Category Estate Manager

apnacomplexnitin
January 23, 2019

Responsibilities of the Resident: A Proactive Approach

Managing the affairs of an apartment complex is not just the responsibility of the Managing Committee. Surprised? Don’t be. Just as the quality of your family life depends on the behaviour of all members of the family, in the same way managing a society depends on the behaviour of all the residents living in that apartment complex. How you interact with the committee and the rest of the residents has an effect on the management of the society. We have listed below a few such interactions which can decide how well your society functions.

 

Breach of bye-laws

In an apartment complex, it is quite common for a resident to lock horns with a member of the managing committee. Most often, resolutions arrive amicably. But when they aren’t, the residents often retaliate by ceasing to pay maintenance dues. Residents should remember that this is a breach of the bye-law and hence, illegal.

 

If, as a resident, you are unsatisfied with the resolution, escalate this issue with the appropriate authority. Alternately, if it is an issue that affects all the other residents then take their opinions into account and put it to vote. Withholding dues you owe the society affects the smooth functioning of the society. You may end up with a shortage of funds. Further, the committee is legally authorised to issue notices against defaulters and to penalise you for the same.

 

Unauthorized constructions

The action of every resident has an effect on all the residing neighbours. This becomes especially evident during renovations and constructions. Whether you change the interior or the exterior of your flat, make sure that your plans don’t break any rules of the society. Get the consent of the Secretary of the Managing Committee before you begin and make sure you don’t become a nuisance by exceeding the noise to respectable hours.

 

Certain changes like altering the fundamental structure of the building and construction in common areas require special legal permission. If you fail to obtain the same, the committee (and even the municipal council) is entitled to take action against the same. Lastly, remember that if not conveyed, other residents are well within their rights to complain against the construction to seek redressal.

 

Favours from the Managing Committee

As longtime neighbours, you might be close friends with certain members of the committee. So sometimes, you may find yourself asking for favours like waiving off the penalty charge for late payment or reducing the rent charged for the clubhouse. Not only is this unfair to rest of the complex, but it also puts your friend in a dilemma. It puts them to choose between friendship and their duty.

 

Participation in society meetings and elections

As a resident, it is both your right and duty to contribute to the functioning of the society. Despite personal commitments, it is important that residents attend society meetings and elections. The decisions and opinions expressed here will have a direct effect on your life in the complex. It is also important that you express your opinions about an idea that is being discussed. There is no point in complaining about a decision taken during the meeting you missed. It is important to work with both the committee members and other residents to make sure that the complex runs efficiently.

 

The role of a resident extends beyond the payment of maintenance dues. These are just a few areas in which the behaviour of the members can decide how efficiently an apartment complex gets managed. We hope you are playing a proactive role in the affairs of your apartment complex – whether you are a part of the Managing Committee or not!

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apnacomplexnitin
September 18, 2018

Dos and Don’ts of Road Maintenance within your Society Gate

Roads are absolutely necessary for every apartment complex. They are used for easy commuting and also add an element of beauty to the society. But all of it becomes null if the roads are damaged or unusable. It is important to keep the roads in top condition so as to not hamper the daily life within your gates.

What is the need for maintenance?

Roads that are in regular use often end up riddled with potholes and wear-and-tear. This can be avoided if they are subjected to regular maintenance. Not only is it more cost efficient, but well-maintained roads also increase the property value of the entire complex.

In order to ensure that the roads are properly maintained, take up the issue with the apartment association during resident body meetings. While residents can take small steps in order to contribute, the apartment association can get the maintenance team to do the difficult tasks.

What are the types of problems?

1) Cracks: Cracks may form on the surface either due to repeated use or due to environmental degradation. Fatigue cracks occur due to the added effects of wheel loads. Environmental cracking develops in asphalt as it ages and is subjected to everyday temperature changes. These cracks are very small when compared to fatigue cracks  Water and dirt should be prevented from entering cracks as they might grow worse this way.

