Dynamic growth is occurring in the block management market: with growing demand for homes, opportunities arise for property managers.
Problems of Block Management
However, residential management is complex. Management companies need to send out demands for service charges, carry out accounting and keep track of maintenance work.
All information needs to be easily accessible, and individual leases and payment plans have to be monitored.
More properties can lead to escalating outgoings – meaning more work and suppliers to pay.
Postage is a significant expenditure. Block and Estate Management companies need to send out many documents to flat owners – ten per year is standard, and the cost for each is around £6 annually. When multiplied by the number of flats and administration time, this becomes a significant expenditure.
Block managers do not help themselves by using legacy spreadsheets as well as accounting packages, since these are not designed for the job. And manual spreadsheets are equally time-consuming and laborious.
Firms take on more staff to deal with the workload, pushing costs up again. However, there is a solution: automated software that integrates property and financial management. This conserves resources and grows profits.
Software Solutions
These systems cope with day-to-day management as well as the accounts. Where there are complex schedules, IT solutions can carry out calculations based on individual flat owner specifications. This is much more efficient than using spreadsheets.
The software also helps to keep postage costs down. By emailing demands, letters and statements, managers can reduce stationery costs. Block and Estate Management through Complete Property Group is a business that has taken advantage of this technology.
IT solutions need to be scaled according to the size of the business. For the smallest, spreadsheets will probably be used initially: when they grow, the latest software may become attractive.
With between 500 and 1,000 flats, firms usually have enough income to make IT solutions affordable, while businesses which are growing fast and optimistic about future expansion should think about software from the outset.
The biggest benefit of these packages is that by reducing administration time, they enable business owners to bring in more blocks with new revenue streams.
For a comparison of software, look up https://www.softwareadvice.com/uk/property/.
Property management technology will continue to be in demand, creating opportunities for block owners to expand as it evolves.
