National Director for Advisory and State Director WA Operations, Nathan King met with Realmark Strata at one of their managements 131 Adelaide Terrace - Infinity, to explain the ins and outs of strata property valuations and why it is important to stay up to date with expert valuations at your building.
“We want to walk through the whole complex, looking through the construction and all of the assets, which include the basement, lifts, fire assets, the common areas and all the foyers to get a really good understanding of the building,” Mr King said.
“We do this by taking a lot of photos, detailed strata plans and collate all this information to then provide a fair assessment of any construction costs.
“As the costs of materials and labour is quite high at the moment, it is paramount for strata complexes to have their insurance up to date,” he said.
Knowing the complexities involved in property valuations, Mr King recognises the importance of working with a professional strata team.
“Realmark is a fantastic company, and we have a great relationship with the team, focusing on intricate matters such as Strata services and quantity surveying services, so working with professional firms like Realmark makes our jobs that much easier,” he said.
Realmark Strata Community Manager Jessica Wilkes explains how members of a strata complex should prioritise attending AGMs as detailed building valuation information is periodically covered.
“At each General Meeting, to assist our owners in making an informed decision whether to engage a qualified quantity surveyor or valuer, we provide them with the most recently undertaken valuation report and the building replacement sum for their complex,” she said.
“We always strongly recommend that owners undertake regular insurance valuations so that their homes or businesses are accurately insured.
“It is recommended that an insurance valuation is undertaken every 4-5 years to reflect construction cost changes, inflation and other factors,” Ms Wilkes said.
Ms Wilkes then explained how it is possible for schemes to be underinsured, even if they have updated their policy in the last year, let alone the average 4-5 yearly renewal period.
“Insurers like Acumentis will forecast how much the insurance is to increase throughout the year, in order to ensure every building is provided with the best insights to the current state of a building’s valuation trajectory.”
Director of Spectrum Building Management Rob Durrant, explains how his role works in collaboration with Realmark Strata and the property valuation company.
“As the building manager of 131 Adelaide Terrace, my role involves checking over any building defects, maintenance jobs and working with the residents to assist with any issues or queries,” Rob said.
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve made upgrades to the foyer walls, tile replacement in the outdoor common areas, new timber decking around the pool and upgrades to the outdoor barbecue area.
“When we have the team from Acumentis come through the building, it’s imperative to make note of everything we’ve done to the building and ensuring they know the building inside and out, in order to give the most accurate valuation possible,” Mr Durrant said.
Reiterating the words of Mr King, Rob acknowledges the importance of having the right strata team managing your building.
“The strata team actually make the effort to come out to the building and consult with us on a regular basis, which is greatly appreciated, yet uncommon, so it is great to see Realmark Strata going above and beyond to provide the best service for their managements.”