Progressive Strata Services

NEWSLETTER   ISSUE 2    JULY 2010

Response to our first newsletter and talk:

The  first  edition  of  our  newsletter  certainly  raised  some  interest  amongst  a  wide  variety  of  people  – from  lawyers  through  to  real  estate  agents,  which  is  excellent,  as  we really  want  this  newsletter  to  be of  value.  (If  you  did  not  receive  it,  you  can  view  it  on  our  website,  at  the  bottom  of  the  home  page  – www.prostrata.com.au).  Owners  who are  not  on  the  executive  committee  will  at  this  stage,  only  be posted one of these newsletters a year.

Whilst  it  was  unfortunate  that  only  a  few  people  were  available  to attend  the  talk  by  Colin  Grace  on  25 May,  regarding  what  is  common  property,  how  it  is  defined,  and laws  governing  meetings,  we  know from  feedback  that  those  who  attended found  it  most  informative,  great  value  at  only  $15  and  they  were able to get the questions that directly affected their schemes addressed by him.

Insurances – a mystery to most

We suspect that not everybody understands their insurance policies in terms of:

•  what is covered

•  why it is covered

•  how the premium is worked out

•  why it doesn’t cover everything that can happen to a property

•  is it the right type of cover or the correct amount (dollar sum) of cover

Jane  Lord  from  CHU,  the  company  which  insures  most  of  our  schemes,  will  help  those  who  attend her  talk  (see  box  below)  to  understand  these  points  and  other  relevant  insurance  questions  for  strata schemes.    Jane  has  been  with  CHU  for  more  years  than  she  or  I  would  care  to  count.    She  spends  a lot of her time doing talks just like this one.

Jane  Lord  of  Corporate  Home  Unit  Underwriting  (CHU)  will  give  a  talk  on  17  August  2010  at 6.45pm  at  Eastern  Suburbs  Leagues  Club  at  Bondi  Junction. The  subjects  she  will  cover  in 3/4 of an hour are:

i) what is covered under the strata scheme’s insurance policy?

ii) why is it covered?

iii) why are some events (incidents) covered and others are not?

iv) how is the premium calculated?

There will be time for questions from the floor after her talk, followed by tea and coffee.

This talk is free of charge to those attending.

To book a seat, please email  reception@prostrata.com.au   BEFORE 5pm on 3  August 2010.

An unfortunate insurance incident

There  was  a  recent  incident  with  one  of  our  schemes,  where  a  young  girl  got  her  finger  crushed  in  the garage  door  as  she  tried  to  close  it  manually,  as  residents  are  mindful  of  the  building’s  security.    The door was broken and pending repairs.

To  stop  the  door  from  smashing  shut  onto  the  concrete,  she  put  her  hand  in  between  panels  of  the  door as  it  descended,  however  the  door  was  too  heavy  and  she  could  not  provide  sufficient  force  to  prevent its closure on her hand.

It  was  most  unfortunate  to  later  find  that  another  owner  had  experienced  a  similar  problem  with  this door,  but  had  never  told  anyone.    What  could  have  made  this  avoidable  (imagine  if  it  was  your  girlfriend or  daughter)  was  for  our  office  to  have  been  advised,  so  we  could  simply  install  a  sign  warning  residents not to try to manually operate the door, while we arranged for it to be fixed.

I  relay  this  story  to  remind  you  that  all  owners  are  responsible  for  the  common  property.    Not  just  the Executive  Committee.    Anyone  who  sees  a  potential  risk  needs  to  report  it  to  our  office.    Preferably  in writing.    The  notification  should  be  dated,  along  with  the  time  of  the  incident  for  the  scheme’s  records (just  email  us  at  reception@prostrata.com.au).    We  can  then  address  this  in  a  manner  that  protects  the residents and the scheme.

Court cases

There  are  not  many  insurance  cases  involving  strata  plans.    Like  most  insurance  matters,  they  are often  settled  between  the  parties  before  they  get  to  court.    Jane  will  cover  a  few  interesting  claims  to help you understand what CHU do cover and what you can claim, including inside your unit.

Changes in our team

Daniel  Castro  has  left  us  after  working  with  PSS  for  more  than  2  years.    He  handled  the  data  entry  in our  office  and  payment  of  invoices,  as  a  part  time  position  whilst  he  was  at  university.    We  thank  him for his hard work and wish him well in his chosen career.

David  Gluck  has  returned  after  almost  3  years.    Clients  since  2007  will  remember  dealing  with  him while  I  was  overseas.    David  has  been  at  university  studying  business,  law  and  IT.    He  is  a  very  capable person whom we are pleased to welcome back.

David  is  supporting  Justina  and  Karina  –  as  well  as  taking  over  the  work  that  Daniel  had  been  doing. I am sure you will find him a pleasure to deal with.

Beatriz  continues  to  very  ably  head  up  the  accounts  dept  –  having  worked  with  us  for  nearly  5  years  in this  area.    Treasurers  should  feel  extremely  comfortable  calling  her  with  any  query  on  their  financials (David is best for invoice queries).

Did you know?

Our  website  provides  information  on  what  is  common  property,  what  is  the  process  if  you  are  looking  to renovate,  how  levy  arrears  are  handled  (based  on  the  Strata  legislation)  etc.    So  why  not  have  a  look at our website at  www.prostrata.com.au