Why We'll Never Charge You For Paperclips!

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.