Category: Featured Articles

Leases can be so confusing.

You’d be surprised if I told you how so many people don’t understand how a lease works. The language and definitions can be confusing, the legal jargon sometimes reads like double dutch and lots of people just don’t get it.

It’s a problem really as we always say that the lease is king – it’s like a rule book that you need to abide by.

That’s where we come in.

The joy of working with a professional block management company is that we can take all the jargon and legal language and translate it into something everyone can understand, and we work in the background so you don’t have to worry about it.

Our job is to make your experience as a leaseholder simple and easier, we take the stress and the worry away.

We get involved with Small Business Saturday every year, and our Managing Director Jodie was named as one of the Small Business 100 in 2020 and wanted to find more ways of giving back to her community.

So we had this great idea to offer a FREE 30 minute appointment to anyone who has a leasehold of legal questions relating to property.

We have arranged to team up with local solicitor Andrew Turner who is a partner at Hughes Paddison a firm of solicitors in Cheltenham.

Andrew is a key member, Director and solicitor within the Litigation Department at Hughes Paddison. He has a wealth of experience in disputes relating to commercial, residential and agricultural property, as well as in disputes arising in the broader litigation field.

He’s a member of the Property Litigation Association, and the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists, and has considerable experience of dealing with landlord and tenant disputes, 1954 Act lease renewals, dilapidations, possession claims, and the enforcement of covenants. Within the field of contentious probate and trusts, he regularly advises clients in respect of TOLATA applications and Inheritance Act claims.

Andrew has managed cases up to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. He also advises clients in relation to proceedings in the Property Tribunals.

So we know you’ll be in safe hands!

When else would you get the opportunity for FREE legal advice?

We fully support the aim of the Small Business Saturday campaign as it promotes the ethos of supporting independent small businesses, from retailers to local suppliers. Now, as one of the 2020 cohort of the Small Biz 100, Jodie and Andrew will offer a morning to assist the general public with any issues or questions they may have regarding property management and property law.

We think Small Business Saturday UK is a great grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and to support businesses in their communities, so our FREE Leasehold and Legal Surgery is a great fit.

We’re thrilled we the local coverage we have had and hope to make it a regular event in 2022.

The Leasehold Legal Surgery was featured recently in this article –

https://www.journalism.co.uk/press-releases/south-west-entrepreneur-jodie-draser-finally-celebrates-small-business-saturday-/s66/a868304/

And it was also featured in Total Bristol – 

https://www.totalbristol.com/business/south-west-entrepreneur-jodie-fraser-finally-celebrates-small-business-saturday/

So if you have a leasehold or a legal question you’d love answered book your FREE 30 minute appointment by clicking this link

Book Now

As featured in Total Guide to Bristol, Total Guide to Swindon and Total Guide to Cardiff

We’ve been experiencing some unusual weather, from baking hot days to days when it seems like it will never stop raining.

All these changes can play havoc with the maintenance of your property – so are you ready, and do you have a plan?

Seasonal maintenance is so very important for the upkeep of your property. For example, it’s not so much about gardening and trimming hedges and more about all those essential but hidden tasks. From clearing out the gutters to checking the boiler, this is your chance to get a head start on the vital maintenance that properties need to see out the winter.

So, before the weather grows colder it’s important to prepare for the winter months to prevent costly damage.

Having an autumn checklist is all about being prepared and having a plan so that you have a robust autumn preventative home maintenance strategy that every homeowner should follow.

Ten Point Autumn Property Maintenance Checklist

Everything’s starting to feel autumnal now, which is a relief for those of us who love to snuggle up, wear lots of layers, kick leaves at the park and order drinks with pumpkin in them.

Halloweens around the corner, the clocks go back, the nights draw in and then we’re getting into the festive season – it’s almost enough to make you forget about the summer!

Here’s our recommended ten-point autumn property maintenance checklist:

1. Gutter maintenance – Gutters that are clogged with leaves and debris can cause lots of problems. By keeping them clear, you’re helping to protect your windows, doors, sides of the house and the foundations from water damage. If you happen to have a basement, you’ll also be helping prevent flooding down there too. So, it’s time to check your guttering and clear out all that debris.
   
2. Insulation – Check for drafts – it will save you ££s with soaring fuel bills.
   
3. Outdoor Taps – Drain any outdoor taps before the frost sets it.
   
4. Outdoor furniture – it’s time to bring all your furniture in, and clean and treat the furniture so it looks as good as new next year.
   
5. Got Cracks? Fix any cracks in your driveway.
   
6. Fertilise your lawn before the frost sets in. Although grass appears to stop growing in the autumn, the roots are growing deeper to prepare for winter. Now is the best time to fertilise and reseed your lawn
   
7. Regular Testing – Change your batteries in all your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
   
8. Pipe Insulation – To prevent pipes freezing and bursting, ensure that the pipes are well insulated.
   
9. Ice Gritting – What is the gritting plan? Do you have a supply of grit, or is this something that needs ordering now? Who is responsible for gritting the paths?
   

Get snow ready! I know it’s the last thing on your mind! It’s so beautiful and so treacherous. It’s not always an annual event in the UK, but we must be ready. Do you know where the snow shovels are? Last year during lockdown many smaller local tradespeople stopped working – so who will you use?

If you need some help in working out where to start, you could read our recent blog Why September is the new January in Block Management.

Where we talk you through our recommended simple three stage process for a maintenance fresh start.

Finally, whether you decide to do a bit or do a lot, start now, before it gets too cold and plan of all the maintenance you are going to complete.

Do you feel that you could start to get ready for the colder months? Whether you are a leaseholder, or a director of a management company, or you have been self-managing and it’s all getting a bit much then please get in touch.

As featured in Total Guide to Bristol, Total Guide to Swindon and Total Guide to Cardiff

Nobody likes financial surprises – right? But here’s the thing: a service charge should never be a surprise!

Why shouldn’t your Service Charge be a surprise?

The Landlord would be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the building in which any associated costs are recoverable via ‘Service Charges’ and billed to the leaseholders. The details of what is charged would be detailed in each lease, and remember the lease is king!

Trying to get payment for an “invisible” service of benefit is always hard.

Everyone knows, or should know, why they need to pay a service charge, it’s usually written in the lease, which they signed when they bought the property.

But paying into a “sinking fund” for the “just in case” problems that will inevitably go wrong, or the five yearly decoration that needs to be completed is tough for those who aren’t “savers” by nature. These “invisible” benefits need to be paid for, but it’s easy to forget when your other monthly payments for the mortgage, car payment, insurance payment, savings, Netflix, Amazon etc and other monthly commitments are already going out.

What’s going on in the background?

Getting behind with payments is embarrassing, and when people are embarrassed their behaviour can change.

It’s not just the actual lack of money that’s the problem. A shortage of money can lead to a massive increase in anxiety. The emotional strain of dealing with debt can be almost as damaging as getting your electricity cut off or having your car repossessed or seeing your credit score plunge to where you’ll never get another loan.

Whatever the cost, whatever the cause, debt wreaks emotional havoc on our psyche. Among the negative effects are low self-esteem and impaired cognitive functioning. Being in debt can lead to denial, stress, fear and panic, anger and depression.

The easiest and most common behavioural trait is ignore it and it will go away, – commonly known as the “ostrich move”. When this happens, we have found that instead of bombarding them with calls, texts and emails the best way, as authentic and responsible Block Managers, is to seek to understand the problem.

We know many would have a debt collector on speed dial – it’s just not our way!

What’s the problem?

We seek to understand first and foremost. There’s usually a good reason why, and we seek to understand the reason behind the non-payment. Is it a case of understanding and coming up with a payment plan that works for everyone?

Don’t get me wrong, we’re not a pushover, we simply use a more flexible and gentler approach to financial challenges.

We really do find out whether it is a case of can’t pay or won’t pay.

The Arrears Process

It’s not a cliche, but we are all human beings and we know that talking is the best approach. So, we start with a phone call and of course we put our communication in writing so there is an audit trail if we ever need it, but our process always starts and ends with a phone call.

Our strategy is simple – talk to us, because our process does not auto generate a debt collector!

Let’s face it, we look after their home, and if their home is their castle, their sanctuary we need to let them know we’re on their side, but we still have a job to do.

As soon as people are “threatened” or feel threatened whether it’s legal action, or a debt collector, then the relationship is failing and likely to be destroyed.

We take the longer-term approach; we want to maintain the relationship and still collect the service charge.

What’s our advice?

• Get your team some great communication training.
• Take a longer-term approach to the debt – it’s a relationship that needs nurturing and support

At Fraser Allen we take a gentler approach, a kinder approach, as we realise there is usually a reason why someone has not paid and we aim to listen, understand and put a payment plan in place. Whenever we have needed to refer the matter to solicitors, it has always been after extensive due diligence over that particular case. Financial matters are something we take very seriously.

If you like the sound of the way we work at Fraser Allen and you’d like your property to be in safe hands, then let’s see how we can support you.

If you are self-managing your block and you’d like some expert help and guidance, drop us a
message or call the office – we’d love to help!

There are real benefits to extending your lease

Extending your lease not only provides tangible financial advantages but also enhances the marketability and attractiveness of your property, especially when contemplating a future sale. The significant benefits are underscored by the fact that a property with a generous 999-year lease provides the flat owner with a title that is ‘as good as freehold’—a characteristic that greatly appeals to prospective buyers and well worth considering if you are ever thinking of selling in the future.

The impact on property value is noteworthy, with industry consensus suggesting added value between 5% and 7% when holding a 999-year lease. This rise in value not only reflects the extended tenure but also underscores the property’s stability and desirability in the property market.

