow. Do it and move on. You don't have to care what the other owners had done. They were way before your time, and obviously rules could have tighten up in the recent years (which is good for your condo).

 

As a realtor, I deal with  contractors, security guards and management office people from old condo to new condo almost on a daily basis.  If I have to be upset with anybody who is KL, nothing would  get done and I will probably end up with a mental issue. You are lucky that you are only dealing with one.

 

Leave the emotion aside, and deal with him objectively.  If you are trying to get him sacked, come on, there is no guarantee the guy who replace him will be an angel. His replacement could be worse.

 

So work with what you have and make your purchase an enjoyment to stay. 

Edited February 22, 2019 by Icedbs

[5kylark]

  On 2/22/2019 at 2:46 PM, Icedbs said:

Actually there is no need to emotional about such thing. In everyday's life, we meet with all kind of people (and also all kind of drivers) , from reasonable to nasty.......why want to upset yourself with such thing?

 

Just ask him what is compliant and just follow. Do it and move on. You don't have to care what the other owners had done. They were way before your time, and obviously rules could have tighten up in the recent years (which is good for your condo).

 

As a realtor, I deal with contractors, security guards and management office people from old condo to new condo almost on a daily basis. If I have to be upset with anybody who is KL, nothing would get done and I will probably end up with a mental issue. You are lucky that you are only dealing with one.

 

Leave the emotion aside, and deal with him objectively. If you are trying to get him sacked, come on, there is no guarantee the guy who replace him will be an angel. His replacement could be worse.

 

So work with what you have and make your purchase an enjoyment to stay.

Problem is MAs are unregulated and standards are vastly different.

 

Every thing go STB is not the way to go.

 

House Rules, Supplementary By Laws should be clear and administered fairly without favours.

 

>

[Icedbs]

  On 2/22/2019 at 3:29 PM, 5kylark said:

Problem is MAs are unregulated and standards are vastly different.

 

Every thing go STB is not the way to go.

 

House Rules, Supplementary By Laws should be clear and administered fairly without favours.

 

>

 

The hard truth is that the people in the committee and the MAs change all the time.

 

So you will end up with varying standards and by-laws especially if it is a very old condo.

 

This is very common......I see it all the time in many old condos. There is no point looking back at past history and be emotional about the pple in the committee, the people in the MAs, the guards, and so on. It is not constructive. If someone cannot detach himself from such emotions, then go buy a new launch. Everything will be new and everyone starts from the same page.

 

I know what I say may not be popular, but it is the cold hard truth. Most agents will sugar coat their words, but I do not. I have many axes to grind with many of these MAs, but I soon realise that changing MAs will not change the situation. My own condo has change MAs many times, and I didn't see anything improve after all the changes. Infact, after they change, the guards and cleaners may change, and they have to learn everything all over again. 

 

So rather than complaining, work with them objectively. If they offer a give and take once in awhile, buy them a coffee. It helps in the long run especially for old condo and you will be surprise how much they offer you back when you need to bend a thing or two.

[5kylark]

  On 2/22/2019 at 4:14 PM, Icedbs said:

The hard truth is that the people in the committee and the MAs change all the time.

 

So you will end up with varying standards and by-laws especially if it is a very old condo.

 

This is very common......I see it all the time in many old condos. There is no point looking back at past history and be emotional about the pple in the committee, the people in the MAs, the guards, and so on. It is not constructive. If someone cannot detach himself from such emotions, then go buy a new launch. Everything will be new and everyone starts from the same page.

 

I know what I say may not be popular, but it is the cold hard truth. Most agents will sugar coat their words, but I do not. I have many axes to grind with many of these MAs, but I soon realise that changing MAs will not change the situation. My own condo has change MAs many times, and I didn't see anything improve after all the changes. Infact, after they change, the guards and cleaners may change, and they have to learn everything all over again. 

 

So rather than complaining, work with them objectively. If they offer a give and take once in awhile, buy them a coffee. It helps in the long run especially for old condo and you will be surprise how much they offer you back when you need to bend a thing or two.

