BLOCK INSURE NEWS ON THE BLOCK PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AWARDS 2011-12 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The list of Finalists and winners are:

London Property Management Company of the Year
sponsored by Deverell Smith Recruitment

Finalists
Crabtree Property Management; Granville & Company; London Residential Management;  Trust Property Management; Rendall & Rittner; HML Shaw; Farrar Property Management
 

Highly Commended

Granville & Company; Rendall & Rittner; Farrar Property Management

Winner

Trust Property Management

Trust Property Management impressed the judges by managing the expectations of their clients through things like house rules, maintaining a close liaison with RMC directors, offering a tendering process which is helpful to small contractors and taking a “whole market” approach to insurance requirements.  Amongst the many testimonials received for this company, it is notable that one nominee said they: “abide by the spirit as well as the letter of the law” and another said, “...since they came along, the block is now harmonious again and all of the previous issues have now been dealt with”.

Regional Property Management Company of the Year
sponsored by Deacon

Highly Commended

Cotswold Property Management Services; Napier Management Services; Premier Estates

Winner

Warwick Estates Property Management

Warwick Estates had some fabulous nominations and excellent testimonials from RMC Directors including that they answer questions with “honesty and integrity”, “communications and dealings with them are pleasant, amiable and constructive” and that they are a “young and hungry company”. They impressed the judges with their “very personal service”, and their policy of not cherry-picking buildings, offering online facilities and limiting the number of blocks a property manager manages.
 

Managing Agent of an RMC/RTM Block
sponsored by Tetra Consulting

Finalists
Ringley Chartered Surveyors; Mainstay Residential; Pembertons Property Management; KTS Estate Management; Caxtons Commercial; Amax Estates & Property Services
 

Highly Commended

Mainstay Residential; KTS Estate Management; Caxtons Commercial

Winner

Pembertons Property Management

Pembertons Property Management impressed the judges with the way their team comprising Michelle Mirzai and Christopher Burbridge dealt with a difficult and complex RTM process at Imperial Hall, their approachability and the glowing testimonials received from the resident directors of the Right to Manage company which complimented Pembertons for “going the extra mile”.

London Property Manager of the Year
sponsored by Temple PM

Finalists
Lorena Calinov (Crabtree Property Management); Maxine Fothergill (Amax Estates & Property Services); Larisa Chamotienko (Chainbow); Sylwia Balcerzak (Chainbow); William Heneker (Lamberts Chartered Surveyors); Benjamin JC Mire (Trust Property Management)

Highly Commended

Larisa Chamotienko (Chainbow); Benjamin JC Mire (Trust Property Management)

Winner

Lorena Calinov (Crabtree Property Management)

Lorena Calinov is a very personable character and impressed the judges with her frugalness and reactions to residents’ concerns.  Putting her “heart and soul” into the job, she showed she is a good all rounder and the judges admired the way she had progressed from being a PA to a property manager in a short space of time and in so doing helped the company build new business.

Regional Property Manager of the Year

Finalists
Stacey Haine (Essex Properties); Danielle Twittey (Residential Management Group); Paul Spavins (OM Property Management); Kathy Wilson (KTS Estate Management); Tony Martin (Caxtons Commercial); Maxine Fothergill (Amax Estates & Property Services)
 

Highly Commended

Paul Spavins (OM Property Management); Kathy Wilson (KTS Estate Management); Maxine Fothergill (Amax Estates & Property Services)

Winner

Danielle Twittey (Residential Management Group)

Danielle Twittey impressed the judges by demonstrating a massive turnaround in one estate from a crisis position.  Not only did she have to get service charge payments going, but anti-social behaviour on site had to be tackled and the winner showed immense bravery in doing so. A Code of Conduct for letting agents was also introduced, and the really heartfelt thanks from residents was evident from the nominations.

Young Property Manager of the Year
sponsored by QUBE Global Software

Finalists
Will Hallworth (Premier Estates); Sylwia Balcerzak (Chainbow); Laura Wells (Stonedale Property Management); Larisa Chamotienko (Chainbow); Sapna Jadev (Vision Property & Estate Management); Hayley Warnes (Amax Estates & Property Services); Kevin Nealis (HML Shaw)

Highly Commended

Laura Wells (Stonedale Property Management); Larisa Chamotienko (Chainbow); Hayley Warnes (Amax Estates & Property Services)

Winner

Will Hallworth (Premier Estates);

Will Hallworth impressed the judges with an eye for detail on figures, for taking it upon himself to get IRPM qualified, for being the “face” of the company to thousands of leaseholders and for emergency crisis management.  In one example, Will drove 100 miles in the middle of the night to deal with a serious fire.  Amongst the fantastic endorsements received, Will was was praised for being “unfailingly polite and calm at all times”, “highly competent and skilled at co-ordinating, liaising and communicating with all parties to successfully resolve issues” and “...also a really nice guy”.  
 