Case study:

A recent incident with one of our leaseholders highlighted the practical implications of lease length when it comes to property transactions. Despite having a lease with a substantial 102 years remaining, the leaseholder encountered a challenge during the sale of their flat. Surprisingly, the prospective buyer, along with their mortgage lender, hesitated to proceed with the transaction (and grant the mortgage) unless the lease was extended. This example underscores the evolving expectations in the property market, where even a lease with over a century left was deemed insufficient by discerning buyers and lenders.

How much did it cost? The lease was extended but at a considerable cost. There is usually a charge to extend a lease of £15,000 – £20,000.

Why go through the process?

Extending a lease not only influences the market value of a property but also involves a cost structure that is often tied to the concept of “marriage value.” This value represents the additional worth a property gains by having a longer lease, and typically, the cost of extending a lease is around 50% of this marriage value. So, in practical terms, when you extend a lease, you’re essentially investing in the potential extra resale value the property would command in the market with an extended lease term. This cost is perceived as a strategic investment, as it not only secures the property’s longevity but also contributes to its financial viability when it comes time to sell.

Put simply, acquiring a 999-year lease is akin to holding a title ‘as good as freehold,’ a distinction that will significantly boost the marketability of your property. Compared to properties with shorter lease terms, such as an 85-year lease, a 999-year lease adds a much greater level of attractiveness and security that will resonate with potential buyers and investors.

Beyond the financial aspects, the leases will also give the flat owners rights and obligations in respect of each other, which protects each other’s interests. For example, if a neighbour is committing a nuisance by playing music loud during the early hours of the morning, the lease would in most cases, prohibit this and, therefore, provide a cause of action and means of putting things right.

Furthermore, the process of extending leases often coincides with granting new 999-year leases when a share in a freehold company is involved. This dual action not only secures the extended lease but also provides an opportune moment for a legal review of existing leases. This comprehensive review ensures that the leases are brought up to date, rectifies any existing defects and aligns the terms with current legal standards. In essence, extending a lease becomes a holistic approach to enhancing the property’s value, protecting owners’ rights, and addressing legal considerations in a proactive manner.

To Summarise:

In a market where property decisions are increasingly influenced by long-term considerations, such as mortgage approval criteria, extending your lease emerges as a proactive measure. It not only strengthens the market offering of your property but also preempts potential hurdles in future transactions, ensuring that your property remains an attractive and secure investment for current and prospective owners.

Our recommendation

If you are ever offered the opportunity of extending your lease, do talk to your Block Manager.

Take the necessary time to carefully evaluate the long-term advantages and weigh them against the initial costs, including administrative charges, solicitor fees, and premium charges.

It’s a dynamic and fast paced environment, a property manager must be an agile, quick thinker who enjoys dealing with a wide range of people on a daily basis.

To be successful, a property manager needs a variety of skills. They need to have excellent people skills, be a great listener, have strong negotiation skills as well as effective mediators and must be supremely organised. It’s a great job and it is not for the faint hearted.

No day is ever the same! The role is extremely varied, as we get to complete such a wide range of tasks. Obviously, some are more interesting than others, but the combination of the variety makes for an interesting and stimulating job.

You need to be a people person as much of the day is taken up with talking about their property – their home is their castle and it can take time. I always used to underestimate how long it would take, I have learned to go with the flow, be patient and allow 50% more time than it might take and take advantage of the cups of tea and the biscuits!

I love working with all the properties we manage, and I have a fondness for some of the older properties – they have so much character and history, the stories that they could tell. We wrote a blog recently about all the different types of properties we manage – from modern residential to grade II listed buildings you can read it here.

It’s not desk based

It’s definitely not a desk-based job, it’s very varied and working with contractors is always great fun, and I’m still constantly learning – even after fifteen years working in this industry, I can learn something new every single day. I love the fact that as a woman in this industry I still get some surprised faces when I turn up and climb the scaffolding.

During lockdown was challenging, as a people person I found it challenging not being able to see people, but we still did our best and still managed to see our vulnerable clients by setting up a team of volunteers to support their needs, do their shopping and collect prescriptions when needed. I visited many of them and kept in touch with full PPE and by talking through windows – it was important in such a challenging time that we reassured them that we were still there for them.

On the days when it’s back-to-back appointments it can be challenging to get the balance right, and we’ve noticed that since lockdown the business dynamic has shifted and we now get even more emails, so finding the time to respond in a timely manner can sometimes be a challenge.

No such thing as an average day!

There really isn’t an average day, so the typical tasks a property manager performs will range from emails and telephone calls, to conducting inspections at properties. This could be routine inspections, major works or emergencies, as well as private appointments with tradespeople, owners and tenants.

The skills of a property manager are in high demand – the emails come in 24/7 and phones generally start ringing early in the morning and continue well past close of business, so it’s important to manage our business boundaries and we wrote about this in a recent blog.

Skills Needed

Property managers also must undertake formal training to attain the relevant qualifications. Being a property manager was never identified by my careers advisor when I was choosing a career, I recommend the skills needed are numerous and varied from communication skills, negotiation skills, project management, planning skills, delegation, stakeholder management skills, high levels of diplomacy and emotional intelligence – and bucket loads of patience.

I believe our role within the industry is hugely misunderstood.

As property managers we need to be extremely flexible as the job can be really reactive. We always plan as much as possible, and we plan for the unexpected, but sometimes a storm that causes roof damage or a burst drain, or a flooded bathroom can’t be predicted, it’s just the nature of our business.

The role of a property manager is not without challenges and managing client expectations is not always easy, as expectations are high and managing their realistic expectations and communication are so important.

Property managers are there to make life easier for the owner, to do all the work in the background. It’s like being the silent and invisible “fixer.” Despite being professionally qualified via the Institute of Residential Property Management and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, we are always learning on the job and that’s part of the fun and the stimulation. We really do live a culture of continuous improvement.

We’re

fortunate at Fraser Allen because we’re not trying to be all things to all men, or women – we are professional Block Management experts and we’re really good at it.

We are all so thrilled recently to have been recognised by Property Management 50 as being the “one to watch in block management.” We’re up to date with current technology, and embrace it when it works for our clients. We think nationally and act locally and we get results!

When buying a leasehold property, leaseholders need to be confident that they are aware of what is and what is not included in their lease and understand any changes they may face during the lifespan of their lease. We have tried to think of everything you need to consider and we’ve picked the brains of a friendly Mortgage Broker Rachel Rowley at Five valley Mortgages

1. Check the lease

The lease is king and you need to check for any restrictions, as the lease will have been written and it’s in place to maintain the look and feel of the property and its grounds. The obvious one is pets, but check whether there are any details about vehicles, parking, whether you’re allowed to Airbnb your property, or sub let etc. Lots of leases don’t like mobile homes or caravans.

So essentially, check for anything out of the ordinary.

2. Are you a happy sharer?

Are you happy with communal living, the communal shared space, whether it’s inside or outside or both – are you happy sharing? If you are used to having wild, noisy barbecues then you’ll need to seek, not permission, but get the other leaseholders on side.

3. How are you at following rules?

Some management companies can be very pedantic about rules – where you put your bin or how you do your recycling. If you’re ok with this then great – if you’re a bit of a rebel and like to dance to your own tune, then this is something to consider.

4. Service Charge Budget

As a prospective buyer – before you make the exciting offer, do you know how much extra you’ll have to pay a month? The service charge isn’t a choice – it’s a regular payment you are legally committed to pay.

Also check where the property is in its cycle of works, and what’s in the service charge sinking fund. It may be time for the ten year exterior painting that’s detailed in the lease – so is there enough money to pay for it? Or are you going to be landed with an expensive bill you haven’t budget for?

5. How Considerate & Tolerant Are You?

I know it sounds like a weird question to raise, and it’s similar to the sharing question – but how tolerant are you to other people’s noise? How much noise do you and your family make? If you have little ones and you’re considering buying somewhere that has a lot of older residents – how tolerant will they be to the noise that children make?

Or is anyone an avid musician? How will hours of musical practice go down with the other residents?

6. Remember you are legally a tenant

Leasehold is a very long tenancy during which you must maintain and repair the property at your expense without compensation by the landlord at the end of the tenancy. That statement tends to put a leasehold purchase into perspective as many people assume that they will own the property outright and live in it as they see fit.

7. Check the length of the Lease

Generally speaking, the shorter the term of the lease, the more you will need to pay to the landlord should you wish to have it extended. Lease terms approaching 80 years are less marketable than longer terms because ‘marriage value’ is payable when the term falls below 80 years, which increases the cost dramatically. Also, a good mortgage broker will know which lenders are more sympathetic to applications with shorter leaves.

8. Check the ground rent

Ground rents vary from lease to lease and it is very important you check what it currently is and whether it could be increased in the future. Onerous ground rent provisions in the lease can prove extremely problematic and prevent you from securing a mortgage.

9. Cladding

Cladding has become a very serious issue since the tragic events of Grenfell Tower. Lenders are refusing to provide mortgages on properties without a fire safety certification for the external wall surface. Although government funding is available, it is very limited and the cost of making an external wall surface safe and having a ‘waking watch’ on buildings is commonly passed on by landlords to leaseholders through the service charges. Many leaseholders are finding themselves unable to pay the charges or sell their property. Make sure the building has an EWS1 certificate if it needs one.

10. Don’t skimp on legal fees

Always employ the services of a conveyancer who specialises in leasehold and can advise you on the lease. If you don’t use a specialist, it might prove very costly for you in the long-term should something be overlooked!

Here’s a great article we found in Which, Six things you should check before buying a leasehold property

These are intended to give you a “heads up” ten things to consider before you buy a leasehold property.

Don’t let it put you off though, we manage hundreds of leasehold properties and have hundreds of happy leaseholders. We’re simply suggesting you go into this with your eyes wide open.

