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17 September 2009
Dear Duncan
RE: Reserve Study YWCA Hostel in Vincent St.
Our organisation is a long established not-for-profit incorporated society whose prime asset is our hostel located near Auckland’s CBD.
Until recently we did not have the vital information to ensure this building was kept in optimal condition, neither did we have details on a likely schedule of major refurbishment and repairs.
The reserve study we have recently had conducted by Duncan Ashford has provided us with a comprehensive, easy to understand report which will be a major tool in organising our management of the building. The detail and level of understanding demonstrated in the report gives us confidence in knowing we have the information to make sure our biggest asset is protected for the future.
We recommend organisations in a similar situation undertake this process for their own future-proofing.
Yours sincerely,
Hilary Sumpter
CEO
YWCA Auckland
10 October 2008
To whom it may concern
As a building manager I have been concerned about the long term maintenance of the buildings under my care. Typically a building is run by a Body Corporate Secretary and Owners committee who employs either a live in Building Manager or a Manager to visit the property on a regular basis to ascertain any immediate day to day maintenance requirements. This group consists of elected members who have little or no knowledge of building practices and operate on a “best guess” basis when it comes to deciding on an annual budget and the required sinking fund to run a building. This best guess approach fails to plan for the future and only deals with the likely events foreseeable in the coming year leaving future generations of owners at risk of escalating Body Corporate fees when long term maintenance items arise.
Typically the committees I have been involved with set a sinking fund which grossly under funds the actual requirements of long term maintenance and is usually driven by the desire to keep fees to a minimum rather than what would be required to actually maintain a building.
After consulting with experts in the field I decided to employ Duncan Ashford of Property Reserve Planning and Administration Limited to compile a detailed long term maintenance budget which took into consideration the manufacturers expected life term of materials used in construction and the cost in today’s terms for the replacement or ongoing maintenance of those items.
I was impressed by the thoroughness of Duncan’s work and the 30 year budget he produced. We are now in a very strong position to go to owners at our next AGM with a detailed plan of the coming years list of “to do” tasks and a forecast of the sinking fund levy needed to in the coming years. Duncan was able to suggest 3 funding scenarios for owners to consider and a flexible timetable to push out or bring forward maintenance items as the actual wear and tear of materials used verses the manufacturer’s suggested life of materials became known. I highly recommend his services and his ability to provide a clear long term view of the maintenance requirements of a building. We truly believe that by putting this in place today will place the buildings in a strong resale position should the maintenance requirements be both planned and funded for the future. I would be happy to be contacted at any time to provide further testimonial as to the service Duncan continues to provide.
Trevor Giles
Buildingmanager.co.nz Limited
136 Customs Street West
Auckland 1010
Ph 3744537
Em: h47@buildingmanager.co.nz
25 September 2008
We as a body corporate committee were struggling with our maintenance planning, invariably we would be hopelessly adrift with our costings and would be short of money to carry out the necessary maintenance to our apartments.
I mentioned our problem to a friend and he advised me to contact Duncan from Property Reserve Planning and Administration Ltd.
The body corporate committee were a bit reticent at first but we decided to invite Duncan and see what he had to say about our predicament.
Duncan was a delight to work with and made the entire process easy,
within a short time he had produced a sample reserve plan that was easy to understand and was very professionally produced.
It was obvious to our committee that Duncan had researched the subject of reserve planning down to the smallest detail.Best of all we could access our reserve plan through Property Reserve Planning and Administration Ltd, web site and change any aspect of our reserve plan that may change due to unexpected world commodity increases. It was this flexibility with the reserve plan that finally encouraged our committee to take the plunge and appoint Duncan to prepare our very own reserve plan.
From the moment that we appointed Duncan he showed considerable patience with our committee members who by there own admission are a bunch of amateurs. We now have our reserve plan and are confident that we now have our body corporate finances on a sound and professional footing and now of course we are fully compliant with the proposed Unit Titles Act 2008.
I have no hesitation in recommending Duncan and his company to any Body Corporate that are looking to take the guess work out of your Maintenance requirements.
Malcolm & Barbara Cheshire
Providence On Eden
Three Kings
Auckland.
19 April 2007
I was very impressed with the professionalism illustrated and the detailed accuracy of the reserve study presented by Duncan Ashford from Property Reserve Panning and Administration Ltd. The sinking fund projections were clinical and sound. They finally gave us an accurate, complete picture on which to base our budgeting decisions. The issues of reserve funds and maintenance planning have been matters we have struggled with for a long time. We are now in a position to make informed judgements on which to base our future decisions.
Allan Herkt, retired forensic practitioner New Zealand Police.
Member Oreti Village Body Corporate Committee, Pukawa, Taupo (18 years).
Former Director Murrayfield Apartments, Wellington.
5 June 2007
"Reserve studies and planning are becoming an important part of today's world, as demonstrated in New Zealand with the impending changes in the Unit Titles Act.
As a member of a body corporate committee I was impressed with the attention to detail and accuracy that Duncan Ashford at Property Reserve Planning provided. The conclusions of the Reserve Plan have highlighted that our committee need to implement a strategy in order to maintain the high standard of the property for current owners and our future generations.
I fully endorse the services provided by Property Reserve Planning".
Simon Cairncross
Chartered Accountant, NZX Advisor with ABN AMRO Craigs
Body Corporate member
8 June 2007
"Property Reserve Planning has provided us with a comprehensive professional report
which I am sure will greatly support our body corporate in dealing with mounting issues concerning future maintenance costs'
Jeremy Bendall
Body Corporate member.
26 May 2007
Does your Body Corporate have the expertise?
The Unit Titles Act is currently under review and there will be a requirement to make provisions for Long Term Maintenance Plans and Funds.
By engaging the services of an independent company like Property Reserve Planning & Administration – What are the benefits!!
- Professional & independent advice on long term maintenance and replacement of assets.
- Ensuring maintenance is undertaken in a methodical, planned way.
- Appropriate budgeting and avoiding large unexpected costs.
- Enhance your investment in the event of re-sale because of attractive reserve funding.
Reserve planning entails two key components namely – Physical Analysis, compiling an accurate inventory of assets and determining the replacement cost, plus the Financial Analysis, quantifying the appropriate reserve funding.
The pending changes to the Unit Titles Act will require a commitment to sound management and protection of your investment in multiple ownership situations.
I am delighted to recommend Property Reserve Planning & Administration Ltd for their specialist & practical understanding of the Unit Titles Act.
Graeme ORR
Property Investor
Taranaki
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