Fresh Thinking

As Easter approaches, we are looking forward to the bank holiday weekend and hopefully some good weather too!

As a team we often discuss what’s on the current agenda: ongoing maintenance matters, remediation work, lifts, boilers and water tanks, tenant requests, fire safety, leaks and damp… right down to spent lightbulbs and everyday problems that occur in the properties we manage. We’re always looking for ways to do things better. Here’s just a few of the topics we have recently discussed.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

Maintenance is an important and inevitable part of property management. How we handle it is what differentiates us from the competition. Yes, at the start of a new contract a schedule is drawn up and we adhere to this, but we also regularly visit our properties and blocks and are keeping a watchful eye on things as we go. We believe that catching niggles before they become a bigger problem is a way we can helpfully support our landlords and tenants. Loose roof tiles, broken glass panes in shared areas, landscape and garden works that need attention – they are all on our radar. Nobody wants to trip over a loose paving stone or be groping around in the dark when coming home in the evening. A few roof tiles out of place after a particularly windy day can precipitate leaks and damp. Our team are detectives and take note of other tasks that may need attention in the near future.

COST SAVING

We all seem to be counting the pennies these days. With the increase in the price of just about everything it can seem like we’re squeezing every last drop out of the monthly wage. We are mindful of the expenses incurred by our landlords and tenants and know that right now every little saving makes a difference. We regularly review suppliers to ensure we’re getting the best possible value for money. Whether this is energy costs, repair work or insurance, we know that it all adds up and we’re working to get the best possible value for your money.

COMMUNICATION

Communication can be pivotal to the happy existence of tenants and the safe and effective management of a block or office building. Every block is fundamentally a community, and the sense of connectedness and wellbeing are really important to that ecosystem. At MIH we want to tap into that community and be a working part of it. We are here to listen, to assist in remedying problems relating to your property, to assist in smoothing out disputes where we are able, and to bring our experience to bear. We often share any conundrums we come across on our site visits with the team back at HQ, to collectively find the best answer. This is also a great way for our newer members of staff to learn the ‘MIH way’ and for more senior staff to pass on their knowledge.

RESPONSE TIMES

One of the complaints we hear about other services is the sluggish response time when action is needed. Here at MIH we understand that an untimely heating breakdown is not only inconvenient for tenants but may be beyond their scope to fix. When a block property is affected by a global issue or ‘building disaster’ (e.g. flooding), the remedy must come from the top so we’re here to deal with that process and find the quickest solution. With this in mind we have a policy for addressing concerns as follows:

All subjects great and small

These are just a few examples of subjects that are brought to the table and aired within our team meetings. We also deep dive into any frequently occurring situations or ongoing matters such as cladding remediation, for which we may have a number of properties processing and potentially coming up against the same roadblocks. As each problem is resolved, we’re able to disseminate that knowledge across our portfolio. We benefit from sharing information and use it to our (and our clients’) advantage. Our senior team invite fresh ways of thinking and new ways of looking at things. This is the approach that ensures that we deliver the Gold Standard in property management and keeps MIH ahead of the London rental property market. If you’d like to find out more – please get in touch!

 

Wishing you all a Happy Easter

From the MIH Team

 

 

Block Management

Commercial

Residential