As featured in Total Guide to Bristol, Total Guide to Cardiff and Total Guide to Swindon

What is a block management company responsible for?

Block management companies are typically engaged by the Freeholder, a Residents Management Company, a Right to Manage Company or a similar party.

A block manager is responsible for the provision of services under the terms of the Lease.

There is no generic list of services that can be applied to every building in the UK however, if we look at the Lease it will detail the services the ‘Landlord’ is responsible for and therefore subsequently the block management company.

Typical block management services will include the placing of building insurance, ensuring contracts such as cleaning are in place and value for money, ongoing day to day repairs and maintenance and so on. Block management companies require a diverse range of knowledge in areas such as accounting, health and safety, law, insurance and construction.

At Fraser Allen there is no ‘standard service’ that we provide, instead we tailor our services to every individual client.

• A dedicated Property Manager
• Coming really soon – your own online portal
• Real-time status updates

What makes us different from other managing agents is our outstanding customer service, on a local scale.

The sort of work we look after is a varied list and changes from block to block. The specifics of property management vary depending on the individual properties or developments, but will typically include overseeing the maintenance of the obvious tasks for the development:

• Internal cleaning of communal spaces
• External cleaning
• Window cleaning
• Gardening and landscaping
• Tree care
• Emergency repair works such as plumbing and electricians
• Facilities management such as fire alarms, door entry, vehicle gates and lifts
• Roof Repairs
• Internal and External
• Painting and decorating

Then there’s the more complex tasks:

• Collecting the Service
• Charge and dealing with arrears if necessary
• Paying Contractors accounts and any professional advisors such as Accountants etc
• Maintaining proper and detailed Accounts of all income and expenditure on our fully computerised accounting system
• Liaising with Accountants and ensuring that all statutory liabilities as a
• Management Company are fulfilled
• Dealing with Insurance claims on the Buildings
• Insurance Policy on behalf of the Management Company
• Ensuring that a sinking fund is accumulated for future capital expenditure
• Liaising with Solicitors in the transfer of ownership of a Flat
• Drawing up annual budget statements and proposing the level of future Service Charge requirements in conjunction with your Management Committee
• Attending Annual General Meetings and Directors Meetings as required
• Dealing with general enquiries from Flat Owner
• An initial audit of the building’s condition, contracts, insurances and outgoings.
• Ongoing legal, compliance and tenant issues
• Risk assessments
• Fire risk assessments
• Health and safety management
• Create and administer separate client trust bank accounts for the service charges
• All financial reports and accounting services including preparation of annual service budgets for client to approve
• Advising on various relevant legislations i.e. leasehold, Landlord and Tenant Act, Section 20 Notices and related lease restrictions and covenant issues
• Submission of compliant service charge demands to residents
• Maintenance of financial and legal records
• Arranging and managing all block insurance, including claims
• Preparing for and attending AGMs and all client meetings; liaising with Directors and Freeholders.
• Dealing with solicitors’ pre-contract sale enquiries
• All major internal and external works supervision and Section 20 procedures (consultation with residents on major works over the threshold)
• Management of service contracts
• Procuring and managing on-site staff
  Right to Manage issues and handovers
• Communicate news of your building to residents through regular newsletter, where required.
• Company Secretarial services
• Quarterly inspections

It’s a pretty long list… but the thing that all the different types of properties have got in common is this list!

When we searched the different types of properties, we found hundreds listed, but what we’ve found is that when we’re managing a block, then can be identified into four main types of property:

Listed building, or listed structure

This is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without special permission from the local planning authority, which typically consults the relevant central government agency, particularly for significant alterations to the more notable listed buildings.

Personally, we love working with an older property, the history, the life it has experienced… Some of them are old churches, orphanages, universities and hospitals. Some of them have a significant place in our history books, they were built to last and working with them in a respectful and sympathetic way just makes our role even more interesting.

We manage a number of listed properties and whilst the work is so interesting working with English Heritage and the local planning departments everything just takes longer. This is where our experience and stakeholder management skills come into play. Working through lockdown was challenging to everyone’s patience, and usually what we find is, we have to allow 2 – 4 weeks longer than a non-listed property to allow for the right people to be consulted and for them to agree and sign off on what we want to do.

New Build to Look Old

These are usually situated close to other buildings that are listed, or in a conservation area. The owners like the look and feel of the older property but like the convenience, and lower cost of the modern build.

1980s Red Brick Design

There are so many of these, built during the property boom in the 1980s, built at pace by large scale developers. They would have been covered by the 10 year NHBC cover, which has now elapsed and major works such as roofs are likely to need attention.

Depending on the build and the quality of the work it’s likely that 40 years on the roof will need attention – and that’s a costly major work, that in most cases owners have not considered as it is still regarded as a fairly modern property.

New Build

There’s a new legal term that is “freeholders on private estates” – look out for it if you are tempted to buy a new home.

Most people know about freehold and leasehold, but this new approach has crept in over the past 10 years or so has become the industry standard.

These problems facing freeholders are estimated to affect at least half a million homes in the UK and are growing.

We found this great article that explains it all problems facing freeholders on new developments.

Also check the guarantees. Does the property have the benefit of the NHBC guarantee? Is it a Premier Guarantee? You need to check it and check the excess….

Is the developer still in business, what about the freeholder? Who has the responsibility and who can you get hold of?

You can see no day is ever the same as a professional block manager – we love all the types of properties we manage from the modern residential blocks to Grade II listed buildings we manage them all!

If you like the sound of the way we work at Fraser Allen and you’d like your property to be in safe hands, then let’s see how we can support you.

If you are self-managing your block and you’d like some expert help and guidance drop us a
message or call the office – we’d love to help!

We’ve all done it.

We’ve got distracted and forgotten to call someone back or send that email we promised, or do something we promised to do.

We’ve woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, stomach churning and feeling just awful.

Or been so busy we’ve just totally forgotten to do something.

Sound familiar?

You see no one actually intends to forget, they just get distracted and it slips their mind. It may happen a couple of times, and suddenly a one-off mistake is becoming a habit, and the habit worsens.

If this sounds familiar – you are not alone, and the good news is there are ways to correct this – for good – but it takes practice.

So, what do you do when you mess up?

Well first – don’t panic! Take a breath and put it in perspective – and do get it sorted.

Yes, you need to take ownership and be accountable that you messed up – but I can promise you that your biggest critic is probably YOU!

There’s a brilliant Youtube by the amazing Brené Brown: Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count.

And it refers to the famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt

 “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

It’s about showing up and being seen.

It’s about doing more, being better next time.

If courage is a value you hold – this is a consequence you cannot avoid.

If you ever mess up, then try these: 9 Things To Do When You’ve Messed Up.

• Take accountability – The first thing you need to do when you mess up is take accountability for your actions.
• Apologise immediately. Saying “sorry” really is the best policy when it comes to committing a screw-up of any magnitude.
• Get some perspective and a reality check.
• Accept it.
• Make sure it doesn’t happen again by crafting a plan.
• Take a breath. No one died.
• Be kind to yourself – you’re probably being harder on yourself than you need to be.
• Be humble – be genuine and be honest!
• Take the learning and make sure you never do it again!

One thing I have learned is that to enable yourself to move forward you have to have courage, and let your desire to move forward (your courage) to be bigger than the stomach churning feeling in the pit of your stomach and move on.

Don’t let your mistakes hold you back. Take the learning, use your courage and move forward.

Here’s our true story and recent stomach-churning mess up:

We made an error recently and got outed and slated on social media, and unfortunately, people weren’t very kind.

We felt awful, but it was a genuine mistake. We gave some advice that was actually wrong. It was where to go to get a copy of your lease – we had always been told it was £25, so we shared the information we had and it was wrong. The lease is important, the lease is always the go to document that defines how we manage your block and we talked about it extensively in the article: Let’s talk about leases.

Something we have always done and we got slated. So we went to the source, spoke to the Land Registry , checked our information, then double checked it and then we corrected our blog post on Flat Living, shared a retraction and fessed up.

We’ve learned the hard way, we’re only human and we corrected our error.

Just in case you wanted to know you can obtain a copy of your lease from the Land Registry for just £7! As a business that provides block management this is great news – one of our key go to documents has just reduced in price by a 70%!

On a positive side note – always take action.

Don’t let the worry hold you back.

Have the courage.

We all hate making mistakes, but don’t let the worry hold you back.

Featured in Total Guide to Bristol, Total Guide to Cardiff and Total Guide to Swindon

The summer is over. We’re getting ready to get the children back to school, older ones to university, business is picking up again and there’s a sense of clearing the decks and getting stuff done.

If you feel a renewed sense of motivation in the autumn, you’re not alone. There’s mounting evidence that “September is the new January” when it comes to setting goals, tasks and things you want to achieve by the end of the year.

Often, we use seasons and memorable events to anchor tasks to and building works are no different. You’ll often hear residents say they want to be “in for Christmas” or “straight by Christmas.”

It’s just simply the Psychology of New Beginnings.

September is a popular time for reinvention and renewed motivation because of something behavioural economists have dubbed the “fresh start effect“. Put simply, this principle suggests that it’s easiest to adapt to habits at natural transition points. A new beginning may be signalled by an occasion like back to school, back to work, a birthday, an anniversary or a simple timeline like the first of the month. Personally, we believe the start of September is a little ambitious as so many make the most of the bank holiday weekend – so, instead we’re marking this week when most of the children return to school as the fresh start effect.

How to take advantage of the ‘Fresh Start Effect’ for your block

So instead of waiting for the New Year to set goals and achieve tasks, why not make progress now?

Are there building works that you’ve been meaning to sort out for months? Do you have any niggling problems that you see everyday and just haven’t got around to sorting out…Many of the blocks we’ve been talking to haven’t got together for months due to Covid and lockdown, so this is the perfect time.

