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The chairman of property management and surveying group Scanlans is celebrating a 40-year career milestone.   Ian Stanistreet considered becoming a journalist or lawyer after leaving high school in 1978 but got a job as a trainee surveyor with Manchester city centre practice Frank Westbrook on £25 a week.    At the time, the practice was owned by Frank’s son Neil, a former Lord Mayor of Manchester who was later knighted.   Ian, 58, qualified in 1987 and shortly afterwards acquired the firm when Neil retir

2018 marks Merco's 10th Birthday!  This time 10 years ago, award-winning founding director, Simon Dresdner, launched Merco from his own garden shed. A frustrated ex-property manager, inspired by his own negative experiences, he decided to give Greater Manchester what it was sorely lacking; a skilled and reliable cleaning company. After starting out with himself as the sole employee, he went on to build our fantastic company, which now employs over 100 staff. This 10-year milestone marks a decade of rap

Pennycuick Collins has marked the retirement of Peter Dening at a celebratory lunch for staff at the firm’s Hagley Road offices. Peter has enjoyed a long and successful career working in Birmingham’s property sector having joined James and Lister Lea as a management surveyor in 1975, with direct control of the management of a residential property portfolio. Peter moved to Pennycuick & Brown, now known as Pennycuick Collins, in 1987, and was promoted to Partner in 1990, with responsibility for the resident

QUESTION I would appreciate some guidance on how to tackle being threatened with legal action by a contractor for non settlement of an invoice when the work was not done correctly. I'm one of four Directors of a MCL for a residential estate consisting of 122 leasehold one bedroom flats and maisonettes who own the freehold. Directors are elected leaseholders who voluntarily manage the non-profit Management Company assisted by a managing agent. In September 2017 we sought quotes to replace an ageing interc

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) hosted its Annual Conference on Tuesday 9 October, with the sell-out event seeing more than 300 professionals gathering for the main event in the leasehold enfranchisement calendar.   This year’s conference addressed the legislation changes the sector will likely undergo in the coming years. Indeed, the opening lecture was delivered by Law Commissioner Professor Nicholas Hopkins who presented an update on the Law Commission’s work on enf

These days, the block management interview process is rarely a stressful affair. Well, it need not be if you prepare properly. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail – Benjamin Franklin The block management industry has at no time been more demanding yet it is rising to the challenge and showing levels of professionalism never seen before. Thanks to the IRPM in part, property managers’ profiles have been raised. New practitioners have deliberately chosen property management for a career and t

The history of housing in the UK is, in general, a rather dry topic. But in recent times, during what could fairly be described as turmoil in the housing market, the whole debate about tenure has became rather pertinent, writes Richard Berridge In the UK we are used to the debate over ownership v rental, with rental usually coming out as negative and ownership positive. Different generations have different views over many things, and, as generational evolution will have it, what was good for mum and dad,

It’s essential to follow the correct procedure or your claim as a landlord may fail, warns Amanda Hamilton. If you rent your flat and find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing to get a tenant out, it’s generally an unpleasant situation for both sides. The two routes to evicting a tenant are either serving a Section 21 Notice of Possession or a Section 8 Eviction Notice under the Housing Act 1988. Both notices produce the same outcome: you get your property back. However, it’s essential you’

What do you think is the biggest challenge in residential property management over the next six months? That was the question asked by property recruitment specialist PropRec when they recently conducted a survey property and regional managers around the UK Over half of the respondents said their biggest challenge would be increased legislation/regulation as the biggest challenge. Since the tragic events of Grenfell, the consensus in the market is that over the coming months adapting to legislative change

The South Place Hotel might currently be enjoying its moment in the spotlight as one of the key locations in the hit BBC1 drama Bodyguard. But at the beginning of September it was the setting for a dinner and discussion event attended by played some of the biggest names in block management, co-hosted by News on the Block and Fixflo. David Goldberg, of Pod Management, skilfully moderated a lively discussion that was supposed to pause for dinner but carried right the way through to post-dessert coffees. The

The role of a fire warden has become more widely known in the media due to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower. However, what has not been explained is the important role these wardens play in the safety of a building. There is also a lack of education within the industry on what is required under the law to have a fire warden on site. The role of a fire warden involves both proactive day to day duties and reactive emergency tasks which usually involves the following: Checking all fire exits and rout

A watch manager begged his superiors to abandon the ‘stay-put’ advice given to Grenfell Tower residents within minutes of arriving at the burning block, the official inquiry was told. Norman Harrison, who was watch manager from Wembley, was called to the scene at 1:15am – 20 minutes after London Fire Brigade received its first call – and quickly realised something was wrong. Mr Harrison, who has 25 years’ experience, told the inquiry in a written statement that he had “never seen a fire like it” and the i