2) Surface Wear: Wear on the surface mainly occurs due to tire wear and material degradation (ravelling). Its maintenance includes removing the surface and/or covering up the surface which is worn. Surface treatment depends on the severity of the surface wear.

3) Rutting: This signifies permanent degradation in the layers of the road. This can happen if the structure design is improper or if the roads are overloaded. It can also happen if the surface layer is of poor quality.

4) Potholes: Pits or holes produced by wear or weathering on the road surfaces can be fixed through surface treatments.

What are the maintenance measures?

The roads in an apartment complex undergo a lot of destructive changes. The apartment association will have to take on different approaches based on the problem involved. Firstly,  residents should be constantly updated about the need to maintain roads by the apartment association. Littering on roads should be strictly prohibited and waste bins should be provided for this purpose. Stagnant bodies of water should be immediately cleared, especially after rain and the roads should be swept regularly by the maintenance crew.

Crack sealing is a process that’s followed in order to maintain roads and surface treatment can be done in order to prolong the life of the particular road. This treatment measures should be taken up by professionals, who can be hired by the apartment association.

A lot of factors affect the type of maintenance undertaken within the housing complex. These include the type of distress, vehicle loading, the general climate in the region, the cost of treatment; the roads expected life, the existing road type, and availability of good materials.

Residents can help maintain the quality of roads within the apartment complex by giving regular feedback on their defects to the management as well as bearing with the inconvenience caused during the repair of the roads.

Thankfully technology can add a touch of convenience while undertaking this task. ApnaComplex provides an integrated society management solution that can help you easily communicate with your fellow residents. Residents can use the Helpdesk feature to notify the committee of any defects that may need attention. On the other hand, committee members can use the ApnaComplex forums to raise notices that can be sent out to all the residents to keep them well-informed of the progress.

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ApnaComplex
September 26, 2014

Are you Ready to Invest In Real Estate? Your Check List is Here!

When it comes to property investment, timing is everything. Ultimately, choosing the right time to enter the market will have a significant impact on the long-term success of your investment.

But how can you, as an investor, know whether the timing is right? Here are 10 tell-tale signs that now is the time to start building your investment portfolio.

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1. You are financially ready. You have saved enough for the down payment and you have also established your emergency fund. You have taken into account home maintenance expenses. Your credit history is good and you are able to meet all the financial obligations.

2. You have set your long-term goals. You have a clear picture in your mind of your investment’s purpose and you are flexible enough to adjust to changing circumstances. You are not hesitant. When the timing is right, you are able to adapt to the market needs and the development of technologies.

3. You have done your research. You know the neighborhood of your future property well enough to foresee the coming trends and the possible changes in the community. You have researched all the schools in the area as well as the best commuting means.

4. You have chosen a stable economy. The area is financially stable, economic trends are promising and equities are surging. No demographic fluctuation or no irregular variation of population have been recorded in the area.

5. You understand the country’s policies regarding real estate. The policies of the region promote and encourage a positive, innovative environment as well as drive further economic growth. The tax policy in the country is positive for homeowners. Global innovation index is rising in the area.

6. Infrastructure projects are underway and likely to lead to an increase in property values. The infrastructure of the area is being developed with a focus on: transport, energy, solid waste and water management developments.

7. The region is moving toward sustainable development. The region’s awareness of global and local environmental issues is increasing, the demand for eco-friendly homes as well as for sustainable rural and urban development is rising. As more and more people head toward sustainable living, investing in sustainable property will increase its value in the future.

8. The location draws a lot of interest. Whether it is the best travel destination or the hot jobs spot, the location is always on the top of the search engine. It has become a successful start-up hub already or is planning to do so in the coming years, driving a lot of job seekers into the area. The number of enrolled students is increasing every year and the area draws interest of international students.

9. You have found a reliable real estate agent. It’s particularly crucial to have a reliable representative. Your real estate agent is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and knows the local market well enough to be able to help you make the right choice.