Follow this simple 3 stage process for your September Fresh Start

Step 1 – Get all the leaseholders together and start a wish list of all the work that needs attention. It would be great to involve your Property Manager from your block management company at this stage. Just so everyone is aware of the plans.

• This is especially important this year as many management companies did not get together and hold their regular meetings and Annual General Meetings due to Covid.
• It is important to keep up regular and consistent communication. What we have found is that when communication breaks down, relationships break down, and that doesn’t help anyone!

Step 2 – Next categorise the list in order of importance – High, Medium and Low.

Step 3 – Next categorise each task with a timeline:

• Urgent (within 1 week)
• Non Urgent (within 1- 3 months)
• Nice to Have (3 – 6 months)

Obviously

super urgent tasks you’ll (hopefully) already be planning.

The next step would be to assign costs against all these tasks – this is where your managing agent comes in. They’ll have the contractor contacts and will need to arrange three quotes of the work and issue Section 20 notices if required.

Here’s my final piece of advice:

• Get in touch your managing agent and arrange to talk about your September Fresh Start
• Get all your leaseholders together and seek their input.
• Follow this simple 3 step approach.

The building industry is getting back to normal but unfortunately securing great and reliable contractors are in great demand and due to covid and other economic challenges the price of materials has increased. The Office for National Statistics has projected a rise of 7-8% in material prices this year, with increases for certain materials, such as timber, expected to more than double. You can read more about it here in this BBC article.

The Federation of Master Builders reported in May 2021 that some building firms may have to delay projects and others could be forced to close as a result. Small, local builders are being hit the hardest by material shortages and experiencing price rises of 10-15% across the board.

Even Construction News reported that Travis Perkins the go to supplier for small building firms was encouraging its clients to “order early” to avoid delays.

What does this mean to your block?

Planning Planning Planning.

Planning the work you need to do is even more important- especially now!

Featured in Total Guide to Cardiff and Total Guide to Bristol

It’s very easy to start a business and I was surprised to read that a massive 835,494 new businesses were registered in the UK during 2020, according to Reboot SEO Agency compared to 636,000 in 2019.

There was even more growth in 2021 as data from HMRC also shows that in March 2021 more new businesses were created than in any other month since records began in 1989.

If most people knew that 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small businesses fail in their second year, and 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business, I’m not convinced that so many people would consider doing this.

In fact, if you search why small businesses fail, you’ll find a lot of articles, but not so many who share how they managed to be successful. So many businesses start, and unfortunately fail in the first five years – here’s a great article for you to take a look at: Forbes

Starting a business is easy, anyone can do it, but staying in business and building a profitable business, now that’s another story.

I started my business in 2016, I was excited, full of anticipation. I did it on my own without any investment and I’m not going to lie it, it was really tough.

However, I was determined not to be a statistic. I was going to build a strong, professional business, a business that would stand the test of time, a business to be proud of, a business to be THE standard in property management, where service was more important than a massive profit. That we would be known as being professional, sincere and reliable and to leave a legacy.

I guess with the excitement and naivety of starting a new business I hadn’t factored in significant life changing stuff like a wedding, a marriage, a baby, caring for very poorly grandparents and of course Covid – and now running a growing business with a toddler.

I have learned on the job, and I am so proud that I’m still here and have just celebrated our 5th business birthday. Here’s a link to our Happy 5th Birthday To Us blog.

I didn’t have a mentor, or an investor and didn’t invest in a coach initially. I didn’t grow up in a family full of entrepreneurs who could guide and advise me. I had some epic failures, and there were days I didn’t think I could do it, but I did push forward and learned at the school of hard knocks. I am still not sure my closest friends and family know what I do, but I do know how very proud they are.

I have learned so many things about business and myself, so here are the top 5 things I learned (the hard way) in my first five years of business:

1. Build a Great Team from the start
   
   Like many I started off just me and a 16-hour day! I worked my socks off; I needed some help but just didn’t feel I could afford it and thought if I worked harder and more hours then I could do it all! It’s not unusual when you’re a solopreneur, ask any business owner and their stories will be similar.I built a small team around me slowly; we grew incrementally and we learned as we went. Often it was two steps forward and one step back, and we continued to move forward.I made many mistakes but always took the learning, I was failing forward and we grew as a result of my learning.My advice (with the benefit of hindsight) would be to build a team sooner, outsource sooner without feeling you have to do everything, and adopt the role of CEO sooner.
2. Set Your Business Boundaries Did you read my previous blog? I dedicated an entire blog to Why are Boundaries So Important in Business.Setting business boundaries enables you to have both a life and a business you love and achieve your version of work/life balance. It also means there is less of a risk of you experiencing major burn out.Healthy boundaries at work help you to find more fulfilment as there will be less stress in your professional life, allowing more room and time for a better personal life.Without healthy boundaries in place, it is easy to take on too much; to please others more than we please ourselves, which then leads to wasted time, stress, financial burdens and relationship issues, which can lean onto mental distress.Start out by setting your business boundaries so you are in control of your business, so you can build the life you love. But if you didn’t and you’re playing catch up, remember it’s never too late to set and reset your boundaries, just make sure you tell everyone.
3. Take Time to Build Trust
   
   I learned the hard way – learn from my experience.I like people, I like working with, and being around people. When I started my business, I was so excited by the opportunity, excited to be part of a new business, I guess I got carried away and was too quick to trust. I would have literally put my life in their hands.I learned the hard way, and hadn’t appreciated that not everyone will share my values, and not everyone is trustworthy.My recommendation is that you take time to trust, and then once you’ve found that trust, keep them close, hold them tight and treat them with respect and reward them.Be clear about what you want and what you need, and of course be clear on your boundaries, professionally and personally.
4. Get a Business Mentor Someone who can guide you, someone who is more experienced in business than you are, someone to play to your strengths. They will help you build solid foundations, stretch goals and keep you accountable.Take time to find the right one for you. There are so many coaches and business mentors out there – with different skills and experiences, it takes time to find the right one for you and your business.My advice would be, select a few, create a shortlist and interview them. Do not get sucked into committing your investment until you have tried them out.
5. Schedule Time To Rest Relax & Recharge As a small business owner, you are probably doing all the tasks, you’re run ragged and you are exhausted, overwhelmed and burned out!I really recommend that you remove the emotion, ditch the drama and look at it like a business – you are a single point of failure. Without YOU the business falls over – so quickly build your team, delegate those tasks and develop your role as the CEO so you can step back and lead.What I have found is that everyone talks about this, we all know about it, but few of us actually do it. With the benefit of hindsight, this is one thing that I would have done differently.

I am so very proud of how far we’ve come and how much we’ve learned. I’m so proud of the fact that we can state that Fraser Allen Estate Management is a multi award winning Property Management Company specialising in Residential Block Management. 

Featured in Total Guide to Cardiff, Total Guide to Bristol and Total Guide to Swindon

When we start out in business, we work all the hours and we say YES to everything to make sure we stand the best chance of success.

We run ourselves ragged, we chase every new business opportunity, we see busy as a badge of honour, with an endless to do list and we are permanently tired! Overwhelm and burnout are our new “go to” words and we keep going at all costs, as failure is not an option.

Going that extra mile and over delivering outside the scope of the paid for service are great traits, and will secure you brilliant client testimonials when building a business. But it’s not a sustainable way to work.

It’s not your client’s fault if they then come to expect this over delivery as “business as usual”. Left unchecked can cause resentment and frustration, and essentially come back to bite you!

As the business owner it is our responsibility – we become victims of our success and unless we reset and re contract expectations, business boundaries become blurred.

Sound familiar?

This is where setting business boundaries gives you the ability to clearly communicate expectations with everyone you deal with, customers and clients alike.

Having clear boundaries helps us all learn how to transact and respect you and your time. It also gives you the ability to clearly communicate your business needs and rules to family and friends so they will respect you and your business.

When someone doesn’t respect our boundaries, it feels unfair, it’s frustrating and it can be unsettling. Often it can be because we haven’t been clear. Maybe our boundaries and time available has changed and we simply haven’t told anyone about this change.

Just this week I had a Zoom meeting scheduled for 5pm, and I received an email cancelling it with just 20 minutes notice. Ok so it can happen and maybe something came up, but then they were frustrated that we weren’t able to make a 6:30pm meeting later that day.

Now that seemed unfair and unrealistic.

We are always happy to book meetings in the evening – but we need some notice!

So instead of getting cross and frustrated what did we do? As a business in growth mode we always ask – what was the learning?

Note to self: maybe it’s time to go out with a regular communication to our existing block management clients.

There are a multitude of reasons why you should be setting business boundaries.

Our Top Three Reasons To Have Business Boundaries

1. “A lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect.” – Unknown
   
   Setting business boundaries gives you the ability to clearly communicate expectations with customers and clients so they will respect you and your time. It also gives you the ability to clearly communicate your business needs and rules to family and friends so they will respect you and your business.
   
   Healthy boundaries are a crucial component of self-care. That’s because “in work or in our personal relationships, poor boundaries lead to resentment, anger, and burnout” (Nelson, 2016). – How to Set Healthy Boundaries, Psychology Today
   
2. Boundaries are a form of self-care.
   
   Setting business boundaries allows you to clearly define your negotiables and non-negotiables so you’re saying YES to more of the right things instead of everything.
   
3. Create boundaries, get your life back.
   
   Setting business boundaries enables you to have both a life and a business you love and achieve your version of work/life balance. It also means there is less of a risk of you experiencing major burn out.

Healthy boundaries at work help you to find more fulfilment as there will be less stress in your professional life, allowing more room and time for a better personal life.