 

I do not disagree but if you look at the various stakeholders, the basics must be there.

 

Laws should be well written so that they are not subject to interpretation.  Policies, processes and procedures too just like a large financial institution.

 

That will ensure that even with change of staff, the results is consistent.

 

Automation and streamlining processes serves to achieve that.

 

 

 

>

[serenade]

  On 2/22/2019 at 11:07 PM, 5kylark said:

I do not disagree but if you look at the various stakeholders, the basics must be there.

 

Laws should be well written so that they are not subject to interpretation.  Policies, processes and procedures too just like a large financial institution.

 

That will ensure that even with change of staff, the results is consistent.

 

Automation and streamlining processes serves to achieve that.

 

 

 

>

If you want to make a difference for the better at your condo, volunteer to be on the MC. It is a thankless job but you get to understand the problems faced by MA and staff at a micro level detail. Policies, processses and procedures are there, but the devil is in the implementation. No point to rant about the MA and MC if you have not been there before. MC have to balance the funds available from contributions vs rising wage and utility costs vs improvements vs repairs. Progressive wage model mandated has raised the cost of guards, cleaners and gardeners. Nobody wants to pay more in conservancy, but it is hard to avoid. And there will be residents who want their cake and eat it. They want services, but veto increase in contributions. MC have to take a hard stand for good of the estate. Even better than being on the MC is be an office holder in the MC. You will see the details when sign cheques to service providers

 

When the MC is active day to day, and don't just delegate everything to the MA, the service providers wake up very quickly. Especially when the MC introduces a reward system to recognise conscientious staff and create a conducive environment. Even a good MA will quickly become bad working under a MC that is disunited with MC members having a personal agenda. Rather than complain about MA, work with them to improve. Caveat is if there are complacent staff in the MA, do not hesitate to have them replaced. Otherwise the bad attitude will spread if no action is taken.   

[BanCoe]

Yes agreed ... its a thankless job to be on MC and having a good relationship with MA is not easy also

I was in one and decided to become  "Boh Eng"  later round as I saw too much mud slinging and rather just pay whatever they finally agree upon whether its compromising the sinking fund vs expenditure; Also you have to be all ears and eyes of the Estate too 

 

  On 2/23/2019 at 2:27 AM, serenade said:

If you want to make a difference for the better at your condo, volunteer to be on the MC. It is a thankless job but you get to understand the problems faced by MA and staff at a micro level detail. Policies, processses and procedures are there, but the devil is in the implementation. No point to rant about the MA and MC if you have not been there before. MC have to balance the funds available from contributions vs rising wage and utility costs vs improvements vs repairs. Progressive wage model mandated has raised the cost of guards, cleaners and gardeners. Nobody wants to pay more in conservancy, but it is hard to avoid. And there will be residents who want their cake and eat it. They want services, but veto increase in contributions. MC have to take a hard stand for good of the estate. Even better than being on the MC is be an office holder in the MC. You will see the details when sign cheques to service providers

 

When the MC is active day to day, and don't just delegate everything to the MA, the service providers wake up very quickly. Especially when the MC introduces a reward system to recognise conscientious staff and create a conducive environment. Even a good MA will quickly become bad working under a MC that is disunited with MC members having a personal agenda. Rather than complain about MA, work with them to improve. Caveat is if there are complacent staff in the MA, do not hesitate to have them replaced. Otherwise the bad attitude will spread if no action is taken.   

 

[5kylark]

Problem is those in MC take things personally and to heart when all that is required is to keep things at arm'S length and be consistent and professional.

 

Yes, I was in MC before.

 

Went away a few years and upon returning, found many things not done correctly. To undo will be a big task. Blame the other residents sitting on the sidelines?

 

>

[Victor68]

SP are lay person and need MA guidance in managing the estate. So a good knowledgeable MA is very important. Many situations you have the MA simply following what the chair person wants just to ensure they get their contract renewed.

