The key to modern living is convenience. With a PC in virtually every home this has never been more apparent, with online grocery shopping and chat rooms replacing “popping next door to borrow a cup of sugar” – residents know what they want and they want it now, none of us really need the added heartache of contacting and scheduling contractors and maintenance and so much more is expected of the service charge.

Good facilities

Of course, the atmosphere and style of flat living should not end at the residents’ front door. Good facilities management agencies can transform a reasonable block of flats into a truly desirable place to live – ensuring all communal areas are maintained to a very high standard and, in turn, enhancing the value of individual flats.

Residents need to realise the benefits and improvements that their service charges are paying for; in most cases, a good managing agent should be seen and not heard; remaining invisible to the resident unless they are needed, but providing visible benefits and improvements to living spaces.

Apart from the expected “out of hours service” and in most cases provision of a block manager for regular site inspection, management agencies are bringing a new era of convenience by using new technology to facilitate greater dialogue with residents.

Easy to use

One management agent that is promoting this approach is Regalty Estates of Staffordshire. Regalty has launched a new website that addresses resident needs directly by providing Your Space – an easy to use system that allows fault reporting, complaints and suggestions to be registered directly with the agency, providing a useful time-saving single point of contact. Individual residents are given a unique password that allows access to their account, allowing them to track their comments and responses from the agency, and download relevant documents as required without having to make numerous phone calls.

Alan Williamson of Regalty Estates said: “This new system empowers residents by giving them instant contact with the managing agent. A written request and suggestion record ensures that all work is carried out quickly and efficiently and the resident is kept informed at every stage.

“Most residents don’t have time to read newsletters and attend general meetings, and can miss out on first hand information about how the agent is performing – this can sometimes cause confusion over the level of service that is being offered.”

For all agencies and residents, the new systems allow convenient access to information solutions, advising when works are starting, finishing and providing an open forum for suggestions on how to improve services. Of course, they don’t solve the problem of where to find cups of sugar!