Part of an owner’s responsibility to the body corporate is paying levies for the maintenance of the complex in full and on time.
The money is expected to cover major work in the form of waterproofing and painting.
The reason for owning a property varies from owner to owner.
There are those owners who own property to stay in themselves – these normally want to see the complex managed and maintained in tip-top condition with no money being spared on the best maintenance possible.
Other owners are letting out their units and want the highest return on their investment – they want the maintenance to keep the building in good order but don’t want to see money spent of cosmetic items.
Then there are those owners who want to sell their unit and are desperate to keep the levy as low as possible so that they can sell their unit quickly.
When large projects are proposed, say the repainting of the building(s), owners who might want to sell and keep the levy low could opt for the cheapest solution with the cheapest contractor and cheapest paint.
I think you will understand that that sort of job may not last very long and need to be redone very soon.
But that won’t matter to owners who want to sell as this might happen after they have already sold.
It is always important to get two or three directly comparative quotations stating the same work to be done with the same quality of materials.
It is also important that the body corporate knows the contractors well or it gets good referrals.
As I always say, taking the cheapest (goedkoep) quote with the lowest specs is not always a bargain as it may result in even higher costs in the short term as the work may need to be re-done sooner than normal.
- Mike Spencer is the founder of Platinum Global, a professional associated property valuer and consultant with work across the country as well as Eastern Europe and Australia. mike@platinumglobal.co.za