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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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Auditioning for a replacement managing agent can feel like a time-consuming gamble, and it’s not a process you want to keep repeating. With numerous managing agents to choose from, how do you differentiate between the many hopefuls and make sure you find the one who is exactly right? The standard procedure is to find companies which are members of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), invite a selection of firms to tender, listen to

Retirement housing specialist Goldsborough Estates received three silver medals in the annual awards presented by the Association of Retirement Housing Managers. The awards are presented to retirement housing providers performing the best in customer satisfaction surveys. Goldsborough Estates received silver in all three ARHM award categories – ‘Participation in management and decision making’, ‘Satisfaction with the overall service provided’ and ‘The service charge represents good value for money’. The

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 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

ARMA, the trade body for managing agents, has stepped up its search to replace David Hewett as Chief Executive. Peter Dening, Chairman of ARMA has stated that the association is “...at a crossroads ...”. Specialist recruitment agency, Saxton Bampfylde has been retained for the search. Hewett’s successor will be reporting to the Council of ARMA, and tasked with recommending and implementing policy amongst other key responsibilities. Salary and the number of candidates who have so far applied have not been