If you’re not satisfied with your current factor, the chances are your neighbours feel the same, and its time for a change. If you’re unsure how to go about changing factor, our team can guide you through the process.
You can request your Owners Association to arrange a meeting to discuss changing factors and take a vote to switch. Otherwise, you can do this yourself. You’ll need to gather contact details in order to set the meeting up and we can help with this process.
When you live in a new build, you will be tied up with the property factor for a period of time (as detailed in your title deeds). You must fall out-with this tie-in period before you can change factor. This doesn’t apply when your title deeds are silent.
Once you have gathered your neighbour’s details, arrange a meeting to discuss changing factor and take a vote. You must get interest from enough owners (a quorum) to attend the meeting to ensure the vote counts.
When enough people are at the meeting (a quorum), a vote can be taken to get rid of your current factor. If you get a majority vote in line with your deeds, you can then notify your current factor you wish to terminate your agreement with them. Our onboarding team will then get you set up .
When you appoint AboveBoard Homes as your property factor, we can arrange for a chartered surveyor to carry out a building survey to provide you with an objective long term maintenance plan. If you don’t know the condition of your building, it can be very difficult prioritising repairs.
A qualified chartered surveyor carries out a detailed inspection of all external fabric of the building, including roofs and joinery, and provides owners with a full report highlighting recommendations of planned maintenance over a 5 year period with associated costs.
The surveyor notes actions for the owners to take and how best to proceed within the report. The report categorises maintenance depending on when it should be done. This assists homeowners to prioritise what they should focus on and budget for future works.
For some maintenance requirements, a professional will be appointed to act as project manager on behalf of the owners. This person prepares tender specifications, invites tenders from contractors and oversees the project through to completion.
Although you can carry out inspections yourself, it is recommended that re-inspections are carried out by a surveyor every 5 years to ensure the ongoing safety of your building.
We work closely with our Insurance brokers to arrange your insurance policies at the best possible premiums. Whether its block insurance, property owners liability insurance or lift insurance, we can arrange what your property requires.
When you live in a tenement or a new build flat, you are obliged by law to have adequate common insurance to cover your share of costs of major damage to your building. Having a block insurance policy in place which all owners pay for jointly, helps ensure every owner is adequately covered.
You are obliged to ensure your property is well maintained and doesn’t present unnecessary risks of injury to others. This protects property owners in respect of claims made against them for personal injury or property damage suffered by 3rd parties.
This additional insurance is required as block insurance policies don’t normally cover damage caused by the breakdown of passenger lifts. As part of the Insurance policy, insurers offer an inspection service which must be done at six monthly intervals to meet regulatory requirements.
Our insurance provider will receive an underlying commission percentage from the insurer, with the percentage amount varying between insurers. AboveBoard Homes does not charge owners commission for arranging building insurance.
If major works require to be carried out but do not need the services of a specialised professional, our team at AboveBoard Homes can act as project manager on behalf of the owners.
The project management of major works are in addition to our core services. These are classed as significant planned works that exceed our delegated authority limits.
These works can be a result of a recommendation by your building surveyor; cyclical works that are a requirement of your deeds of condition, or by request of your Owners Association.
After agreement is made to carry out work, we take responsibility for tenders and appointing contractors for the work, with regular inspections throughout to ensure timeliness and quality of work.
It gives contractors peace of mind to know the money is available for payment. Funds are therefore gathered from owners prior to work commencing, and can be taken from a Sinking Fund if you have one.
This simple infographic guide will help you to change factor.