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What does a managing agent do?

When asked to explain the purpose of a Managing Agent role, we are surprised that so many people either don’t know what a Managing Agent is, what they do, or the importance of their role in maintaining a building, development, or estate of properties.

A managing agent’s role is crucial to ensure the safety and well building of all residents and their properties, and provide additional support to resident’s management companies where the responsibility of maintaining their assets is placed solely upon themselves. An agent is there to provide professional help, support, advice, and to actively maintain the building, estate or development in order to protect the asset for present and future years.

The services that Managing Agents provide can vary vastly, and therefore we would always recommend that you turn to an agent that holds professional memberships and accreditations such as Realty Management, to ensure you are receiving the best quality of service for your money.

Realty are longstanding members of the ARMA (The Association of Residential Managing Agents) and were one of the first managing agents in the UK to gain accreditation to “ARMA-Q” regulatory standards.  Realty’s clients enjoy unsurpassed reassurance that management matters will be undertaken in complete compliance with current legislation and industry best practices including the Service Charge Residential Management Code issued by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and approved by the Secretary of State and RICS and ARMA codes of conduct.

Realty are a RICS regulated firm that offers the safeguard of RICS client money protection which ensures that all client monies are protected above and beyond the limitations of trustee status accounts and statutory protection via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 

Realty are also members of the Ombudsman Service: Property, which has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading to provide independent redress should it be required by the customer, and all Realty customers have free access to this service.

We have prepared a list of the common tasks that we undertake as a Managing Agent so that you can understand what services Realty Management provides, and also what we do as a Managing Agent for our management fees.

A dedicated Property Manager is assigned to every development that Realty manage.  The Property Manager is a named individual that can be directly contacted by each resident.  Our Property Managers are the primary point of contact for each development and they work hard to develop meaningful relationships and to acquire a high degree of working familiarity with the developments under their care.  All of Realty’s Property Managers are qualified, or actively working towards qualification, through the IRPM (The Institute of Residential Property Management) and/or RICS; with all of our Property Management staff qualified to AIRPM & MIRPM level.

Maintenance (generally noticed by the majority of residents)

  • A Property Manager will carry out a regular site visits to your development to inspect the development, check the standard of contractor works, ensure there are no breaches of the lease, and to ensure all aspects of health and safety are adhered to. During these visits the Property Manager may also meet with residents/directors/freeholders/contractors or Developers to discuss any particular matters.
  • The Property Manager will arrange, monitor and supervise annual maintenance contracts and health checks for safety and security equipment, and items of plant, such as passenger lifts, vehicle gates, water pumping equipment, etc.
  • The Property Manager arranges, monitors and supervises regular contractors: gardeners, cleaners, window cleaners etc.
  • The Property Manager will arrange, monitor and supervise major cyclical maintenance, e.g. replacement windows, redecoration, replacement carpets, major roof works, etc.
  • The Property Manager arranges, monitors and supervises ad hoc proactive maintenance
  • The Property Manager arranges, monitors and supervise ad hoc reactive maintenance
  • The Property Manager will also organise for emergency cover 24 hours a day 365 days a year in relation to the structure and fabric of the building and it’s security, so that help is on hand should a critical incident such as a fire, flood, or security breach occur.

Administrative (generally unnoticed by the majority of residents)

  • The Managing Agent will administrate & write Letters to: residents, contractors, 3rd parties, utilities, local authority, etc.
  • The Managing Agent will arrange Buildings Insurance, Public Liability Insurance, Statutory Engineering Inspection Insurance and Directors & Officers Liability Insurance where applicable
  • The Managing Agent will administer insurance claims
  • The Managing Agent will use their professional knowledge and experience to calculate service charges and arrange collection of same
  • The Managing Agent will chase service charge debtors
  • The Managing Agent will deal with any matters that are in breach of the lease, or causing a nuisance, etc.
  • The Managing Agent will instruct and liaise with solicitors in relation to serious breach or service charge debts
  • The Managing Agent will keep financial books and records of transactions through the service charge fund
  • The Managing Agent will reconcile the monthly bank statements
  • The Managing Agent will transfer funds between current and high interest accounts as necessary, and provide reporting on these to their appointed clients/customers
  • The Managing Agent will pay suppliers: gardeners, cleaners, window cleaners, maintenance contractors, utilities, etc.
  • The Managing Agent will arrange preparation of the annual accounts
  • The Managing Agent will liaise with Auditors
  • The Managing Agent will circulate Memos to residents as appropriate and as instructed
  • The Managing Agent will attend other ad hoc meetings during working hours
  • The Managing Agent will arrange Health and Safety Risk Assessments

If you are interested in switching to a high-quality managing agent such as Realty, or if you would like a quote/more information about our services, then please contact us on 0161-474-7677 or by email: info@realtymgt.co.uk