Evolve Block & Estate Management Ltd

Transcription

1 Evolve Block & Estate Management Ltd Management Brochure & Proposal / office@evolve-management.co.uk Head Office: 24a Southampton Road, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 1HY Page 1

2 SECTION CONTENT PAGE 1 3 WHO IS EVOLVE? 3 4 STAFF & MANAGEMENT 5 5 REFERENCES 6 6 BUDGETING & KEEPING COSTS LOW 6 7 SERVICE STANDARDS 6 8 CONTRACTORS 7 9 MAJOR WORKS 7 10 UNDISCLOSED COMMISSION 8 11 OUT OF HOURS SERVICE 8 12 DEVELOPERS SERVICE & B2R 9 13 IT SYSTEM - RESIDENT 9 14 SITE VISITS 9 15 DATA PROTECTION SERVICE CHARGE FUNDS ARREARS & BREACH OF LEASE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP, 11 QUALIFICATIONS & REGULATION 20 AWARDS & ACCOLADES THE LMP ESTATE MANAGEMENT 12 TERMS & CONDITIONS 23 COVERAGE/GEOGRAPHIC AREA MANAGEMENT FEES 13 Page 2

3 1 COMPANY NAME Evolve Block & Estate Management Ltd (Company No: ) 2 CONTACT DETAILS Our head office is: 24a Southampton Road, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 1HY all written communication should be directed to this address. We have a satellite locations in Bournemouth for pre-arranged meetings but as our staff are often at our sites or meetings, if you need to attend in person, Ringwood would be the most suitable. Our head office and our staff can be reached on but our secondary number is which goes to our satellite locations, but if no-one is available there it will automatically call through to our head office in Ringwood. Unless you have an appointed property manager, you can contact us 24/7 via at office@evolve-management.co.uk - this box is checked during evenings and weekends for emergency messages or reports of urgent maintenance. 3 COMPANY BACKGROUND Evolve Block & Estate Management Ltd was established in 2016 to fill the huge growing hole in the market left by managing agents which had lost their customer focus, leaving many management companies, developers & freeholders without access to efficient, friendly, value-for-money management. We believe that you cannot be complacent in management, consistently looking to better your service by efficient use of technology, keeping up-to-date with the latest case law, adhering to the latest industry code s of conduct & practice and engaging with our stakeholders to ensure what we do benefits our clients directly. We work on a paperless system, most documents are scanned and held electronically which can be retrieved quickly and shared effortlessly. Our clients have a 24/7 log in to their own online portal to be able to access these documents as well as general accounting information. Our head office is in Ringwood so we can easily and quickly cover Dorset, Hampshire & Wiltshire. We manage 30+ blocks and estates in throughout these three counties as well as having many local contractors and contacts in these regions meaning we can offer real value for money to all of our leaseholders. Page 3

4 Having strong experience in lease interpretation, major works administration, insurance negotiations, service charge collection & accounting, we can provide the service to fit your requirements whilst keeping costs as low as possible. Evolve is headed up by two experienced property professionals with a combined experience of 16+years in residential property management, we have in-depth knowledge of issues affecting leaseholders, freeholders, management companies and tenants. We re always happy to help and advise our clients in every aspect of residential property management. Page 4

5 4 STAFF & MANAGEMENT Our Managing Director, Benjamin Hume Ba(Hons) MARLA MIRPM AssocRICS, is a fully qualified lettings property management with the Association of Residential Letting Agents, a fully trained and qualified member of the Institute of Residential Property Management & an elected associate surveyor with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Unlike a lot of our competitors this means the business owner is the technical lead and not left to senior property managers, allowing for a comprehensive and knowledgeable top-down approach, ensuring the decisions we make in the business are the right ones to protect and benefit our clients in this ever-changing industry. In his spare time Benjamin enjoys kayaking, motorcycling and landscape gardening (which is an advantage when tendering for grounds maintenance contracts at our sites) Our Sales Director, Darren Loose also owns a multi-branch letting and sales agents with branches in Hampshire & Dorset, having considerable experience in residential property investment, lettings and sales. Throughout Darren s career he has honed his client relationship skills and owns a number of leasehold properties as well as sitting as a Director on some boards. He has spent many years on the client side, so is well versed on the requirements that our clients have and their expectations of a managing agent. In his spare time Darren sits as a town councillor for Ringwood Town Council as well as coaching youth football teams for Ringwood Town Football Club and can often be seen at the side line on a Sunday morning in the rain coaching! Our Accounts Lead is Helen Needham, Helen has worked as a company accountant and service charge accountant for many years and worked specifically in the residential lettings and residential service charge accounts sectors. Helen has helped to shape our accountancy practices within Evolve and has worked closely with Resident, our software provider to introduce and test new advances in service charge financial management. Our Office Administrator, Stuart has worked with Evolve since its inception and helps provide office administration, invoice management, help with data entry and is instrumental in the migration of new clients into our systems. Stuart can often be found by our scanner with piles of paperwork, helping us to continue as a paperless organisation. Page 5

