COMMITTEE MEMBER

Congratulations on being on your building's committee. You've decided to have a say in your property and thus safeguard its value. It's a big responsibility which isn't made easier by the pressure of making decisions about what works should be done to the building. Often, problems seem to come out of nowhere and some of them simply cannot wait - there are safety, legal and lifestyle issues at stake.

Some issues you can see coming. So you have to create a Maintenance Plan to prioritise future works. Choosing what works will give all owners the best Return On Investment is critical.

In either scenario, all works require a decision on how to fund them - and inevitably there's never enough money in the kitty.

Will a Sinking Fund allow you to get enough money fast enough to get the work done before the problem gets worse? Probably not.

Does everyone have plenty of cash available for a Special Levy - and if they did, would they want it to be used that way? It's unlikely.

For most owners and most corporations, borrowing will be the cheapest option. And of course it's quicker - which has both short and long term advantages to lifestyle and capital return.