The need for professional managers

A big draw for people moving from stand-alone homes to cluster home complexes or estates is the promise of carefree living - with the suggestion this contains that "someone else" will take care of common property issues like pool and road maintenance, landscaping, lawn mowing and security system management.

In other words, there is tendency to leave such tasks up to the directors of the Home Owners' Association - and thus for a small group of owners to get stuck with doing, or at least having to organise, everything relating to the upkeep and improvement of the common property, as well as the collection of levies and the enforcement of appearance rules.

And that is just one reason for the HOA to hire a professional estate manager or managing agent. "HOA managers offer a wide variety of services ranging from straightforward levy collection and payment of accounts to maintenance planning and supervision, the collection of overdue levies, information distribution, environmental management and even emergency responses to service failures.

In addition, because they have no personal interest in the outcome, they can execute unpopular but necessary decisions or tasks without posing a threat to the unity of the HOA.

A good managing agent will also provide the continuity that is often lacking in HOAs, by keeping centralised records, ensuring compliance with all the provisions of the Community Schemes Ombud Services Act and even educating new directors to maximise their effectiveness.

However, it is extremely important for the HOA to choose the right managing agent - preferably one that already has HOA experience and certainly one that is willing to learn the specific needs and objectives of the individual HOA.

What is more, it should insist on a clear, written contract detailing the services to be provided by the managing agent and giving a breakdown of costs. This is important to prevent any disputes at a later stage - and will enable the directors to make accurate comparisons if they feel the need to replace a managing agent.