Residents Association

What is Residents Association?

There has been a fast growing trend where larger subdivisions create multiple freehold properties on the same site. Freehold as they are, communal facilities and shared areas have created the needs of maintenance, monitor of unwanted behaviour and solution for disputes. The ultimate goal of a Resident Association is protection of common interest and property value rather than restriction. It is formed by a group of owners of land or homes that have been brought together in order to achieve the goal above.

With such common goals as guiding principles, a typical resident association might have the following responsibilities:

  • Maintenance of the overall presentation of the communal areas, such as landscape, stormwater ponds and other display.
  • Maintenance and upkeep of communal facilities, such as street lighting, security, driveways, lanes and carpark.
  • Monitor of unwanted behaviour and enforcing bylaws
  • Arrange competitive, collective insurance quotes
  • Collect levies in order to carry out the responsibilities listed above.
  • Work with the resident’s community together to address issues within their development area and act as a voice for that community.

How does a Residents Association Work?

The Residents Association land covenant and bylaws states what is to be done. The Residents Association requires a common account to hold any funds for future repair of any common areas. The residents vote, using a majority vote, at an annual meeting of the residents.

Why choose Rempstone?

  • Experienced:
    • We have full knowledge of all aspects of resident association and have accumulated experience in setting up resident associations and managing them on behalf of property owners;
    • Our association managers are SCA Accredited body corporate and residents association manager.
  • Efficient:
    • We have a committed team with easy accessibility;
    • We offer multilingual services, including English, Mandarin and Cantonese with professional knowledge regarding all your property matters.
  • Earnest:
    • We are passionate about our course and have a strong belief in Resident Association as a form of protection rather behaviour restriction;
    • Coming from investor backgrounds, we are empathic to property owners, therefore offer exceptional care to our clients as if they are our own properties.

Our service:

  • Rules : we provide comprehensive assistance in preparing Residents Association bylaws, covering all aspects from the establishment to enforcement.
  • Budgets: we provide reliable budgets in relations to resident associations in all stages of the property development, including but not limited to, preliminary marketing costs, collective cost of insurance and cost of maintenance of communal facilities.
  • Maintenance of service contracts : we negotiate and execute property maintenance and service contracts for the Residents Association in order to achieve the best results with the most reasonable cost.
  • Annual Meetings : we coordinate and facilitate the Residents Association Annual General Meeting within the prescribed time, under the principle of transparency and fairness.
  • Insurance: we obtain relevant costs for insurance requirements and negotiate the best deals for the society, as well as liaising with insurance company for any claims incurred.
  • Records: we put in place a comprehensive filing system to documents records of property features, rules, complaints and other relevant information, to provide traceable history and evidence for all properties belonging to the society.
  • Point of contact: we act as the communication hub to support all the property owners and as the problem solver for any dispute.

In a nutshell, we take over the responsibility as the guardian of the closely knitted community so that every member within the same society enjoys a hassle-free easy life.

To the developers:

In our experience, Residents Association works best in the long run if they are set up properly in the first place. Therefore, the most effective resident association is evolved with each stage of the development. With our sophisticated experience in management of all forms of rental properties, including residential and commercial, we have first-hand and practical knowledge of what could work best for your project.

We would like to offer a range of upfront free services to developers provided that our appointment as Residents Association Manager is confirmed in writing.

Our Services at each stage of development:

Stage 1 – Design 

  • Review concept plans and make recommendations for the design and placement of common area and shared facilities;
  • Prepare an initial operating budget based on valuation, insurance and other estimates;
  • Prepare estimates of final Residents Association levies;
  • Arrange presentation copies of the preliminary operating budget for inclusion in the developer’s marketing material;
  • Provide assistance on the Residents Association operational rules;
  • Assist with the appointment of a suitable contractor if the development requires a building manager.

Stage 2 – Building in progress

  • Monitor ongoing operating budgets to ensure they accurately reflect running costs;
  • Assist with operation design for building initiatives to balance ongoing enjoyment of future residents and cost of maintenance;
  • Respond in a timely manner to questions from agents and prospective owners and attend purchaser functions to discuss legal requirements;
  • Attend project meetings to provide recommendation and assistance.

Stage 3 – Close to Completion

  • Obtain costs for insurance requirements and place cover as instructed in accordance with the Associate constitution or Bylaws.
  • Prepare and finalise the budget based on requirement and information provided and contracts required;
  • Arrange service contracts for ongoing maintenance and services of common areas;
  • Facilitate the Building WOF and related compliance issues where required.
  • Apply the ownership interest/utility interest as appropriate to each unit and raise the levy for the first year;
  • Prepare relevant disclosure statements as required and requested;
  • Receive owners’ information after settlement and establish a register of unit owners as required by Associate constitution or Bylaws.
  • Obtain relevant documents, plans, a schedule of contractors and other information to assist in the successful running of Residents Association.
  • Call, prepare and host the first AGM within the prescribed timeframe.