Resident

Author: ResiDev

  • Introducing our new Head of Support Michal Marek

    Michal Marek has 7 years experience providing exceptional customer service at all levels, from working with international corporations to local businesses. 

    Approaching issues with a positive attitude coming from the belief that if every problem has as reason, there must also be a solution for it, which is just the right fit for the team at Resident, as we believe the same with our block management software.

    Over the coming months, we are putting in place a raft of support tools to help you make the most out of Resident. These will range from training videos to a searchable knowledge base to support request features embedded into the software itself. These will not only cover the current system but will be updated for new feature releases.

    Of course, as ever, we will be a phone call away, but with our class leading electronic support channels coming soon, you will have the choice.

    Please note the new dedicated support phone number, available from Monday 27th June: 01892 739442.

  • Resident® New Features & Enhancements 16th June 2016

    Resident® New Features & Enhancements 16th June 2016

    New Features & Enhancements 16th June 2016

    Import functionality

    We have released two new features which will help new users migrate their data into Resident, and existing clients enter new business.

    –        Import Unit and Owner information

    Import all the unit information, owner information, ownership start dates and any opening balances in one go, via a CSV file.

    This will substantially simplify and speed up setting up a block.

    –      Import Schedule and Unit contributions

    This new feature allows for bulk imports of service charge schedule unit contributions, i.e. how much each unit contributes to a schedule (% upto 6 decimal places).

    This feature also works as an update. So, if you have tens or hundreds of units in one block, and find updating the contributions easier in Excel, you can do just that!

    Both these functions can be found on the Configuration page.

    Show unreconciled payments in the transactions page and cashbook

    Following client feedback, we have decided to go back to displaying payments in the Transactions page.

    Reconciled payments, i.e. payments that are linked to a transaction, will be displayed inside the transaction. Whilst unreconciled payments will display as stand-alone.

    This make Resident less prescriptive about how you should manage your payments, bank statement imports and financial reconciliations.

    No functionality has changed, only how the data is displayed.

  • Resident Upgrades 10th June 2016

    Introducing our Head of Development, Diogo Xavier Luis

    With the recent appointment to Resident of Diogo, necessary due to our continued organic growth as a company, we would like to share a few notes on his experience and what his role will be.

    Diogo has 10 years experience in delivering technology for many Fortune 500companies. His projects have ranged from Business Intelligence, web development, project management solutions and financial applications. He has undertaken a broad range of roles, from business analysis to software development, and project management to software architecture. With a very diverse  skill-set and successful projects to back it up, he enjoys delivering great solutions rather than thinking of job titles.
    Diogo heads the development team at Resident, in which his role includes defining product architecture, our block management software development roadmap, quality assurance and project management. 

    Enhancements and fixes 13th June 2016

    1. Added an enchancement so that your logo is now shown on statements and budget downloads.
    2. Automated application of credits to new service charge demands
    3. Updated the Excel reports look and feel to work in Numbers for Mac OSX
    4. Removed the Resident branding from system message emails
  • Resident Upgrades 6th June 2016

    Resident Upgrades 6th June 2016

    All the improvements and new features have been direct requests from our clients.

    Here is the list of those improvements and features. We will update the user manual and generate a blog post in the near future, with further documentation to come and video user guides to help you along.

    Mail merge extract

    To allow mass email or bulk printing to your block contacts, you can now extract a Microsoft Word compatible extract of your contacts. 

    Download the extract in your block’s Contacts page and follow this manual. This allows for greater flexibility, since you can format your Word document anyway you want, which makes it perfect for introduction letters and the like.  

    We provide one extract with the contacts details and another with the unit and owner details. We also include their role (director, owner, etc), so that you can filter on the contacts you wish to use.

    The Resident team are happy to assist you in creating various templates as part of your on boarding experience as new clients.

    Delete data

    After much feedback from our clients, we have decided to change the paradigm and allow all data to be deleted by our users.

    With this release, you’ll be able to delete budgets, service charges, invoices, payments, credits and bank transactions.

    Improved budgeting/service charge functionality

    The new budget page allows for the user to immediately visualize the values being charged per unit and per period.

    You can now have several budgets per financial year, and set a revenue category against them. You can also assign a bank account to a budget or service charge, which will trickle down to your invoices. Multiple bank accounts can be used.

    By editing a Schedule, you can set what Categories relate to that schedule. On the budget, you’ll only find these categories in the schedule tab, making the budget pages cleaner and easier to use.

    Assign credit to invoices

    You can now assign credits to an invoice. Just navigate to the invoice and you’ll be able to assign any credit (related to the owner(s)) from the credit’s tab.

    Re-assign invoice to different unit owner

    You are now able to change the unit owner related to a specific invoice. This allows for smoother unit owner transitions.

    Improved financial reconciliation

    Each transaction is saved individually. This allows for an easier interaction with the list of transactions to reconcile.