10. You have researched local differences in the property market. Whether you plan to invest in a residential property and turn it into a rental or an office space, you are fully aware of all cultural differences that might occur when you deal with a property seller.

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ApnaComplex
March 27, 2012

Announcing “Automated Scheduled Reports” Module

We are happy to announce a key new addition to ApnaComplex feature set – ‘Automated Scheduled Reports’ – that is available for every society.

With this feature, any one in your society can now receive various reports by email at a pre-defined and periodic intervals (OneTime, Daily, Weekly, Monthly).
You can schedule reports to be sent to entire community/owners/committee/sub groups or to a selected set of individuals.

Some of the “new” things you can do in your society with this feature:
1. Improve Financial Transparency by auto-publishing Income/Expense statement to all owners every month!
2. Schedule to send List of all expense details for the week to the entire committee!
3. Get End of the day cash/bank balances on a daily basis!
4. Automatically send updated key contact list once a month to entire community!
5. Get Bouncing email ID report once a week!
and much more… All just by configuring for few minutes.

There are around 40+ reports available for scheduling. As always, the list will continue to grow as we move forward.

To start using this feature, go to Reports->Reports List and click the ‘Scheduled Reports’ button.

Please note that the system shall execute and send reports post mid-night every day.

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ApnaComplex
October 24, 2011

Complaint Box Enhancements: Control Community Complaints

Continuing with our philosophy of continuous, incremental enhancements – Administrators now have a setting to control if members can post Community Complaints (which is enabled by default). When disabled, members will only be allowed to post Personal complaints. Go to Complex->Settings to see this in action.

Configure ApnaComplex to suit your society needs better!

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ApnaComplex
October 2, 2011

Complaint Box Enhancements: Addition of “Serviced By” field

We have just made your Facility Manager more productive. The Complaint Box Admins now have the ability to select the “Maintenance Staff” who actually attends the complaint. Admins can not only select the staff – but also SMS the staff on the latest update of the complaint at any time. Now, there are multiple benefits of this – Committee Members / Facility managers can instantly know the workload on a given staff. In addition, the SMS acts as an mechanism to instantly inform of new complaints to the staff in the field.

Try and update any Complaint and you can see this in action. We also enhanced the reports to be able to easily get reports for complaints worked by staff.

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ApnaComplex
December 13, 2010

Things to take care while organising parties in a Housing Society

In an year, there are various occasions when we hold a party at our house – Birthdays of family members, Diwali party, Christmas & New Year celebrations and a whole lot more. However, there is a marked difference between holding a party in an apartment complex and holding a party in an independent house.

In a independent house, you are your own boss and you can do whatever you want to; but in an apartment complex, there are other people too who live in the same building as you, and therefore, certain things need to be kept in mind in order to make sure that your party is a success:

Inviting a select few without offending others

Often, this is the most precarious situation one finds themselves in while organising a party in an residential society. There are times when you cannot invite everybody in the building, but you don’t want to offend people too. A solution to this could be calling up the people you want to invite to the party, instead of going from door to door and making a hullabaloo of it. But then again, people would eventually come to know at the day of the party. To ensure that nobody feels left out, you can distribute some sweets or small souvenirs in the entire building after the party so that they don’t feel left out.

Take permission from the management

Prior to holding any party, inform the management about it and ask for permission to play music etc. If you holding the party in the lawns or the club house, make sure you take requisite permission from concerned people so that they do not play spoilsport at your party.

Lower the volume after 11pm

People do not like being disturbed during their sleeping time. If you are playing music at your party, make sure you turn down the volume after 11. Doing so not only ensures that people have a sound sleep but it also shows that you care for other people in the apartment, which could work in your favour even if you left somebody out.

Pay attention to parking

Apartment complexes do not have a huge space to accommodate the guests’ cars vehicles. Make sure you inform the guests beforehand that the cars have to be parked outside the gate and see to it that the cars are parked properly, so that people coming in and out of the apartment are not inconvenienced. You could tell the guard at the gate to help people park their vehicles in order to make sure there are no traffic jams outside the building.

