Chainbow help Leyton resident restore 1930s appartment complex
Case Study: Sharon Crossland
Development - Wellington Mansions
Leyton resident Sharon Crossland has started the New Year with a resolution to help restore her 1930s apartment building, Wellington Mansion, by hiring Chainbow as the complex’s first managing agent in more than 20 years.
According to Ms Crossland, the disrepair of the 22-apartment complex is mainly due to the freeholders who have never administered service charges. As a result, the building has no external lighting, shoddy service doors, no refuse system and a roof that should have been replaced 10 years ago.
Ms Crossland moved into the complex in 2003 with her partner who has been a long-lease holder since 1989. In that time, she had approached four different property management companies for help but all refused their services.
It was only when Ms Crossland heard Chainbow Chairman Roger Southam deliver a conference on insurance scams that she and her partner decided to approach Chainbow.
Ms Crossland comments: “We had tried for so long to secure a managing agent but many companies turned us down because, with the amount of repair needed for Wellington Mansions, it was not seen as very profitable. Roger knew the complex had no funds at all but it was the challenge, not the drive for profit, that made him come onboard and that is certainly rare. It is because we know what a big task is ahead for Chainbow that we trust them and it is a relief to know someone is trying to help.”
Chainbow officially started managing Wellington Mansions in late 2007 but had been working off the scene on the development since last February. The company’s first initiative was to raise funds for building repairs that initially led to the replacement of several electric closet doors.
Ms Crossland continues: “Chainbow has already replaced several shoddy items in the building which may seem like small, insignificant things but they have impacted on the residents here. About three-quarters of the owners have slowly started to come around to the idea of paying a service charge and as soon as we have our first major item fixed, the external lighting, I know the remaining owners will be willing to sign-up. Unlike other managing agents I’ve dealt with in the past, Chainbow have always been very transparent in their actions and what they budget funds for. I think most leaseholders do not know how they can secure managing agents like Chainbow and tend to put up with a bad service.”
