Block Management Walton on Thames

As a Managing Agent we know our true business is building relationships with people. Our people are empowered and know that they can make a difference to how people feel about where they live. We call our 'Property Manager's 'Relationship Managers' as our focus which is written up in our values is (a) to build relationships, (b) add value, and (c) to take the initiative: to us this means managing relationships. We lead the market in transparency and focusing on risk, cash, repairs and place making, usually in that order, and was the first Managing Agent to introduce a 'money back guarantee'.

We are not shy of hard work and believe our ability to get stuck in and find solutions that sets us apart. We are innovative to the core and committed to implementing good ideas in pursuit of 5* service.

Being who we are would be impossible without our passionately committed people, whose qualifications we sponsor and who we support professionally to be the best they can be, as achieving a national training award and our Silver IIP status confirms.

How would you like to rejoice and take control of the block management your building? Given that your apartment is a huge personal investment read on and see how we not only help leaseholders set up an RTM Company, serve notices to claim their Right to Manage, help set up the management and implement their strategy going forwards. We find that lack of repair, deteriorating building quality or unexplained high service charges are the usual motivations that drive leaseholders to claim their Right to Manage. After taking over, a not too onerous process in which you don’t even need to prove the Freeholder is at fault, the RTM gets to decide how your hard earned service charge monies will be spent.

Invoking your Right to Manage requires a simple majority of qualifying leaseholders to sign the RTM claim notice. If there are several buildings, then a separate RTM for each may be required and our Solicitors practice Ringley Law will be able to talk you through the criteria and likely future arrangements for your block.

A Freehold Management Company or “FMC” is required when more than four people want to own the Freehold of a block of flats. Each leaseholder who buys into the freehold then becomes a sharehder or member of the Freehold Company and as a stakeholder gets a say in how the block of flats is run.

Together the freehold shareholders/members in the are dependent on each other for support to get things done, and, to create long term common objectives etc... Some leaseholders will need to stand as Freehold Management Company Directors to either appoint a professional Managing Agent or deal with the day to day management of the block themselves.

A Residents’ Management Company is a Limited Liability legal entity formed specifically with the primary goal of ensuring the interests of leaseholders of a residential block of flats are managed. Usually an RMC is formed by the housebuilder or developer who may or may not retain a golden share until they have sold all of the homes. Thereafter, the members or shareholders, comprise the flat owners or leaseholders.

Managing property whether leasehold or freehold is about a shared understanding of what needs doing, why, the cost and ensuring through transparent dealings the estate charges we have to collect are seen to be value for money. Ringley is tenure blind and seeks to engage with all stakeholders whether that be private and mixed tenure housing estates where the owners may comprise; House owners, Leaseholders of Apartment Blocks, or Social Housing sectors.

We are acutely aware that look and feel of the environment and estate lands around one's home has a huge impact on the quality of life and feeling of health and well-being and sense of community created. Effective estate and housing management translates into residents enjoying a clean, well managed and peaceful environment and translates into improving assets for owners in the long haul.

Gone are the days where a Freeholder can sit in the background collecting ground rent and doing little else. We live in an age where leaseholders are consumers, parliament has rejected ground rents that double every 10 years and has set plans to outlaw ground rent on all new leases. In short, the Law has changed and increasingly the balance of power favours leaseholders.

Happy leaseholders who see their service charges as value for money are less likely to buy their freehold or claim their Right to Manage. This along with a predefined strategy on lesse extensons, such as to offer shorter lease extensions with a modern ground rent will drive the freehold investment vslue up. The combined expertise of Ringley Law to deal with Lease Extensions and Ringley Surveyors to value premiums and negotiate best prices means that Ringley can uniquely cover all bases.

Ringley collects Ground Rents for Freehold Investors, Developers and resident controlled Freehold Management Companies. Ground rent has to be paid whether or not there is a disagreement with the landlord so collecting it effectively is a matter of ensuring correct service and the right prescribed notes are included.

Delivering investors more of their money is possible because our cost base is lower. We use annual demand packs and send copy demands, polite reminders and final notices by email. We offer Leaseholders the option to pay by direct debit also.

At Ringley bulk processes, robotic accounting and automated allocations and the mailing warehouse we use together make light work of managing ground rent collection. Together this creates the magic and is why our fee is not the 10% to 12% norm, but is just 6%*, some 50% cheaper.

We know block management handovers are not always easy but there are ways to get the data we need to get started and getting you set up for operational block management is our headache not yours.

We follow the ARMA recommended handover list and will seek all property docs including: insurance, contracts and contractor lists, owners, title documents, accounting, site staff payroll, health & safety and company information.

We like to write out to all owners before we start on site so they can get a flavour of Ringley. You’ll find us very approachable throughout the transition process.

With as little as a lease and list of owners immediate set up is possible. We’ll reserve the position on opening balances and other matters whilst we piece the rest together.

There are many overlapping aspects to undertaking a works on the structure and fabric of a building or to communal services ranging from technical diagnosis to legal consultation and of course public relations to get owners to buy into their share of costs and accept these as “reasonable”.

Site staff are not mere namesake remote outworkers but integrally connected fully fledged team members who get daily companywide updates, are on the same customer relationship management systems, have access to floor plans to assist in problem solving and customers can see their inspections on the Ringley Gateway portal. They are your true assets critical in adding value to the capital growth of your development – they are our (yours and ours) eyes and ears gauging your property’s underlying pulse and wellbeing!

“We see success as the emotional connection of each resident to where they live, so the task is simple... to make a difference one resident at a time.”