PROPERTY News
Changing weather patterns, construction faults and poor maintenance are stalking property managers across Australia as they try to maintain quality and value of properties for the members of owner’s corporations, Archicentre says.
Archicentre, the independent building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects, well known for pre-purchase housing inspections around Australia for over three decades, says providing commercial maintenance advice inspections and reports for property managers was one of the fastest growing areas of its operations.
Queensland state manager of Archicentre Ian Agnew said: “While the buildings and the faults are all different, our brief remains the same – to tell our clients what’s wrong, what’s causing the problem and what to do about it.
“The reality is that the apartment boom which started two decades ago has created a pool of residential and commercial buildings throughout Australia which have in many cases reached a stage in their life where careful management and repair is required to make the buildings financially viable and safe to comply with insurance and legislation.
“However, not all commissions are for older buildings with Archicentre recently considering an assignment to assess 100 units in a high rise which were under five years old.
“Some reports simply identified the root cause of a building problem and pointed the manager in the right direction to get it fixed. Others have been far more complex, requiring forensic examination of the building by a range of independent experts in order to establish a comprehensive repair program.
“These reports often have to be presented in person to owner's corporation meetings which Archicentre arranges to help owners understand their buildings problems.” Mr Agnew said that in many cases these repair works were complex and required the involvement of several tradespeople, ideally under the supervision of a registered builder.
Finding a builder could be difficult at the best of times and without a clear indication of the scope of works required at the property it could be especially time-consuming and frustrating.
Archicentre has introduced a new scoping service which can greatly assist this process by providing the detailed drawings and specifications necessary for both pricing and construction. A clear set of drawings and specifications will communicate exactly the scope of work required at the building, enabling competitive, “apples and apples” prices to be sourced by property managers quickly and easily.
Property managers are constantly being faced with changes in legislation the protection of owner’s assets and an increasing compliance with corporate governance. The Archicentre program provides a fully packaged professional product aimed at protecting the position of Property Managers and the value of the owner’s property.
• Archicentre’s free online Cost Guide provides Property Managers and owners with a range of price rates for a variety of common repair jobs.