6 5 REFERENCES & EXISTING CLIENTS These are available upon request. We have a number of happy clients who would be happy to speak to you & if need be, we are happy to provide a demonstration of our software, accounting or any other aspect of our management if required. We are so proud of our service that we will happily provide a list of our sites & you can pick any site for a reference and we will provide the details! 6 BUDGETING & KEEPING COSTS LOW Upon instruction, we would meet with the Directors/Freeholder and carry out a site visit so we can discuss the current service charge budget & financial situation, as we as any current disputes or plans. We invest a lot of time in the preparation of our budgets and achieving the best value for clients. Some substantial cost savings have recently been achieved for clients on insurance renewals and day to day maintenance contracts. Our goal is to keep service charges as low as possible whilst maintaining the covenanted services under the lease, this keeps leaseholders and the client happy! 7 SERVICE STANDARDS We are always available to assist you whether on-site, on the telephone or in our office. You do not need to make an appointment to visit our Head Office in Ringwood but to ensure the person who wish to speak to is there, give us a quick call before setting off! Our Ringwood office is open between 9am and 5pm we DO NOT close for lunch, as we want to be available when our clients have time to call us. Evolve has a same day policy with regard to responding to telephone call-backs where reasonably possible, as we ve all experienced issues having been promised a call back and not receiving it so we know how frustrating this can be. s are responded to within 48 hours as this is our main form of communication, we deal with hundreds of s every day, so we have to prioritise the most urgent first, but you can always call us if your request is brief, such as account balance queries or bank detail confirmation. Page 6

7 8 CONTRACTORS On aggregate, we look after approximately 400+ units, which is constantly growing, therefore we have a pool of local contractors to apply to for any tender process or repair. The majority of our contractors have come to us via word of mouth or have been inherited through our managed blocks. We do not charge a fee for contractor selection & expect only the highest standard from our contractors. We are always searching for good value tradespersons so if you wish to make a recommendation, please contact us. We also do not insist on our own contractors at your blocks, if we take over the management and you are happy with the services in place, we would see no need to change! 9 MAJOR WORKS We regularly oversee/administer major works projects at our sites (pursuant to Section 20) from simple external decorations to large scale failed retaining walls and 100k+ communal heating/hot water replacement projects. We have specialist surveyors who we would appoint for a variety of major works projects and are able to approach the relevant tribunals for any judgments that are required. Page 7

8 10 UNDISCLOSED COMMISSIONS Evolve Block & Estate Management adhere to the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code. Any insurance commission or other sources of income arising out of the management is declared to the client in our management agreement upon instruction. We therefore agree that no commissions or handling fees will be taken without the Clients permission or knowledge. 11 OUT OF HOURS SERVICE Out-Of-Hours coverage is one of the most important services we offer, as unexpected emergencies do not discriminate whether it happens during the day, evening or weekend. We have a dedicated page for out-of-office emergencies, with simple and basic instructions on what to do and who to call. Once our offices close, anyone can leave a voic on our phone system, which is checked remotely until the office re-opens, any emergency messages left will be dealt with accordingly. We can also be contacted by 24/7 to report maintenance and emergencies and out-of-office these are checked by our Managing Director and actioned accordingly Page 8

9 12 DEVELOPERS SERVICE & BUILD-TO-RENT We currently take instructions from 4 regional developers and manage their subsequent residential leasehold developments and conversions. We offer a dedicated service to developers where we can advise initially on the planning, services to be provided, construction of the lease, etc. It is considered a turn-key solution, working with us either early or late on in the process and our advice is 100% free. We also manage Build-To-Rent sites, where the freeholder owns all of the flats and the freehold, with the tenancy management dealt with by our supervision to provide a single point of contact. 13 IT SYSTEM RESIDENT We use a cloud based platform which enables directors and leaseholders to log in and view information on their block 24/7 for complete transparency if required. Leaseholders can be given access to their individual service charge information & balance, annual service charge budget, ongoing maintenance tasks. Directors have special and enhanced access to financial reporting and real time bank account information, cash balances, debtors, creditors and access to uploaded/scanned files. The platform also enables residents to log maintenance tasks and requests for our attention. As the system is cloud based users can log in using their ipad s, iphone s or computers from anywhere with a web browser. 14 SITE VISITS The frequency of visits is agreed with each client in accordance with their service level requirements and fee structure. We would recommend a frequency of visits for the initial year based on discussions. Due to our service offering and locality we invariably visit our estates and blocks much more frequently than this, especially in the initial stages, to meet with contractors and staff. This can be a number of times in the first few weeks. We use a tablet and a special application to record our site visits so we can provide a PDF of our most recent inspection if requested. We would commit to regular management visits to walk the grounds and property communal areas to monitor the condition of the assets and identify any repair or maintenance work & meeting residents/flat owners if required. Some of this time would be spent meeting with any in-house staff and / or contractors to discuss ongoing and new issues, agree works required, actions to be taken and to ensure the grounds and properties are maintained to the standard required by the board. Page 9

