A.K. Property Services Quote for Irish Independent article 'High Rise Bills'

Submitted by Aisling Keenan on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 09:24.

In todays Irish Independent, Ciaran Brennan writes about the service charges associated with apartment living:

"IT doesn't take a well-paid economist to tell people that the cost of home-ownership has gone up. Householders are already feeling the pinch of higher interest rates and mortgage repayments, on top of rising fuel and utility costs.

But for apartment owners the pain can be often more severe -- many have had to contend with soaring service charges for the block in which their apartment is situated.

All apartment owners must pay a service charge. This fund covers the costs of running the apartment development, including insurance, electricity in the common areas, lift maintenance, cleaning, garden and grounds maintenance, waste removal and management agents' fees.

The service charge should also include a payment into a "sinking fund" to deal with heavy expenditure such as replacing carpets, gates, lifts, painting, building repairs and paying for unforeseen emergency expenses.

Aisling Keenan from Galway-based management agents AK Property Services says: "Each of the apartment owners in that development has a financial stake in ensuring that it is maintained to a proper standard and that adequate reserves and sinking funds are accumulated to deal with medium to long-term refurbishment needs."

That may be so, but if anything has irritated apartment it has been service charges.

But why have they been such a contentious issue? It's a cultural issue, says Ann Fitzgerald from the National Consumer Agency.

"The main problem was apartment living became a feature of Irish life over the past 10 years with no concept amongst us as a nation that it is a different ball game than living in a house.

"Whereas apartment living is a shared form of living, communal living with shared responsibilities and it has taken a lot of problems for that realisation to hit home," she says.

A big problem is that many apartment owners don't understand what a property management company is.

A property management company is made up of all the owners of apartments in a development. It is legally responsible for maintaining the standard of the development.

This means that you, and the other owners in the apartment development, are responsible for the upkeep of the apartments and of all the common areas, says the NCA.

Ben Gough managing director of property agents Wyse says: "This is a cultural thing that the Irish general public have got to get used to.

"It is working in every country in Europe but we are behind when it comes to understanding the whole concept."

But what many people have a problem with understanding is the huge hike in management fees after they have bought their apartments.

Service charges are being driven by the size and complexity of modern buildings and fire, health and safety regulations, according to Mr Gough. For instance, many glass fronted apartment buildings require specialist cleaners.

While we have been living in a high-inflation era, the rise in service charges in many cases far outstrips the rate of inflation. A recent Dublin City Council report found that the average service charge per unit rose from €941 on 1992 to €1,530 in 2007.

"Very often in the heady days of the market, service charges were used as come-on charges. You might be quoted €500-600 a year which would double the following year," says Ms Fitzgerald.

On top of that the standards of management agents hired varied, with some being nothing short of useless, while in the initial stages some developers set up and ran the management company.

Developer-dominated management companies left many residents feeling powerless. But that shouldn't be the case, argues Ms Fitzgerald.

"People who buy into the development are members," she says. They have the right to attend AGMs, vote for directors and change the management.

Many of the issues will be sorted out by regulation next year. In the meantime, the NCA is hoping a code of conduct between the different parties will be drawn up next month.

But the general advice is to go into apartment living with your eyes open and ask the right questions about service charges.

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Mon, 12/25/2023 - 09:16

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Thu, 12/07/2023 - 11:57

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" '훌륭한 유용한 리소스를 무료로 제공하는 가격을 알 수있는 웹 사이트를 보는 것이 좋습니다. 귀하의 게시물을 읽는 것이 정말 마음에 들었습니다. 감사합니다! 무료스포츠중계

무료스포츠중계 (not verified) Says:
Wed, 12/06/2023 - 06:56

오랫동안 나와 내 친구는 유익한 블로그를 찾고 있었지만 지금은 올바른 위치에 있습니다. 당신은 내 마음에 방을 만들었습니다! 무료스포츠중계

먹튀사이트 (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 13:20

"귀하의 게시물을 읽어 주셔서 정말 기쁩니다. 제가 찾고있는 정보가 가득하며" "귀하의 게시물 내용이 굉장합니다" "라는 코멘트를 게시하는 것을 좋아합니다. 훌륭합니다. 먹튀사이트