The consequences…

Without healthy boundaries in place, it is easy to take on too much; to please others more than we please ourselves, which then leads to wasted time, stress, financial burdens and relationship issues, which can lean onto mental distress.

Here are some examples of healthy boundaries for your professional and personal life.

Professional Boundaries

1. Maintaining your personal values despite what other people want.
   
2. Trusting your own decisions and instinct whilst not allowing yourself to compare yourself or your journey to other people’s.
   
3. Remembering why you started your business in the first place, what is the vision and the mission and how will it feel once you reach that goal you are aiming for.
   
4. Knowing who you are and what you stand for. Allowing yourself to say no to the things that are not helping you become the best version of you.
   
5. Prioritising your time and making sure you are carrying out the essential task that will move you forward and generate income, whilst also allowing you to create a life of freedom on your own terms.

Personal Boundaries

1. Not allowing someone to take advantage of someone’s generosity.
   
2. Noticing when other people are not respecting your boundaries.
   
3. Allowing time to focus on your own self-care.
   
4. Self-respect. Don’t feel like you have to give away too much, through fear of people not liking you or knowing your worth.
   
5. Clearly communicating what it is that you want and don’t want in your life.

Boundaries work two ways

It’s all well and good being clear in how you want to be treated if you fail to read the signs and respect other people’s boundaries. This works a bit like a mirror – people will mirror how you behave, so make sure you are living by how you want to be treated.

Be Open to Changing, Growth and Adaptation

As you and your business grow and evolve, it’s likely that your boundaries will evolve. Don’t be afraid to adjust your boundaries as and when required – it’s a sign of growth.

Everyone’s version of their work/life balance is going to look a little different and it’s always going to be a work in progress.

Done

well, business boundaries can be life-changing, life-giving, game-changers.

Here’s my final piece of advice:

Start out by setting your business boundaries so you are in control of your business, so you can build the life you love. But if you didn’t and you’re playing catch up, remember it’s never too late to set and reset your boundaries, just make sure you tell everyone.

Featured in Total Guide to Cardiff, Total Guide to Bristol and Total Guide to Swindon

One of the rarest yet very real problems of managing buildings with multiple residents is dealing with challenging and often emotionally charged situations which can enrage some tenants.

Sometimes this can turn into a situation where we are faced with aggression, usually verbal aggression, but sometimes, rarely fortunately, even physical aggression. You’ll be horrified to hear that I have been slapped once by an angry resident and threatened with a baseball bat after an evening meeting.

So how do I handle this very rare circumstance?

If someone is acting aggressively when I talk to them, I always try to diffuse the situation. Usually, frustration develops into aggression and is triggered by time and / or money – sometimes it is due to tenants not paying their contractual charges.

I will always make my starting point, an attempt to talk to them reasonably and seek to understand their perspective. In many cases this can diffuse the situation. I often find that people just want to be heard and I make the effort to truly listen. I don’t listen to speak. I listen to hear, think, and then consider a reasonable response.

I’m proud that communication is something I work hard at in my business. So, initially, I will always talk to the tenant to find out why they are making such an aggressive stance. After all, it may be that they have had a huge upset in their life that I don’t know about. At the same time, I need to be able to set out my expectations too.

However, there are even rarer occasions where talking doesn’t work…

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Case study:

I had a situation where there was a hole in the roof of a building with multiple residents. To make the repair, I need to have access to the whole loft space, and it was found that the entire roof needed replacing, and under the terms of the lease for that block, all the tenants have to pay for this major work.

To make the repair, a cherry picker was needed, the building was in a conservation area, and the cost was going to be at least £40,000 to repair the roof

Now I know from years of experience that this is a situation which can make tempers fray, being faced with a large repair bill that you were not expecting. People can get angry even if they know the legal situation means they must pay their share. In fact, today, I will often recommend, especially with older or listed properties, that residents save a little per month for these eventualities which will crop up over time.

On this occasion, one awkward tenant didn’t want to pay up, even though all of the other residents readily agreed to pay their part. They realised that in the end the building needed that repair to stop further damage and to safeguard their own properties.

I tried everything to contact this particular tenant, and even though he had been in the flat for many years, his behaviour was extremely aggressive. This was a pattern of behaviour, and I wasn’t looking forward to having to deal with him.

Prior to this problem, when he was the only one in, he had often refused delivery drivers access to the property, which of course meant his fellow residents had problems in receiving parcels.

After trying to have conversations with him on the phone, where he was verbally aggressive, shouting at me, the situation came to a head when I turned up to talk to him in person. This was my last attempt to have a reasonable conversation about necessary works to the property where he was a leaseholder. I was 100 per cent sure of my own position in this matter and knew the other residents supported me, even if they were rather afraid of him too.

During this time his whole demeanour was aggressive, and defensive. I became truly frightened when he put his hand in his pocket and took out what I initially thought was a knife. His hand was not in my clear field of vision, so I was ready to run, however as he moved towards me in a threatening manner, I saw it was a set of keys. 

Unable to sort out the issue, my only recourse was to take action against him in court. Ultimately, he lost his lease (forfeiture) because he simply refused to pay his share of the costs, which he was contractually obliged to pay.

This is an extreme example, and there are procedures set in place for when tenants behaviour is totally out of control, or they are breaking the law. Tenants can be evicted, but it must be done following legal guidelines.

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How do I recognise an aggressive customer?

Aggressive customers tend to be unreasonable and/or unpredictable. They may make unreasonable demands, refuse to acknowledge timeframes, or accept the proposed process. They may be argumentative, use personal insults or inappropriate comments to get their point across or shout or make threatening gestures. In extreme circumstances they may even be violent.

Not every customer who uses a loud voice or is persistent is aggressive. Many customers are assertive but will still be reasonable if you engage them in a dialogue.

So how should you respond?

1. Stay calm
   It can be difficult to stay calm when a person’s behaviour is confronting. Remember that you don’t know what else may be going on in this person’s life. Try not to take their aggression personally. Keeping your voice low and smiling (even though this might be hard) can relieve the tension. Avoid using sarcasm. If necessary, excuse yourself and leave the room and take several deep breaths. Think about your own body language and whether you are coming across as defensive or hostile – be conscious of not pacing, tapping, crossing your arms, or rolling your eyes.
2. Listen
   Pay attention to what the customer is saying and try to understand their concerns. Ask appropriate questions but avoid interrupting and allow them to say all they need to say. Sometimes simply allowing someone the opportunity to vent can alleviate their frustration. When they have explained the situation to you, confirm or summarise their concerns to make sure you have understood.
3. Be empathetic
   Demonstrate to the customer that you care about their situation, using appropriate language:I understand that you are frustrated/ I can see how difficult this has been/Thank you for bringing this to my attention/I appreciate how you feel/That’s tough, let’s see how we can get this sorted
4. Offer a considered solution
   The customer wants to feel that something is being done to resolve their concerns even if it is only a partial solution. It may be that there are limited options that you can offer – if so, don’t overpromise. Be willing to involve management. It demonstrates that you are serious about helping them resolve the issue.
   
   Once you have committed to a solution follow it through. If that requires following up within the following days use a reminder system and do it!

As block management agents we often are charged with resolving issues we are not responsible for, but it’s a fine line sometimes… 

For example, as Block Managers we are not liable for nuisance tenants, but as it is our responsibility to try to keep all our tenants happy, making every effort to sort out such tenants is important. However even the best of us sometimes must go down a legal route.   

I had to act, because this one tenant was causing my other tenants a lot of grief, worry and making their lives stressful, and as their managing agent, it is part of my job to ensure they live in a stress-free environment. I had to protect my other tenants from harassment or aggressive behaviour too – they became the priority.

Luckily, I haven’t come across this behaviour often in the years I’ve been working in property management.

Understanding Aggression

As an entrepreneur I have often heard that aggression is the most valuable trait for an entrepreneur.

I’m not sure I agree with that. In my experience the best business relationships are mutually respectful with effective communication. The 3 Crucial Elements of Successful Business Relationships detailed in Forbes.

• Communication
• Trust
• Credibility

Understanding why someone is aggressive is important as aggression is often used as tactical behaviour.

The US actress Lucy Lui has been recently in the international press due to her speaking out about the

actor and colleague Bill Murray Hurled ‘Inexcusable’ Insults At Her On ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Set

“I stood up for myself, and I don’t regret it,” she said. “Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, there’s no need to condescend or to put other people down.”

What I love about working in this area of property management is the sheer diversity of the job. Every single day is different.

Yes, we have to deal with challenging situations and challenging people, but aggression is rare and can usually be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction through a solution focused and empathetic approach. 

At Fraser Allen we seek first to understand, and we do not tolerate aggression in any form.

Featured in Total Guide to Cardiff, Total Guide to Swindon and Total Guide to Bristol

This month, my business is 5 years old, so Happy Birthday to Fraser Allen Estate Management!

A lot has happened in my life during those 5 years since 2016.

I got married, gave birth to our gorgeous daughter Lily, which has changed my focus in life. Now, I am working and striving for her and my family.

The best thing about running my own business is that it is so rewarding and I can flex my time, including holidays, around the needs of my family. I’ve always been a hard worker, so getting that balance right when you first start a business is challenging, so I work hard to gain a work-life balance, so that I can put my energy into both home and business with an equal amount of energy and passion.

Since starting my business, the number of blocks I manage has grown to 19, across Bristol, Cheltenham, Swindon, Stroud, London and wider across the south west.

The pandemic and all of the challenges that brought with it, both in my personal and business life.

5 things I’ve learned as a business owner

Customer service
This is at the heart of my business. I see clients and residents as humans, not just numbers on spreadsheets. I always go that extra mile, and I’d always rather over deliver so we can maximise and delight their expectations. I’ve found that by building good relationships with people, in the long term, it helps with business growth and of course great customer referrals.

