The Importance of Having a Factor

In Scotland, owners that reside within a block of flats that have areas with a common ownership, often appoint a property factor. Property factors manage and maintain the common parts of the building and/or the surrounding land and are on hand to administer repairs, arrange communal cleaning and manage the maintenance of communal grounds, to name a few, when required. So, what are the benefits of having a property factor?

Hassle free maintenance

Essentially, property factors are there to lighten the load of individual owners by taking up the hassle and pressure for dealing with the every-day, property management issues. This is particularly beneficial for buildings which have numerous flats and owners, where organising repair works and reaching a consensus can often be tricky. If there is repair work needing carried out, your factor will contact the relevant contractors to resolve the issue for you. Thanks to the movement towards paperless billing and online customer portals, making payments and reviewing the progress of repair work is made easy for everyone involved.

Prevent disputes with neighbours

By appointing a factor, it means that both owners and contractors can have a peace of mind when it comes to repair and maintenance work. Self-factoring can often lead to disputes with owners who don’t do their share or refuse to co-operate in managing the communal areas. Additionally, it’s often that builders are reluctant to work with self-factors in the fear that they won’t get paid due to poor admin/payment systems. A factor is important for regulating this work and ensuring that it’s a win-win for owners and contractors alike.

Provide added value services

Some property factors go over and above their service terms and conditions to ensure that the property is maintained effectively. At James Gibb, we pride ourselves in the added value services we provide, such as a 24/7 emergency contact phone number for emergency services, attendance at all committee meetings and AGMs, reminders to residents of their responsibilities regarding anti-social behaviour etc. and simply spending the time to gain a genuine understanding of our residents needs and wishes.

Looking for a property factor? Get in touch with us here.