Taking care of decoration

Without proper decoration, a party seems to lack the fizz. Apart from decorating the apartment, decorating the hallways can add the wow factor to your party. However, since you don’t own the complete building, decorating the hallway can offend the residents of the apartment. But there’s a way out. You can decorate the hallways without causing damage to the building. Instead of using decoration material which requires hammering in nails in the walls of the building, a better way to decorate is to use decorative lights. You could use the decorative lights on a plant, which is either owned by the apartment management or a plant of your own. If it is a day party, you could play around with rangolis made of flowers or use other flower decoration which does not require hanging it from the walls. 

Keeping the above points in mind can make sure that you have a rocking party without offending anyone in the apartment complex. After all, you are going to party just once in a while, but you have to live with the apartment residents all the while.

ApnaComplex is an apartment managment software. We are offering a 30-day no obligation free trial for every complex. Go ahead and register your complex and see how you can manage your complex more easily, efficiently, and effectively.
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ApnaComplex
November 22, 2010

How to maintain swimming pool in your Apartment?

A swimming pool is an irresistible attraction in any residential apartment complex. It is the perfect way to exercise, unwind, and simply splash around with your kids for a fun, family evening. However, often, apartment associations neglect the maintenance of the swimming pool, making it an eye sore, as well as a health hazard.

To prevent potential health problems, here are some simple swimming pool maintenance tips.

  1. Maintain optimum pool chemistry

    A swimming pool must have a pH level of 7.2 – 7.6 for the water sanitizers, such as chlorine, to work well. Using a drop test kit to regularly measure the pH level of the swimming pool in your apartment can prevent the pH level from going too high or too low. To lower pH levels, Hydrochloric Acid is commonly used. There are other alternatives to maintain the pH level, such as granular acid or pH minus. The amount of total dissolved solids and the calcium hardness of the water in the swimming pool should be tested every six months.

  2. Use Chlorine to treat water

    Chlorine is the most commonly used pool sanitizer; however it has certain side effects such as red eyes and dry eyes. Floating chlorine feeders and automatic chlorine feeders are better ways of maintaining chlorine levels, as compared to simply putting chlorine sticks/chlorine tablets in the pool.

  3. Alternative treatment methods

    There are alternative means of water treatment which you can use to sanitize your apartment pool. Mineral purification systems, which pump the water through minerals like silver and copper, kill the algae and bacteria present in the water. Salt chlorinators are another great way to maintain the chlorine level of your pool. An electrode is attached to the plumbing system of the pool, which can convert the natural salt added, to chlorine.

    4. Looking for a agency to maintain swimming pool in your apartment complex?
    Check out Marketplace from ApnaComplex and request for quotations from multiple swimming pool maintenance agencies at the click of a button.

  4. Regular cleaning of the swimming pool

    Pools need to be cleaned every day. Leafs and other debris must be removed daily. The swimming pool pumps must be run daily for a couple of hours, so that the water in the pool remains fresh. In summers, the pump needs to be run for a longer time to filter the water adequately. The walls and bottom tiles of a pool need to be brushed frequently to prevent algae from growing on these surfaces.

  5. Keep the skimmers, and other pool machinery and equipment clean

    Pool skimmers, Leaf catchers, pumps and chlorine dispensers must be cleaned regularly. It is easy to ignore cleaning the skimmers, but if they get clogged, the circulation of water in the pool will be reduced, because of which the water in the swimming pool may become unsafe for swimmers.

  6. Checking the water level

    The water level of a pool should never go below the level of the pool skimmers, or the pool circulation mechanism will not work effectively. A good option is to install automatic water levelers to check the water level and fill the pool with water once the water level drops below a specific level.

  7. Pool hygiene rules

    The apartment association should have a set of common rules for all the pool users, such as taking showers before entering the pool and not throwing any food items in the pool. The swimming pool is the common property of all the apartment owners, and they should take care to ensure that it remains clean and hygienic.