Work-life balance is important
Being able to spend time with my daughter, husband, mum and grandmother is incredibly important to me. I can choose when we go on holiday, I don’t have to ask a board of directors to agree when I can spend time with them. If I need to be at home working, because Lily is poorly, that’s not a problem. I understand the importance of having me-time, so that my energy remains at a good level, which is absolutely vital running around after a toddler.

The importance of taking responsibility in life
For ten years before starting my own business, I worked in larger property management companies, where profit was put before customers. I chose to start my own business because I didn’t like this ethos. Now everything I do in my business is my responsibility. Sometimes, things go wrong, but I can sort things out in my way. Ultimately everything is my decision and I can now work within an ethos that I believe in 100%.

The importance of giving back to community
Kindness is a very important attribute to me. To be able to give back to my community is an integral part of my business. Because I am growing in my business, I have been able to support local children by buying new laptops for a local charity.

I am proud to say that Fraser Allen is now a Dementia Friendly business, which is because of my personal link – my grandmother has this horrible disease. It is important to feel good about what you do, so in June I signed up to run 300km for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

I’d

love you to sponsor me and every single penny helps. Please help me give more back.

Here’s the link >> https://run.thetreblechallenge.org/pages/teamfraser2021

Being recognised by my own profession
Entering awards is not just a vanity project!

Winning is of course so rewarding, not just by winning the physical award, but to be recognised by other people within my profession, is incredibly encouraging. It helps build my confidence, but also adds greatly to my visibility within the profession. My clients see that I am valued by my profession and also being able to say we are a multi award winning business helps potential clients see that we can deliver on what we promise.

So much has happened in the last 5 years, and yet it seems just like yesterday.

Just for fun here’s 5 events that happened in 2016

1. Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5th – 21st, the first time the Olympics were held in a South American nation. The UK won, 27 gold, 23 silver and 17 bronze medals.
2. Brexit EU referendum 23rd June 2016 we voted to leave the EU, and as a country, five years on, we’re still sorting out issues around many matters, not just business.
3. July 2016, Theresa May took over from David Cameron as Prime Minister and lasted for three years.
4. November 2016, Donald Trump won the US presidential election in a surprise upset, beating Hillary Clinton.
5. Tim Peake returned from his 186-day mission working on the International Space Station for Expedition 46/47 – landing back on earth 18 June 2016. He became the first official British astronaut to walk in space.

Do you remember those events? They seem like such a long time ago don’t they?

We have so many exciting plans for the next few years for the business and for our family, we know how fortunate we are to have come this far and we’re still standing and stronger than ever.

What Next?

Pre Covid new businesses were launching at an unprecedented rate, with approximately 660,000 new start-ups registered in the UK every year according to The Telegraph.

But that same article exposes the sheer volume of those businesses that fail, with 20% not making it past their first year, and a staggering 60% going bust and fail within their first three years.

Here at Fraser Allen we are looking further ahead, and as it’s reported that only about one in three small businesses get to the 10-year mark and live to tell the tale – we intend to be celebrating in style in 2031!!

We are so very excited about the next five years!

Watch this space!

Finally, the day is here!
Today marks National Intern Day, and is the first year that I have cause to celebrate!

Some of you may already know, but our business grew in lockdown. In fact we have doubled in size in the last 18 months and we are committed that we will continue to provide outstanding customer service. We’ve built our reputation on it and we’ve won multiple industry awards because of our approach to customer service.

As any business grows, it puts pressure on all areas. Now, we know that we need to scale and outsource, but it’s hard to find the “right” person and when you’re a small and growing business the financial commitment of taking on a new employee can be overwhelming.

Also working in the building industry and specifically Block Management isn’t for everyone. It’s an interesting combination of building work and building regulation, with property management, a lot of legal knowledge and compliance, excellent administrative systems and an outstanding approach to customer service. I could be up ladders with my hard hat one day and liaising on property law matters the next!

So when a friend came knocking asking whether we had any intern opportunities, it seemed like perfect timing and an opportunity for us both to not miss out on .

He lives locally to one of our significant blocks in Stroud, just graduated from Bath university with a business and finance degree and is keen to gain some experience in the building industry. With such a varied range of responsibilities and the need for training and expertise – block management seems perfect!

We’ve discussed the opportunity a couple of times on zoom, agreed a way forward, key responsibilities, boundaries, everyone’s expectations and discussed reward and remuneration.

Although this is my first time having an internship, I am not new to having people work for me. My 15+ years in business has seen me manage large teams of people, so I went out and spoke with friends and colleagues who had experience of working with interns, and who had had good and bad experiences, and I chatted to a few friends who had recently been interns.

These are the highlights and the approach I’ll be taking…

We heard recently that a client was charged for paperclips by their Estate Management – how awful is that?

It feels petty and doesn’t bode well for ongoing relationships and trust – does it?

It got us thinking more about costs and transparency, as it’s something we feel very strongly about.

At Fraser Allen we believe that costs should be transparent. So you know what you’re getting in and you can budget – no one likes surprises, especially when it comes to money.

Using a managing agent for your Block Management and Property Management needs is often a new experience for property owners, they may have been doing it themselves for years and have realised it’s easier, more efficient and most cost effective to put it in the hands of experts. So it’s critical they know how much it’s going to cost them.

What we charge for

We are clear what we charge for. We charge for your monthly management fees, any company secretarial fees – always what you are expecting and what’s in our contract – anything else would be major works that require a Section 20, or any cyclical or emergency maintenance that you’ve asked us to do. It’s always laid out in our contract.

When we need to obtain quotes, we obtain three and we risk assess for our clients the quotes and make our recommendations – and then let you choose. The only exception to this is if there is a real emergency, like a leak and you need an emergency call out, then we get our little black book of trusted contractors who we know and trust and will turn up in an emergency, will do a great job at a reasonable cost.

We NEVER add a surcharge or a percentage to these costs. The costs are the cost. 

If you mislay forms, or documentation we wouldn’t dream of charging for that – that’s just part of our service.

Avoid at all costs

We’ve been approached to quote for managing a new block recently and Jodie our Managing Director was horrified to learn that their current managing agent adds 15% to all service invoices, a fee to send out copies of paperwork, charges £300 for a termination fee and another agent charges for paper clips!!

Our promise and commitment

We promise at Fraser Allen all our charges are transparent – you’ll never get any surprises. We will never add a % surcharge to a service fee and we won’t charge for things like postage, or a copy of your insurance schedule and we promise we won’t charge for paper clips!

We don’t do petty!

We believe that you pay for this type of support in your service charge and we don’t expect you to pay twice!

If you want to ensure you have real clarity and transparency over your costs relating to your Block Management needs and your Estate Management needs we should talk.

I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been named one of the 42 Under 42 by the South West Business Insider.

As a managing agent and block management company, I didn’t necessarily set out to be recognised outside of my own sector however it’s happened and I’m so grateful for it.

Sometimes people don’t understand what we do at Fraser Allen. It’s all explained in this blog where you can read more detail about what I actually do.

What does that mean?

Business Insider is one of the UK’s most successful regional B2B media companies. There are five regional B2B magazines read each year by over 200,000 subscribers.

They host around 140 market-leading events, including award dinners in all regions outside London. One of the aims of the business is to celebrate younger entrepreneurs and ‘find’ them early and follow their careers in business over several years. I’m personally aware of several people who are older than me who are alumni members.

Basically, it is a club organised by Insider Media group, with regional ‘bubbles’ celebrating young entrepreneurs with businesses of all shapes and sizes, across the UK.

It’s a way of bringing those younger entrepreneurs together and following their journey over time.

To be named as one of the 42 under the age of 42 means, that the magazine is tipping you as a rising star of the business world, and, for me, this is quite a big deal!

2021 42 Under 42 Members

The 42 members selected so far for this region come from across the whole of the South West, from Devon and Cornwall, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, and cover a wide range of different industries.

Other businesses among the 42 include:

• Stephen Trowbridge, MBE – First City Nursing and Care, health provider, based in Swindon.
• Christie Stapleton – of Glam Wax, a start-up home fragrance business based in Exeter.
• Rob Sanders of Glas Data – a tech company which provides a dashboard and data management system for the agricultural sector, based out of Truro.

My business is based in Cheltenham and Bristol and I currently manage properties in Bristol, Cheltenham, Stroud, Swindon and London.

Other Gloucestershire businesses included in the 42 this year are:

Chris Capewell and Max Shaw, The Union Project, Clothes store; Sarah Taylor, GT Ltd, both in Cheltenham; Henrietta Kitt, Hetty’s Kitchen in Gloucester and Dr Chen Mao Davies, LatchAid in Cirencester.

This year, the split between male and female business owners named as members was, 24 male and 18 females, which is a good mix. 

In the past other local business owners who have been named as members of the 42 Under 42, include:

Graeme Leighfield, of GEL Studios and Karl Paul, now chairman of Smarter Media, in 2019, both Swindon-based companies. In 2020, Cirencester-based, Danny Matthews of Danny & Co. also became a member.

What does the future hold for us as members?

Business Insider hold a range of events both off and online where we will get the opportunity to meet up with other members and network.

We have access to enter awards, attend network meetings, forums, debates and discussions and also to share our opinions and experiences of business-related issues over time. I’m excited for the year ahead.

Do take a look at the new 42 Under 42 members for the South West this year

It’s great that we’ve won an award and I’ve been recognised as a “rising star” in the business world, but it’s very much back to business as usual.

Also I’m only 37, so I’ve got years until I hit 42, let’s see what else Fraser Allen can get up to as we continue to grow.

Fraser Allen Estate Management is a multi award winning Property Management Company specialising in Residential Block Management.

