Block Management in London, Hertfordshire & Home Counties
Creating shared spaces that everyone will love
It doesn’t take rocket science to get the basics of block management right. Good common sense and proven processes should prevent most of the avoidable problems that might crop up, and experience counts for a lot when it comes to protecting against the less obvious pitfalls.
But great block management takes a little bit more.
Here at MLM Property Management it means caring about every development as if it were our own – because if we wouldn’t want to live there, why would anyone else?
We believe that good block management isn’t good unless it’s great.
Collaboration
Everyone being on the same page
We work very closely with our clients developers, housing associations and RMC Directors. It’s about everyone being on the same page so there’s no room for misunderstandings or unmet expectations. That takes crystal clear communication, transparent management processes and open reporting.
And it’s about striving to make sure that every minute we spend managing your development represents a return on your investment in us.
(Click here for more information about RTM, RMC and Enfranchisement)
Health & Safety
Keeping you and your investment safe
There has never been greater scrutiny over health and safety policies as they relate to block management and at MLM we take great pride in the expertise and experience we can offer our clients by ensuring they fully comply with the demanding and often complex legislation that exists today.
We’re absolutely rigorous in implementing checks and balances that mean no element of our clients’ responsibilities are overlooked.
All our sites in London, Hertfordshire & Home Counties are kept fully up to date with all the required health and safety inspections and documentation and we ensure that any remedial work that may prove necessary is carried out on your behalf in a timely manner.
Our priority, always, is the safety of both your tenants and your investment.
(Click here for more information about Fire Safety and Communal Areas)
Regulation
Raising industry standards
Everything we do is everything we are, and we believe that to constantly provide the highest possible standard of block management service, we need to constantly review and raise our standards and help to drive positive change through our industry.
MLM Property Management take regulation seriously and are committed to complying with our various regulatory bodies. MLM are regulated by the following:
- RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
- ARMA (Association of Residential Managing Agents)
- FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)
- ALEP (Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners)
- ISO 9001 (International Organisation for Standardisation)
Financial Management
In control of your money
MLM provides full financial management of all properties in our care, using MRI – Qube Global Software systems to ensure all income and expenditure is recorded and reported with meticulous accuracy and transparency.
When we take on a building, we’ll evaluate the lease terms and agree a service charge budget for the following years’ expected expenditure. We’ll then collect the resulting payments from leaseholders, applying rigorous credit control policies agreed with our clients to deal with non-payment.
Our financial processes are managed under the strict regulations of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and guaranteed and protected by the RICS money protection scheme.
For more information about Client Money Handling, click here.
Contractor Management
Using the right tools for the right job
You wouldn’t use a hammer to crack a nut.
When selecting contractors, we ensure we get the right people for the right job. Then its about maintaining superb relationships and working practices with our contractors so that when there is a problem, it’s remedied fast and with the least possible inconvenience to the people who live there.
(Click here for more information about Contractor Selection)
Insurance Services
We’ve got you covered
We work with some of the leading insurers to ensure we’ve got your assets covered and our insurance services are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
We can arrange policies for the following:
- Buildings Insurance
- Engineering Insurance
- Directors and Officers Insurance
- Employment Contract Insurance
- Leasehold Valuation Tribunal Insurance
Insurance Claims
From time to time, things go wrong, and MLM are on hand to offer a claims handling service. We will liaise with the insurance company, insurers, contractors, loss adjusters and affected parties to ensure that claims are settled as quickly as possible with minimal stress.
Insurance Re-instatement Cost Assessments
We regularly conduct insurance re-instatement cost assessments to ensure that a building is insured at its correct market value. Under insuring a building can have drastic consequences in the event of a large claim. All valuations are carried out in accordance with the Red book under the auspices of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Long Term Planning
Planning for the future
Long term maintenance plans, reserve funds, sinking funds are all terms used to describe effective longer term financial planning for your development.
At MLM, we believe in good block management practice which calls for a long term plan to be agreed with the client and the leaseholders at the blocks we manage. This promotes transparency and debate amongst the leaseholders of the levels of funds to be put away annually for longer term expensive maintenance planning. Items such as roof replacement, interior and exterior repairs and redecoration need small amounts of annual funding so that there are no large surprises for leaseholders when these sums are needed, often resulting in lengthy delays whilst funds are sought.
At MLM we have a long term model calculator for leaseholders to see the yearly impact on the amount collected. This helps to set a measured and realistic target based on leaseholders propensity to save funds every year. A plan is costed for clients at the outset of every new instruction and is reviewed annually with the budget. All funds are ring fenced to ensure that they are not mixed with the day to day service charge and are kept in a dedicated section 42 trust fund bank account.
Having a coherent long term plan provides allows leaseholders to know exactly when they can expect big ticket item such as internal redecorations to be done and can plan for the inevitable disruption these works bring. Moreover, those purchasing into a well run, well funded block are more likely to purchase in those circumstances than in a block where no reserves are put aside annually.
If you would like more information about how we can arrange a long term plan for your block, speak to Michael Jacobs on 020 8492 9850.
Building Surveying
Unrivalled expertise under one roof
One of the differences between good block management and great block management is in being able to not only take the stress out of keeping your development in the very best shape it can be, but at the same time add value to your investment.
Because we have the expertise that comes from years of experience, we can deliver an economy of scale that our clients can’t achieve themselves – particularly when it comes to accessing specialist advice and guidance.
In-house chartered surveyors provide on-the-spot expertise that complements the day-to-day management service delivered by your designated property manager, meaning we can provide trusted professional support for:
- Identification of building defects
- Health & Safety compliance
- Preparation of specifications for major works
- Medium/long-term building maintenance plans
- Supervision of major works
- Schedules of dilapidations
- Section 20 consultation compliance
Utilities & Amenities
Planning for the future
Looking after the little details that make a big difference
Often, it’s not the big things in life that cause the most heartache, but the little things that go wrong for no reason other than a lack of good service or management.
At MLM Property Management our experience and the knowledge that brings can often be the difference between badly run and costly shared facilities and amenities, and a smooth-running building that is a pleasure to live or work in.
Hot water management
There is a tendency in newer developments to install Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems. We have extensive experience in both the installation and management of CHP systems.
In some cases, we have taken over buildings that have had badly incorrectly installed or badly run CHP systems and we’ve learned that when that happens it can end in a lot of frustration for tenants and big capital expenditure bills for clients.
It’s our in-depth knowledge of these systems and our ability to ensure accurate billing based on consumption that puts us ahead of our competitors.
We’ll look after maintenance and servicing, ensure the system is fit for purpose and installed correctly, the individual heat interface units (HIUs) are properly maintained and the correct billing systems are in place so you and your tenants only pay for the energy actually used.
Other shared amenities
Our block management service in London, Hertfordshire & Home Counties includes all shared communal spaces and amenities. This means we’ll ensure car parks, refuse storage areas, gulleys and drains, bicycle storage areas and other communal areas and facilities are maintained and managed to a standard that makes your building a desirable and stress-free environment in which to live.
(Click here to read about a Communal Heating System case study)