Porter of the Year
sponsored by Ringley Chartered Surveyors

Finalists
Mounir Benkacem (HML Holdings - RG Kensington Management Company); Michael Thompson (Highlands RTM Co); David Lewis (Pembertons Property Management- Courtfield Gardens, Kensington); Sue Hammond (Crabtree Property Management - Maple Court, Brentwood); John Davison (TMS Group - New Palace Place, Monck Street, London); Geraldine Wilson (Smith Waters - Dorchester Court)

Highly Commended

Mounir Benkacem (HML Holdings - RG Kensington Management Company); David Lewis (Pembertons Property Management- Courtfield Gardens, Kensington)  Sue Hammond (Crabtree Property Management - Maple Court, Brentwood)

Winner

Geraldine Wilson (Smith Waters - Dorchester Court)

Geraldine Wilson impressed the judges by being “cool in a crisis” and someone who clearly cares about her work.  One one occasion, she took great care in dealing with a serious leak in a basement corridor involving a disintegrating pipe.  Geraldine knows her residents well and was complimented for a building that is well run and spotless.

Block Insurer of the Year
sponsored by JJ Homes
 

Finalists
Fowler Penfold Property; First Sure; JELF; Block Insure; OAMPS; PI Property Insurance; Deacon

Highly Commended

JELF; Deacon

Winner

1st Sure

1st Sure is a responsive, customer-facing company who impressed the judges by treating customers fairly, removing unfair terms and conditions and sorting out under-insured buildings.  They are an innovative company, creating new products for niches such as heritage flats - which represent 55% of listed property in the UK.  Testimonials praised them for their “quick response” and “efficiency”.

Contractor of the Year

Finalists
Parkway Electrical Services;Envirocare Maintenance Solutions;  Laundry Republic

Winner

Envirocare Maintenance Solutions 

Envirocare Maintenance Solutions impressed the judges with their clearly written contracts, stakeholder liaison, customer feedback mechanisms, ability to take on challenging sites and participation in community activities.  In addition, a great set of nominations found favour with the judges - complimenting Envirocare for making “regular, thorough site inspection visits”, for “going above and beyond what residents expect”, and for taking “the quality of their work very seriously”.

Solicitors of the Year
sponsored by Residential Management Group

Finalists
J B Leitch Solicitors LLP; Brady Solicitors; Piper Smith Watton LLP; Brethertons LLP Solicitors; SLC Solicitors; Housing and Property Law Partnership; A J Preston Solicitors

Highly Commended

Brethertons LLP Solicitors; SLC Solicitors; Housing and Property Law Partnership

Winner

Brady Solicitors

Brady Solicitors displayed a synergy between IT and face-to-face consultation, their very responsive advice, a good recovery record on charges and costs and secondments to managing agents.  Testimonials endorsed this company for their “specialist expertise” and their “speedy and seamless service”.

Accounts Team of the Year

Finalists
Cowgill Holloway; Mainstay Residential; Cotswold Property Management Co.

Winner

Cotswold Property Management Co.

Cotswold Property Management Company demonstrated to the judges their understanding of the importance of accounting in the property management process, particularly the need for accountability to residents. Client nominations describe their “consistent service” and “their invaluable expertise and support”, and their was also a ringing endorsement from a chartered accountant who praised their “financial management”.  The judges thought it even more praiseworthy that this was achieved through an accounts team who also have to cope with the challenge of part-time working.

Website of the Year
sponsored by JB Leitch Solicitors LLP

Finalists
Leasehold Life; Locale (Strata Occupiers Website); Laundry Republic; OM Property Management (Your Property Online); Dwellant; Cotswold Property Management Services

Highly Commended

Leasehold Life;   OM Property Management (Your Property Online)

Winner

Locale (Strata Occupiers Website)

The Strata Occupiers Website impressed the judges by being tailored to the individual offering a breadth of service including a personal home organiser, a contact management system and for its clarity and information.

Customer Service Award

Finalists
OM Property Management; Cotswold Property Management Services; KTS Estate Management; Residential Management Group; Premier Estates; Base Estate Management

Highly Commended

Cotswold Property Management Services; KTS Estate Management; Premier Estates

Winner

OM Property Management

The award was given to Tracey McCabe and her customer service team at OM Property Management.

The judges stressed that they unanimously decided to give this award for a particular instance of customer service, namely the handling of the aftermath of the administration of the Peverel Group holding companies. The judges recognised that the company was faced with an extremely difficult situation, perhaps one of the most challenging facing the sector this past year, and that on other occasions leaseholders had complained when customer focus was lacking.

However, the judges decided that with this particular situation the management of customer relations and continuity of service compared favourably with similar circumstances which other companies had not handled so well. In particular, the judges noted that there are a number of vulnerable residents in this organisation, and the judges recognised the important role customer service had to play in order to allay their fears about service charge and reserve fund money and continued management operations.
 

Barrister of the Year
sponsored by Farrar Property Management

Finalists
Richard Egleton (Pallant Chambers); Matthew West (Enterprise Chambers); Mark Loveday (Tanfield Chambers)

Highly Commended

Richard Egleton (Pallant Chambers); Matthew West (Enterprise Chambers)

Winner

Mark Loveday (Tanfield Chambers)

Mark Loveday is well recognised for his expertise in the work he does for the industry and impressed the judges with a strong nomination.  Testimonials complimented the winner for combining his “deep knowledge with practical experience and sound commonsense”.

The winners in each category were announced at the awards dinner on 5^th December 2011. Please join us next year.

The judges have recorded a short video about the judging process and some tips for entering next year's event, which we will be showcasing on our website shortly.