Our priority is customer satisfaction and making sure we provide a bespoke service dedicated to your needs. Customer service and managing your property will always be our top priority.

Our masks can come off after July 19th, and in so many ways I’m so relieved.

‘People judge my grandmother for not wanting to wear one but it’s not about preference, but her fear.’

Dorothy, my wonderful, 90-year-old grandmother, who I care for dearly, has dementia and the mandatory wearing of masks has been a complete nightmare for her – and therefore also for us. How do you ‘force’ someone with dementia to wear something on her face?

I feel strongly about it which is probably why I was quoted in The Telegraph this week. You can read the article here: Face masks will be the next culture war – so which side are you on?

The problems of wearing masks

My grandmother becomes very distressed when she must wear a mask, because they make her feel hot and enclosed.

Because she doesn’t understand what is going on around her, she also doesn’t understand why she must wear a mask.

Not only does she get very upset when we put one on her, but so do I, as I can see the situation escalating and I can feel the tension build. Given that dementia doesn’t have a sign if we were to go out with her that would all get so much worse. So, we haven’t gone out with her.

I can’t wait for the restrictions to be removed, so we can stop traumatising people like her unnecessarily.

My grandma can’t work out who people are when they’re wearing their masks. Heartbreakingly, her memory of me is now disappearing faster than it might have done in normal times. This causes me daily distress. When you take away those daily points of familiarity for someone with dementia, their memory of you fades before your very eyes.

Not being able to see her granddaughter and great granddaughter’s faces during this time has been awful, and I can’t wait until she no longer must be subjected to this.

Those of you who don’t have relatives with this tragic disease probably think we perhaps are worrying too much about the masks rather than keeping her safe.

This

is not the case at all. Our whole focus is to keep her safe, but, at the same time help her enjoy her life, and not add to the stress of her disease.

To keep her safe, I didn’t see my grandmother other than from the end of the drive, with me wearing a mask, for the first five months of lockdown, which was devastating for both of us.

All of my family members are double jabbed, which means now, technically, we should be able to take my grandmother out without worrying she’ll get sick. But of course, this hasn’t worked, because the requirement to wear masks and her fear of them, made it so difficult we had to stop.

On one occasion, we have tried to take her out for lunch without her mask, but nobody can see that she has dementia, and it’s impossible to reason with a big security guard who won’t let you into a restaurant because an elderly lady doesn’t want to put her mask on. Trying to get her to wear a lanyard just adds to the problem.

Sadly, this last year has shown me how little awareness and compassion there is for people with dementia, and just how different their lives are. For them, masks aren’t simply a matter of preference, but something that can completely terrify them.

I feel very strongly about the elderly and vulnerable, which is why I was determined that my block management business should be dementia friendly.

Also, I seem to have a way with older adults. I’m gentle and always respectful, and above everything else I’m kind and patient and I take time to build a brilliant trusting relationship. In fact, recently at Fraser Allen Estate Management we seem to be attracting more and more clients over 65 due to our approach to working with our older adults.

Give me a cup of tea and I’ll be there all afternoon listening intently to all their great stories!!

In the UK we are an aging population, so being able to communicate with an aging population is so important. As the owner of an estate management company and helping people manage residential leasehold developments we work with an increasing number of mature older adults and the vulnerable and communicating in a kind, accurate, sincere and patient manner is so important.

Getting back to the mask debate, there must be so many vulnerable people in the same or similar situations. When we have the choice to be free from wearing masks, I would urge everyone to stop and think before passing judgement on someone’s choice not to wear a mask – because it may not be a choice, but a medical reason and one that you cannot see or even begin to understand.

We are celebrating taking on our first estate management contract, which is also our first development in Swindon!

I’ve written about Swindon before and how much I love the town and its varied character.

No sooner was the blog written and published, this opportunity came along and we’re so grateful.

This new contract for us involves an estate of houses, all privately and freehold owned, but the estate itself is run by a management company. This means that all communal areas and areas not adopted by the local authority are now managed by us! We will take care of the roads, grounds, street lights, signage and, of course, collecting the service charges to pay for these maintenance tasks. Basically, all of the maintenance of the communal areas of the estate in general.

I’m proud to say The Residents’ Management Company appointed us as their agent and we start in September. For us this is amazing, and we’d like to thank the residents (they know who they are) for trusting their communal environment to us. We will be mindful of the trust placed in us and do our very best to provide an excellent service.

What will happen next?

As they are new clients, we always recommend a kickoff meeting when we take over to ‘get to know each other’. This meeting will help us to understand the landscape, previous ups and downs so that we can iron out any outstanding issues they have. It will also look carefully at the insurances they already have in place – are they correct? Do changes need to be made? 

In the future, the plan will be to have at least an annual meeting where everyone is invited to talk about their experiences and issues, how they want their money spent subject to any legal agreements around the estate itself.

Each year, we will send out service charge demands to the residents, organise contracts (for gardeners and other trades), manage those works and ensure they are done in a timely manner. We will also prepare accounts on behalf of the management company and once approved by the board of Directors, we will distribute to all owners. It is very common for an estate like this to have a board of Directors or a resident’s association to liaise with the managing agent as required. 

Communication is key in these situations and as you know if you have read previous blogs, it’s extremely important to me and my team as part of our commitment to excellent customer service.

Typically, what things do Managing Agents like Fraser Allen Estate Management care for on private estates?

Managing Agents can care for, and deal with repairs for communal areas, which may include:

• private roads
• landscaped gardens
• communal meeting area outdoors eg. Pond with seats
• electric gates
• street lighting
• refuse areas
• sewage pumps
• TV aerial systems

As autumn and winter approach, I will have many things to get organised for our new Swindon estate. In fact, we’re already drawing up plans ready to hit the ground running in September. We will:

• Meet with gardeners to do any pre-winter cutbacks of the grounds or necessary tree cutting as well as scope out work for 2022.
• Clear drains of leaves and other detritus, to ensure they flow freely and don’t cause any blockages, which may be the cause of flooding or internal leakage. Often this simple act can save a world of hassle and avoidable stresses.
• The protocol when gritting estate roads when it is icy or cold – we will suggest a schedule to prepare for that and talk to residents about how that’s currently managed.
• Any potholes will need to be repaired, otherwise they can seriously damage car suspensions and tyres.
• We’ll also discuss and plan any works which will need to be carried out over the following year.

All in all, my team and I are thrilled to be trusted with this important responsibility and we cannot wait to get started.

The business lesson 

On a general business point, it’s also motivating to share successes. Running your own business is a brave and scary thing to do, so every step forward, however small is something to celebrate.

It keeps you and your team, if relevant, motivated and enthused. It also shows potential customers who may be quietly checking you out, what you do and how you go about your ‘business’.

Those quiet watchers are there, trust me. They are watching carefully and while they may not need your product or service right now, they are putting information into their knowledge bank for the future. 

These moments also highlight to someone new – someone who may have received a recommendation about you – what you do.

In our case this is about transparency. Being open and clear about what we do and most importantly how we do it. This supports any word-of-mouth recommendation in the real world.

Look at it like this. If someone recommends a business owner to you – do you go online and check them out? I suspect in almost every case the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes’!

So, at Fraser Allen Estate Management we are now working and supporting block management and now estate management in Cheltenham, Bristol, Stroud, Swindon & London. 

As the holiday season approaches, life may look different if you live in a leasehold property. There are our 6 top things you must consider, which may not affect a freehold homeowner, though some are relevant for both. 

As a multi award winning residential Block Management company we know only too well how stressful it can be if anything goes wrong whilst you’re away enjoying a well-earned rest.

Remember Residential Block Management is the process of managing the communal areas of residual properties through the service charge. You’ve got to make sure your property is safe and secure before you go away.

At Fraser Allen Estate Management we are used to taking away all the stress and worry and manage it on your behalf, so take our advice and consider these top 6 points and make sure your holiday is all plain sailing….

Our 6 Top Tips:

1. Turn off your water. This is particularly important if you are in a flat or apartment. If you have a water leak, it may not only affect your home, but could easily flood other flats in the building affecting others too. They will not be happy and someone like me may have to access your property and carry out any immediate associated works which you will have to pay for.
   
2. Unplug electrical items that don’t need to be on. Fires can be started by electrical faults so it’s always safer to turn appliances off.
   
3. Leave a key with a neighbour in case of emergency. 
   
4. Tell your managing agent when you’re away and provide them with emergency contact details and /or key holder information. If I’m your agent, I need to know how to access your property, I’d not want to be in the position of having to break doors down or change locks.
   
5. Stay quiet on social media. Don’t post saying you are going away for a few weeks, however excited you are, and however special the place is that you’re visiting. You can tell everyone when you are home. Did you know it could affect your buildings insurance if you make it public that you’re not at home, and you are burgled? Be very mindful of this. And don’t get happy ears and post your holiday pictures on social media, when you are away and your home is empty.
   
6. Don’t leave your flat looking unoccupied. If possible, put some timers on lights, so it looks as though someone is home during the evening. If you can ask a friendly neighbour to drop in once or twice a week to pick up the post and put it on a table so it doesn’t build up or remove any post stuck in a letterbox (a real giveaway for an opportunist burglar). They can water plants. If they are really friendly, ask them to come in and draw curtains and open them for you – you might have this arrangement if you have a cat at home for example.

Insurance is something else you need to ensure you have in place. If your leasehold property is a second home, then you either need to have Second Home Insurance, if you occupy the property at least once every two weeks. Alternatively, if you stay in the property less than this, Holiday Home Insurance may be the right solution. It is best to talk to an insurance company to make sure you have the correct insurance in place and you need to talk to a managing agent like me so that I know who will be around and when.