슬롯사이트 (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 09:45

그것을 읽고 사랑하고, 더 많은 새로운 업데이트를 기다리고 있으며 이미 최근 게시물을 읽었습니다. 슬롯사이트

카지노놀이터 (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 09:31

그것을 읽고 . 카지노놀이터

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Mon, 12/04/2023 - 08:56

그것을 읽고 사랑고, 더 많은 새로운 업데이트를 기다리고 있으며 이미 최근 게시물을 읽었습니다. 뉴토끼

토토사이트 (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 08:55

이것은이 유용한 메시지를 공유하기위한 특별한 요소입니다. 이 블로그에있는 정보에 놀랐습니다. 그것은 여러 관점에서 나를 일으킨다. 이것을 다시 한 번 게시하기 위해 감사의 빚이 있습니다. 토토사이트

툰코 (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 08:38

industrial outdoor storage listings (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 08:24

많은 사람들에게 이것은 중요하므로 내 프로필을 확인하십시오. industrial outdoor storage listings

https://www.bitsofwisdom.org/blog (not verified) Says:
Mon, 12/04/2023 - 08:02

이봐, 내가 만난 멋진 게시물이 지난 일주일 동안 비슷한 종류의 게시물을 찾고 있었지만 거의 발견하지 못했습니다. 대단히 감사 드리며 더 많은 게시물을 찾을 것입니다. https://www.bitsofwisdom.org/blog

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Mon, 12/04/2023 - 07:22

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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:35

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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:19

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메이저사이트 (not verified) Says:
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:05

모든 댓글을 읽는 데 시간이 걸렸지 만 기사를 정말 즐겼습니다. 그것은 나에게 매우 도움이되는 것으로 판명되었고 여기의 모든 댓글 작성자에게 확신합니다! 정보를받을 수있을뿐만 아니라 즐길 수있을 때 항상 좋습니다. 메이저사이트

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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 13:45

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온라인카지노 후기 (not verified) Says:
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 08:34

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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 07:26

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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 06:03

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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 05:45

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먹튀검증 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 14:29

오랫동안 나와 내 친구는 유익한 블로그를 찾고 있었지만 지금은 올바른 위치에 있습니다. 당신은 내 마음에 방을 만들었습니다! 먹튀검증

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Sat, 12/02/2023 - 13:39

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Sat, 12/02/2023 - 12:29

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먹튀검증 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 12:27

토토솔루션 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 12:07

훌륭한 읽기, 긍정적 인 사이트,이 게시물에 대한 정보를 어디서 얻었습니까? 지금 귀하의 웹 사이트에서 몇 가지 기사를 읽었으며 귀하의 스타일이 정말 마음에 듭니다. 백만명에게 감사하고 효과적인 작업을 계속하십시오.

먹튀검증 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 12:06

매우 유쾌한을 지지자들에게 트위트해야합니다. 매우 감사! 먹튀검증

솔카지노 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 11:18

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파라오카지노 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 10:36

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릴게임사이트 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 10:23

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릴게임사이트

툰코 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 10:03

" '훌륭한 유용한 리소스를 무료로 제공하는 가격을 알 수있는 웹 사이트를 보는 것이 좋습니다. 귀하의 게시물을 읽는 것이 정말 마음에 들었습니다. 감사합니다! 툰코

카지노사이트추천 (not verified) Says:
Sat, 12/02/2023 - 09:56

이러한 유익한 웹 사이트를 게시하는 데 아주 좋습니다. 웹 로그는 유용 할뿐만 아니라 창의적이기도합니다. 카지노사이트추천

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A.K. Property Services Quote for Irish Independent article 'High Rise Bills'

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