10 15 DATA PROTECTION Evolve Block & Estate Management are registered with the Information Commissioner s Office and complies with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 & GDPR Rules All records are stored online and if required in hard copy for the statutory minimum period of time, being six years as standard, and if required as a result of indication or notification for longer as required. All paper documents are stored under lock and key and online files help in an encrypted cloud server which is backed up 3 times a day. 16 SERVICE CHARGE FUNDS Service charge funds are held in designated S42 client trust accounts with Barclays Bank. Reserve funds are also held in a separate designated reserve accounts where appropriate, and each reserve expense type is notionally separated by Resident. We take advice from our bankers, or our clients own advisors if required, regarding the investment of sinking fund monies to ensure the best return, in accordance with regulation. Our accounts are reconciled weekly in accordance with best practice. Resident produces various financial reports for directors which include a snapshot of expenditure on each expense type against budget at any time. Meetings or phone conferences can be held to discuss expenditure & budgets at a frequency agreed with the client when management commences. 17 ARREARS & BREACH OF LEASE We work closely with the directors & freeholders with an agreed timescale for arrears that is within the lease requirements. Whilst advocating strict monitoring of arrears, we also advocate communication with the leaseholders to ascertain genuine reasons for non- payment before taking any formal approach. This would include telephone calls and s. Late letter charges would be employed if the lease allows. It is recommended that a House Manual is prepared, if not in existence already, to outline to residents and visitors the rules, regulations and procedures of the estate, in accordance with the Lease. We would be happy to help prepare and / or update this. Page 10

11 18 COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE If required, please contact us for a copy of our Complaints Handling Procedure. We take feedback and complaints very seriously and will work with any unhappy party to rectify what is within our power to rectify or help guide them to the most appropriate source to resolve the problem. Evolve Block & Estate Management Ltd is a member of The PRS - Member No: PRS For more details, please visit 19 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS, QUALIFICATIONS & TRAINING Evolve Block & Estate Management Ltd adhere to the RICS/Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 3 rd Edition Service Charge Residential Code & the ARMA/Association of Residential Managing Agents ARMA-Q Standards. Individual staff qualifications are outlined in the individual biographies above. We are also a regulated member firm of RICS so we are duty bound to adhere to the highest standards in our profession. In order to maintain and develop our knowledge base and keep up to date with changing legislation we are required to undertake a minimum number of hour s continual professional development and life-long learning every year. The whole team therefore attend training courses periodically; on average every couple of months, on a variety of topics with both ARMA and the RICS. We also receive updates from our professional bodies, solicitor s newsletters and professional and trade magazines. We undertake in-house training and quality control and have regular personal development meetings to ensure our staff are achieving their full potential and providing the best customer service. Evolve holds professional indemnity insurance and all our client s funds are covered by client money protection. 20 Awards & Accolades Our Managing Director was recently awarded with Highly Commended status at the national property management awards, which cements us as one of the top performers in our industry, nationally. Page 11

12 21 The Leasehold Management Professionals (LMP) The LMP is a regional residential leasehold training association founded by our Managing Director Benjamin, alongside other senior and well-respected leasehold figures in the industry. The LMP holds regional conferences for managing agents in the residential leasehold management industry to bring high profile speakers and figures to the regions that need it, rather than having to access London events at high cost and take valuable time out of the office. Check out the association here: 22 ESTATE MANAGEMENT TERMS & CONDITIONS We use the standard ARMA-Q approved model management agreement, which is a comprehensive contract that agrees what fees are to be paid, when & how. This agreement sets out our minimum standards of conduct and what you can expect of us and what we need from you. Page 12

13 23 COVERAGE/GEOGRAPHIC AREA We currently manage estates/blocks in Dorset, Hampshire & Wiltshire. We are happy to manage sites anywhere, please contact us with your enquiry and we ll see how we can help! 24 MANAGEMENT FEES We aim to be completely transparent with our fee structure: Company Secretary This fee covers our time in acting as your company secretary, filing annual returns & accounts, dealing with share and member certificates and registering/resigning Directors and Officers of the company. Some of our clients maintain this service themselves, but most appoint us to do this as it requires considerable knowledge of Companies House forms and procedures. Full Management Fee We charge a set fee on a per unit/per year basis which is agreed in advance with our clients and is enshrined in any management agreement. Any review is conducted annually and agreed with the client expressly, we do not impose any unexpected increases or additional costs. Please refer to your management agreement for a full breakdown of all costs/fees applicable. Page 13