You require insurance cover because if you leave a property unoccupied for any length of time, it is more vulnerable to thieves, squatters and weather- related damage, and a standard home insurance policy may not cover you if something happened.

Check Your Lease

This may seem a good way of generating a little extra income while you are on holiday, or away on business. However, for leaseholders it may not be so straight forward.

Many lease terms in contracts do not permit properties to be sublet at all – and that includes for holiday lets. Clauses can often say:

• They should not use or occupy the flat otherwise than as a single private residential unit.
  This means that the clause is breached if the flat is not being used as a residential flat, but a short-stay temporary accommodation with transient visitors paying to use the flat.
  
• Not to use the property for purposes of business.
  This is another clause that many leases have. Letting out to holiday guests is considered a business use.
• Not to cause or permit or suffer a nuisance or annoyance to other residents.
  Other residents in the property may be annoyed by guests entering and leaving the building regularly, hauling luggage, or hosting they may be being too noisy, or they may not be comfortable with having people around they do not know or recognise all the time.
• A landlord can forfeit a lease if a leaseholder breaches a covenant.
  This is the worst scenario, if you ignore the clauses and covenants in your lease contract and still let your property.

So whilst using Airbnb might sound enticing please check your lease.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday – you earned it!

This year we have seen huge growth and I love getting enquires from new potential clients and the opportunity to support block management opportunities in towns and cities other than Cheltenham and Bristol. So when I recently started collaborating with another business owner in Swindon I was excited to see how a new business friendship would grow and develop.

Tara Cozens is the managing director of TLC Property, an estate and lettings agency based around Wiltshire and the Cotswolds. She has worked in her sector for 15 years, and like me, made the decision to go it alone, in order to bring her values, ethics to the services she offers her clients.

The property industry is very male dominated, and so it’s great for Tara and I to share our experiences and support each other.

Read more about our collaboration here

I feel very lucky to work in such a beautiful part of the country and to work with and manage the estate of some absolutely gorgeous properties. Cheltenham with its Regency architecture and Bristol’s huge range of different and varied combination of architectural styles. It’s a privilege doing what I do every single day.

As well as collaborating with TLC Property we were recently appointed for a new development near Lydiard Park which is a beautiful historic estate on the western edge of Swindon. I had no idea it was so lovely and set in 260 acres of parkland. I’ll definitely be back for a family day out.

However, Swindon often gets bad press, and as I seem to be spending more time there, I thought I’d do some digging and I’ve found there’s much to be celebrated about the town, in terms of business and leisure.

There are several things I was surprised to find out about Swindon:

1. Connectivity – Swindon is within reach of Cardiff; Bristol; Reading and London – on the M4 corridor. There are five cities within an hour’s drive: Cardiff; Bristol Bath; Reading; Swindon. It’s a cross roads for many major train services and has excellent road links with London less than two hours away by road.
   
2. Tech Hub is a digital network – an information hub for all thing’s tech in Swindon and across the region. They are bringing together the business community locally, and also showcase what Swindon has to offer, to the rest of the. UK and world.Swindon is well known for its high tech and research companies, including, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Intel Corporation and The Defence Academy as well as a wealth of smaller yet successful tech innovators.
3. Good transport links across the board, with a good bus service around the town, and fast rail links to London (within an hour), Birmingham, Bath on average in 15 minutes, Bristol, about half an hour, Reading, just over half an hour and Cardiff just within an hour.
   
4. The McArthurGlen Outlet Village is a wonderful asset for the town and a huge visitor attraction. Based within part of the town’s historic railway works, it has over 100 designer stores offering savings on fashion brands and much more. The outlet is one of the largest covered designer outlets in Europe. It is housed in old railway workshops, and is next to the Steam Museum, where you can see the history of the railway works in Swindon.
   
5. Young people have options for their education in Swindon itself. UTC Swindon is a University Technical college, specialising in engineering and digital technologies, sponsored by Oxford Brooks University Students, for students between14 – 19.Swindon College and New College have merged and now provide courses including 170+ A Level, GCSE, Adult Community Education and bespoke training solutions.
6. Many top companies are based in Swindon, probably far more than you think. Names include Nationwide Building Society; CarShop UK; Great Western Railway; RWE Supply and Trading; Thames Water; Network Rail; Npower; The National Trust headquarters; English Heritage, National Office; Zurich Insurance and Catalent. Indeed Swindon is the second most economically active town and city in the South West after Bristol.
   
7. There are multiple business centres in Swindon. There are several serviced offices in and around the town from Rombourne serviced offices on Junction 16 of the M4; Basepoint; Nexus Business Centre, to name a few. Plenty of places for business owners to meet up, or work from.
   
8. There are plenty of new housing developments in and around Swindon, with different options on offer for anyone moving to the area. The demand for housing is very high and new builds are currently springing up around Wichelstowe, Tadpole Farm, with others due to come on stream. It’s also a great town for entrepreneurial smaller property developers to infill on brown land and take over rundown and neglected properties. Many locals hope that soon a community use will be found for historic sites such as the Mechanics Institution and the Locarno in Old Town.
   
9. Swindon has access to the beautiful Wiltshire countryside and the Cotswolds, with plenty of places for country walks and days out, including National Trust properties. There are eight white horses in Wiltshire, and two of them are very close to Swindon.

Five fun facts you may not know about Swindon

The Magic Roundabout has been named one of the scariest road junctions in Britain. Once you’ve been around it a few times, though, it starts to make sense.

James Bond has been filmed twice in Swindon for the film “View to a Kill”.

The production of the famous Spitfire was moved to South Marston, after the original building in Southampton was destroyed by bombing.

Oasis https://bingostorm-casino.co.uk named their band after the Oasis Leisure centre – Liam Gallagher saw the venue advertised on a tour poster. There’s currently a campaign to save the leisure centre which has been dubbed not fit for purpose and there’s a move to knock it down and start afresh.

Diana Dors, Julian Clary, Billie Piper and Melinda Messenger were all born in Swindon and the rock band XTC were also from Swindon.

I’m looking forward to developing and deepening my business connections and collaborations in the Swindon area, and I’ll keep you posted how we get on.

Do you have any hidden gems on your doorstep that you could get to know more about?

I couldn’t wait for business to open up on June 21st if I’m honest because what I love most is working with people. Don’t get me wrong of course I have carried on and met with clients, but it’s not been as I would have wished. It’s been cautious and careful and always with their safety as my number 1 priority.

I have missed being able to talk to everyone face to face. I am a people person, and I’m one of those people that used to avoid having telephone meetings. So embracing more technology and having meetings on Zoom, and What’s App has been great when there was no other option, but there is nothing like being in the same room as someone and sharing your energy.

Like most people my initial reaction was that another 4 weeks is frustrating and disappointing, but not really a surprise. So I am choosing to ‘keep calm and carry on ‘and get on with it, as it’s safer for everyone, and after all it’s just another 4 weeks.

One of the things I love about my business as a block management specialist is being able to support my clients and residents, in spite of the lockdown. As I said, talking on the phone, by email, and even by Zoom is fine, but sometimes you can miss those nuances and subtleties, when people are perhaps finding it hard to explain a point as clearly as they might. Therefore, to be able to see them face to face is so much better.

Also, as a natural problem solver I love helping residents out and being able to sort out any problems they have, so their day to day living runs smoothly.

Another thing I have missed has been local business networking, in Bristol & Cheltenham which is so important. Again, there have been opportunities to network online, but not everyone has felt comfortable with this, and some people have simply opted out of that digital opportunity.

To walk into a room full of other business people who are there to share their stories, many of whom are business friends and colleagues, is such a support when you run a small business.

What I’m looking forward to:

Does it sound too cheesy to say I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone’s smiles! I have got used to wearing a mask, I think we all have, but what it masks is really being able to pick up on social cues.

When you work with the vulnerable and the elderly social cues are so important, and I think we have all got better at Smizing – smiling more with our eyes, it’s all we’ve had to interpret how the other person feels and is reacting to what you’re discussing. But I am really looking forward to ditching the masks and seeing everyone’s smiles again.

During lockdown I continued to meet with my clients and visit many of the blocks I manage, so the easing of lockdown in 4 weeks will mean it just gets easier to get out more regularly. Obviously, remaining safe is still important, but to be able to chat more freely with people will be lovely. To remind them that we are still available when they need us.

In terms of business, my business has grown during lockdown, and we’ve used the time wisely to improve our processes and the way we manage all the behind scenes work.

You may have read we have won a few awards, which is so exciting and all the hard work we have put in means that we are receiving regular new business enquiries. I’m thrilled and it’s a testament to how hard the team have worked and pulled together in the last year, because most of the new block management enquiries are as a results of recommendations and word of mouth referrals. This is testament to the service we provide and the fact that we consistently go the extra mile.

I’m so looking forward to deepen our relationship and with residents in the latest blocks we have taken on over the last few months. See how the decorations and alterations have gone, and meet the residents and finding out a little about them. I want them to be confident about talking to me, asking questions and not feeling I’m at a distance and not interested. That personal touch is so very important in my business.

I do have to bear in mind though that some people will not feel confident or as ready to meet others. Some will harbour fears around Covid19, some may not have had their jabs for various reasons and some may just have got out of the habit of being around others.

Bearing this in mind, I do think there will be a period of adjustment from which a new ‘normal’ will emerge. One where people will meet digitally more often in business, and where there will be more of a balance between virtual meet-ups and meeting face to face. I guess we will all have to show a little kindness and understanding around this.

Personally, the thing I’m looking forward to most is physically being able to meet friends again, both business and personal, and where possible and appropriate, hug them!

What about you?

Has the extension inconvenienced you greatly, or are you resigned to another 4 weeks because you, like me have got used to it?