  8. Safety measures

    It is equally important to maintain safe swimming pool practices, such as specific pool timings, adult supervision when children use the pool, basic first aid training to the pool users, and safety kit. The edges of the pool can become slippery and cause people to slip and get hurt. So, keeping the pool surroundings clean and safe is always recommended.

A well maintained swimming pool is an asset to an apartment complex. But improper care can turn into an eye sore.

ApnaComplex is an apartment managment software. We are offering a 30-day no obligation free trial for every complex. Go ahead and register your complex and see how you can manage your complex more easily, efficiently, and effectively.
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ApnaComplex
November 19, 2010

Is The Estate Manager Of Your Apartment Efficient? – Part 2

In a two part series, ApnaComplex examines the Estate Manager Efficiency, the profile and job resposnibilities of an estate manager. Read the Part-1 of this Estate Manager Special here.

Maintaining accounts and performing bookkeeping activities

The apartment estate manager is supposed to ensure that all accounts pertaining to purchase and sales relating to the apartment are in order. As most estate managers are required to handle bookkeeping and accounts, having an intrinsic knowledge of accounting software is beneficial for the apartment estate manager. Computerized management of accounts saves time and also ensures accountability and transparency.

Human Resources

Hiring household and estate staff and ensuring they perform their duties to the best of their ability is a key aspect of being an apartment manager. The apartment manager is also responsible for releasing any excess staff in a smooth manner. The manager has to run a background check of the local labor, while hiring and also check for any past criminal records.

The apartment manager has to ensure that the staffs receive their payments on time and arrears in payment, if any, are subsequently paid. Settling pay hike disputes with unions and other organizations is also an important job role of an apartment manager. Unions are volatile organizations and maintaining a cordial relationship with them is important. Thus, an apartment manager has to be well versed in personal relations as well.

Dispute Management and Resolution

The apartment manager has to act as an intermediary in the context of any disputes over common areas or disagreements on usage of areas such as swimming pool, gym, sauna and sports rooms. In any large apartment complex there are disputes between the residents from time to time and the apartment manager has to be mature enough to handle such volatile situations. The manager has to find a proper solution that is suitable for both the parties involved and settle the dispute.

Ensuring smooth processes

The apartment manager has to ensure that residents can move in and out of the apartment in a smooth and easy manner. The manager has to maintain a list of efficient packers and movers in the area and he has to base this list in terms of past services rendered.

Aiding in promotional activities

The apartment manager has to coordinate with any private agencies, which are looking to engage in promotional activities in the apartment complex. Obtaining special discounts and commission for the apartment is to be done by the apartment manager.

Conducting workshops for residents and networking

The estate manager can network with the neighboring apartment communiites and layouts and then organize small workshops on topics related to community living and efficient living to all residents. Topics such as eco-friendly living, rain warer harvesting, best practice sharing among communities will be well recieved by all residents. This also helps in bringing together all communities in a neighborhood

Ability to work with Apartment Management Software

Employing property management software also ensures timely collection and payment of dues. It also helps the estate manager communicate with vendors and ensure timely delivery of required estate materials. On the whole, knowledge of appropriate apartment management software will make the apartment manager an efficient and organized individual.

Other aspects of an effcient estate manager include:

  • Ensuring timely and correct disposal of waste in designated areas. The apartment manager has to ensure that PWD department is ready to assist in terms of problems with sewage overflow during the monsoon season.
  • Maintaining a contact list for emergency series that include police, ambulance, public works department, water department and fire service.
  • Gaining knowledge of at least 3 different languages so as to be able to converse with different people. Ideally English, Hindi and the local Lingua Franca
ApnaComplex – the value for money apartment management software is offering 30-day no obligation free trial for every complex. Go ahead and register your complex and see how you can manage your complex more easily, efficiently, and effectively.
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ApnaComplex
November 19, 2010

Is The Estate Manager Of Your Apartment Efficient? – Part 1

In a two part series, ApnaComplex examines the Estate Manager Efficiency, the profile and job responsibilities of an estate manager.

