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Alexandre Boyes were awarded silver in the Best Single Lettings Office South East and shortlisted for the Best Block Management Office by the Times / Sunday Times Property Awards. The Judges Report stated: “This agency is well run, offering a wide ranging and appealing level of services.” Kate Boyes commented that ‘this is a particularly exciting recognition for our estate and block management discipline, a department in its infancy, with lots of exciting developments planned.’

The Institute of Residential Property Management is celebrating as Gemma Tracey (Marr-Johnson & Stevens) became the Institute’s 2,000th member. Anthony Essien, Chief Executive of LEASE said “the IRPM have played a major role in raising standards within the property management profession.  I congratulate them in achieving this significant membership milestone”. Landlords and Residents’ Management Companies are increasingly expecting their managing agents to demonstrate that they employ appropriately qual

Specialist service charge and ground rent recovery solicitors, J B Leitch LLP has celebrated the opening of their new office in Liverpool City Centre. The firm recently purchased an additional 3,000 sq ft of lower ground floor office space on Kent Street, close to their existing offices in the Ropewalks district of Liverpool. Jonathan Leitch, managing partner of the firm said: “On top of the £250,000 investment in the refurbishment, we are also planning a further IT investment to ensure our IT infrastr

ONE of the North West’s largest independent corporate insurance brokers, Bridge Insurance Brokers Limited, has announced the launch of a London office. Well established as a national and international broker and risk adviser, Bridge is capitalising on 40 years of success in the industry. The Award winning firm have recently designed an exclusive and specialist insurance facility for blocks of flats, called FlatGuard. FlatGuard provides an all round insurance solution incorporating wide-ranging bespoke

The FPRA and The Leasehold Advisory Service teamed up for a Leaseholder Residents Rights Workshop organised and chaired by local Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy. Stella Creasy said: ‘Over the course of the last few months a number of subjects relating to leases have been raised with me by local residents. These include increases in Service Charges, the poor performance of management companies, the requirement to take insurance cover with the management companies preferred insurer, and most recently increas

Over the last 6 months of reported cases, the Ombudsman Services: Property has investigated 9 cases of complaint against managing agents. In reaching its final decision, the Ombudsman required the managing agent to apologise (in three cases), to pay compensation of between £50-100 (in three cases), to take remedial action (in eight cases) and to take no further action (in one case). The complaints presented included: failure to provide a service charge certificate with the accounts, failure to upkeep the

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Last year The Federation of Private Residents’ Association (FPRA) responded to the Law Reform Consultation expressing concerns over a variety of areas of leasehold law requiring urgent reform to protect private sector leaseholders in a largely unregulated property management industry. In a letter signed by Law Commissioner, Professor Elizabeth Cooke she confirmed discussions with Government had indicated that other projects were considered to be of more pressing concern at present than the protection of

The beauty parade is over; you’ve picked up a substantial new block with a winning combination of service, excellence and value for money. And this is where the fun can start: extracting the documentation from the previous managing agent. When you take over a new block, you will want to secure as much personal, financial and property documentation as possible from your predecessors. As a bare minimum, you should ask the managing agent for the previous six years’ documentation relating to service charge

Property managers are increasingly coming under pressure from residents to upgrade their current TV systems, particularly given the recent advances in TV technology and the digital switchover (DSO). This was the case at Haddenhurst Court, a 2 storey block of 37 private retirement apartments in Berkshire, managed by a national retirement property company. In the past, residents watched TV through an analogue communal TV aerial. However, many have found the range of TV options quite limited. Addressing th

A 191 page guide to fire safety in blocks of flats has been published by the Local Government Group. The document also includes relevant case studies that focus on some of the common issues found in blocks of flats with suggested fire safety solutions. FPRA Chairman Bob Smytherman, who was also a member of the reference group that produced the guide, said: “The previous advice covered most types of property, but it was never sufficient for common parts of blocks of flats and some landlords and residenti

Property Manager Tony Martin, from Caxtons, one of the largest independent property practices in the South East, and his colleague, Gemma Weighill, took part in the recent British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton cycle ride. They raised in excess of £300 and said they were following in the footsteps of former Chairman, James Pilcher, a keen fundraiser. Sadly, James died of cancer last November.