 

Condominium living is to work with all stakeholders that serve everyboby interest and not a few individuals.

[serenade]

Little known fact: The MC Chairman's only power and responsibility is to chair council meetings, EOGM and AGM. The MC acting as a whole can out vote and over turn any action or decision made by an individual office bearer.

 

The MA "carry" the MC Chairman in hope of getting contract renewed is barking up the wrong tree. The MA should pander to the entire MC as the renewal of the MA contract is done at the first or second meeting of the incoming Council. 

[5kylark]

We should stick to the topic and FOCUS on "MCST Managing Agent Problem"

 

Yes, MC has MC problems.  Residents have residents issues.

 

Some MC members are professionals, some are retired professionals.  Some residents are professionals who for fear of conflicts, do not want to be a MC member.

 

Some members want to hold on to Chairman and use that to give testimonials to their relatives and friends coming to work in Singapore, etc.

 

Back to MCST Managing Agent Problem, can we list some examples?

 

I have a MA who, every 3 months, switch the operations manager, what problems do you think will crop up?

 

 

>

[serenade]

Switch Ops Manager (OM) every 3-6 months is the new norm. Poaching in the industry is rampant. Every new condo, need an experienced OM and the big boys who get the new big condo contract from developer will poach from the smaller boys. Likewise, the smaller boys once they secure a contract from a condo will poach from the even smaller MA firm. 

 

For a medium to large size condo with a team comprising OM, Assistant, Technician, Senior Guard, Cleaning supervisor and horticulturist, change in OM not much impact day-to-day. However some of the other staff will quit if the new OM got low EQ and bullies his way around. 

 

OM also get threatened by MC, residents, tenants who want the rules bent in their favor. New OM will usually oblige as don't want to be complained against.  

 

If the MA pull out their entire team of OM, technician etc etc, then the condo maintenance and management fund contributions will be screwed.

[Kusje]

If change in OM doesn't matter (no impact on day on day) then why is poaching rampant in the industry like you say? Just higher any tom dick or harry to be OM as long as they are cheaper lor.

[serenade]

  On 2/26/2019 at 5:51 AM, Kusje said:

If change in OM doesn't matter (no impact on day on day) then why is poaching rampant in the industry like you say? Just higher any tom dick or harry to be OM as long as they are cheaper lor.

 

New developments want OM with good EQ to appease the buyers on-spot who paid millions for their units. Make the buyers feel that their defects are being looked into. How long it takes to fix under warranty is another thing. Essential skill of top OM is knowing how to handle complaints and difficult/abusive residents/tenants. With diplomacy to tell parents that their precious but mischevious kids are vandalising/damaging the property with their play. Then proving to the parents that it is indeed their kids misbehaving in the common areas. Top OM also must know how to approach residents nicely about removing belongings from common areas. No shoe racks, bicycles, plants, clothes drying that are acceptable in HDB but not acceptable in condo. 

 

Yet another skill is to do with renovations. How to say NO to residents who want to do renovations that are prohibited, or want it done outside of allowed hours. Or to chase contractors who damage lifts, dump sand/cement/renovation waste in the premises instead of carting off. 

 

OM have to collect debts too from SP who are late in paying their monthly charges or don't pay for months. OM have to enforce action decided by MC like clamping illegally parked cars, blocking trespassers, illegal BnB, banning of food at the swimming pool. On one hand they enforce, they get abused by residents. OTOH, they don't do, the MC or developer will fire the OM.

 

Hire any cheap Tom, Dick with no qualifications or experience to be OM is just kicking the can down the road, and exacerbates already festering problems. Sad to say besides the OM, the lower condo staff are mostly illiterate and linguistically challenged although they are good with skills. They depend on OM to do the reporting, purchasing, invoice payments with suppliers in English. 

 

Any wonder then that OMs quit? While the good ones are highly sought after to run the upmarket condos and large commercial properties which pay better.