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  • #11764

    Hi there comrades

    I have a question about the amount I am paying in strata levies for a unit I bought recently. The amount seems very high for the amount of maintenance and admin that the building requires (in my opinion). So I am reaching out to ask for others opinions on this forum on the matter.

    If others in the forum agree and urge me to do so, I will proceed with contacting individual owners and organise quotes from a different strata agency.

    First I will list some features of the unit and the condition it is currently in.

    -Built in the mid 1970’s in the inner west of Sydney.
    -Brick building with original ceramic roof tiles.
    -Garages on ground level, with 3 levels of apartments on top (4-storey).
    -Original aluminium window frames, timber window frames and glass throughout units and common area.
    -Original tiles in foyer.
    -Carpet in stairwells approx. 5-10 years old.
    -Common areas painted approx. 5 years ago.
    -Intercom at entry to common areas.
    -Small amount of grass and garden around perimeter of building.
    -No elevators, swimming pools or any other common areas requiring maintenance or upkeep.
    -12 apartments, each with a lounge, 2-bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen, an internal laundry, 1 or 2 balconies and an individual secured parking garage.

    Note: one of the other owners does gardening, some cleaning around the grounds and takes the bins out. She says she is happy to do it as she’s retired. I don’t believe we employ a company to do this work at all.

    Now I will provide some financial information from the last general meeting so you can judge if any of the amounts seem unreasonably high. I have adjusted the figures slightly to ensure anonymity. Figures are from the year 2017.

    Each unit pays $3640 a year in levies.
    ($590 to admin and $320 to capital works per quarter)

    $50,000 in capital works fund.
    ($15k revenue from levies and $15k expenses on “Maint bldg-general replacement” in 2017)

    Negative balance in admin fund.
    ($30k revenue from levies and over $30k total admin expenses) Breakdown of admin expenses below..

    Agent management fees $2900
    Agent disburse $1000
    Agent storage/document holding fee $100
    Auditors $400
    Other admin expenses $2000
    Insurance premiums $8000
    Insurance valuation $300
    Maint bldg – cleaning and lawns $2600
    Maint bldg – fire protection $1200
    Maint bldg – general repairs $3600
    Maint bldg – misc $500
    Maint grounds – lawns and gardening $1200
    Trades monitoring $100
    Utility – electricity $700
    Utility – water and sewerage $4000

    Please let me know what you think about my situation. Thanks for reading.

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