Definition And Outline Of Job Profile – Estate Manager For Apartments

An estate manager is a manager or a caretaker of a property or piece of land that is privately owned. Estate managers are similar to landlords and they perform many similar functions. Estate managers might be either permanent or short term caretakers of property and they are generally appointed by the owner of the land or his legally appointed representative, such as the apartment owners association in the case of apartments. Apartment managers are responsible for managing the everyday activities of apartment and this may vary from something as simple as collecting rent to settling disputes between residents amicably. Apartment managers are generally required to live inside the premises of the land they are responsible for, usually in separate living quarters. You can use this artcile to understand the profile of an estate manager, how to look for for an efficient estate manager and also evaluate if your current estate manager fits the bill.

Power Of Attorney, Responsible Management

The estate manager is responsible for representing the residents of the complex. The manager has to take up any complaints and redress them. The apartment manger speaks on behalf of the apartment to the police or any government body. S/he is also responsible for the overall management and smooth running of the day to day activities of the apartment.

Qualification Of An Apartment Manager

An apartment manager is required to have formal training and prior experience in managing an estate or piece of private property. Generally, managers are also obligated to have some knowledge of land laws and rules pertaining to tenants and settling of disputes. Some amount of qualification in accounting precepts and formal training in computers are also essential to be an efficient estate manager. Managers are also required to have a wide knowledge in management of general household duties. It is also important that apartment estate managers know the in depth functioning and mechanisms behind the working of machinery and equipments such as elevators, water pumps, sewage and storm water drains, generators, water tanks and piping. This is because the apartment estate manager is required to deal with a variety of vendors and individuals to repair, operate or maintain these equipments and basic knowledge will aid in speeding up any processes that involve these.

Duties Of An Apartment Manager:

Specific duties of estate managers may differ according to requirement, however some of the basic duties of an estate manager are as follows:

Ensuring proper security

Ensuring security in the premises and coordinating with police to ensure that they arrive on time in case of any emergency is an essential role of the apartment manager. Managers are also responsible for ensuring security personnel are hired from a trustworthy agency. The security personnel must be required to check every person that enters the complex and ensure that they are registered at the front desk.

Ensuring effective management of day to day errands

The manager has to ensure that the payment of bills, depositing credit instruments etc are done in an efficient manner. On a daily basis an apartment may have a huge volume of transactions and the manager has to keep a record of each transaction so that the residents or the association can inspect it if they wish to. All purchasing and selling has to be transparent. The manager is also responsible for coordinating with all government agencies such electricity department and public works department.

Inspecting the property

The manager has to inspect the apartment complex at least once a day and ensure that swimming pools, generators and public toilets are in good order. This is important considering it is the only way by which the manager and hence the association will have a clear idea as to how the apartment maintenance staff are performing. The manager also has an opportunity to step out of the office and interact with residents of the apartment and other executive staff to gain insights and feedback that he may not have earlier been in a position to receive.

Presentation and landscaping

Ensuring proper landscaping and making sure that the apartment is presentable is one of the most important duties of an apartment manager. The manager has to maintain the presentation of the apartment so that the value of the apartment complex does not reduce in the future. In order to do this he has to coordinate with the staff to ensure regular and efficient sweeping and cleaning of common areas. In case any painting work is required, the manager has to ensure this is done without any inconvenience to the residents.

Events

Organizing private parties and events that pertain to the estate and coordinating with the various associations in the apartment is also a part of the manager’s duties. The manager has to make sure that materials and the manpower required for these events are made available. An apartment is a community and the manager must bring together the apartment residents during festive and social events to ensure harmony in the complex and to foster the community spirit.

To be continued in part-2

ApnaComplex – the value for money apartment management software is offering 30-day no obligation free trial for every complex. Go ahead and register your complex and see how you can manage your complex more easily, efficiently, and effectively.
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