    You can now also assign the bank transaction to your general ledger, giving it a category and some extra information. This allow bank transactions to be reconciled, whilst not relating to an invoice.

    Improved credit system

    We have changed a lot here.

    Under “Credits and Adjustments” in the unit page, you can register opening balances, bank transaction adjustments, payment adjustments and credit note items. These can all be assigned to an invoice. Although you can make them negative, we recommend you keep them positive, and raise supplementary invoices for situation where the owner is in debt.

    Bank transfer adjustments can be created directly from the financial reconciliation page, and are meant as a credit from an overpayment from a bank transaction.

    Credit notes have temporarily disappeared. But we are working on getting them back for invoicing to clients. Any feedback you have on how we can improve on this is most welcome.

    Bulk download of owner statements in arrears

    To allow an easy way to communication with all owner in arrears, in the Units page, you can download all the owner statements who are in arrears.

    New reports

    We have included a number of reports our clients requested, and we have many more planned.

    • Debtors report –  displays the list of owners and invoices in arrears
    • Creditors report – displays all supplier invoices which haven’t been paid
    • Budget vs. Expenditure – displays, by category, the amount budgeted and invoiced
    • Annual charges – displays all charges applied to each unit on a yearly basis

    Additional fixes and tweaks

    • Maintenance invoices are set to paid, regardless of how payments are registered
    • Maintenance invoices details can be changed, even if the status is paid.
    • You can edit reconciled bank transactions
    • Added unit address to a statement
    • Renamed “New tenancy” to “New ownership” in the unit page, owner tab
    • Moved “Add new ownership” button to top of the page
    • Created a new button on unit page, to download a current owner statement
    • Fixed an issue with Expenditure reports, where a schedule was not being populated correctly
    • Fixed an issue with apportionment reports, where a schedule was not being populated correctly
    • Fixed an issue with payments reports, where payments from supplementary invoices were not showing
    • Aligned arrears values in the dashboard, units and arrears pages to use the same calculation formula

    Lastly…

    Thank you for your invaluable feedback, it really is appreciated and the team at Resident will continue to adapt and enhance the system with our Clients feedback and ideas.

  • New Code of Management for Residential Properties

    Two codes of practice in respect of service charges for residential leasehold property have been granted approval by the Secretary of State.

    Under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 the Secretary of State had powers to approve certain codes of practice.  He had previously approved codes produced by Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).  Both of these codes have now been updated and as from the 1st June 2016 there is a new code.

    The RICS code is the best known and is now in its third edition. A copy of the code can be found in our Resource Centre for Resident® clients.

    If you are involved in the management of long residential leasehold property then you ought to be familiarising yourself with the Codes. Both Codes are considered best practice and any court or tribunal adjudicating on long residential leasehold will have regard to the Code in determining the issues.

    As with previous editions the Codes are written in clear easily understood terms.  The ARHM is aimed at those managing properties in the retirement sector and for all other long leasehold property the RICS code would be relevant.

  • Resident Breakfast Seminar

    We are excited to announce the first of our quarterly complimentary breakfast seminars in partnership with Earl Kendrick surveyors and Bolt Burdon solicitors to be held in Islington on 14th April.

    They will be advising Resident® clients on planned maintenance reports, major works and service charges preceded by breakfast in the coolest solicitors reception area I have seen including a football table and jukebox (seriously!).

    These firms have a fantastic knowledge of the block management industry so contact me at kate@resident.uk.com to reserve a place, gain some insight and pick their brains.

  • Diogo Luis appointed new Head of Development

    Diogo has 10 years experience in delivering technology for many Fortune 500 companies. His projects have ranged from Business Intelligence, web development, project management solutions and financial applications. He has played broad range of roles, from business analysis to software development, and project management to software architecture. With a very diverse broad skill-set and successful projects to back it up, he enjoys delivering great solutions rather than thinking of job titles.

    He has a passion for technology and the change it can produce. Apathy is his worse nightmare. 

    Diogo heads the development of resident.uk.com, which includes defining product architecture, development roadmap, quality assurance and project management. He still has time to look at some code.

  • Section 20 Consultations

    Avoiding section 20 headaches

    It is crucial that Landlords, Resident Management Companies, Right to Manage Companies and Leaseholders understand section 20 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002). Section 20 states that by law leaseholders must be consulted before qualifying works are carried out to a building where the contribution from any leaseholder exceeds £250. It is designed to protect leaseholders from paying unnecessarily large sums for work carried out to their building.

    Outlined below is a summary of what section 20 involves and the necessary steps that should be taken so that Landlords, Resident Management Companies and Right to Manage Companies stay compliant.

    Stage 1: the Notice of Intention

    For qualifying works, it is necessary to issue a “Notice of Intention to Carry Out Works” upon all lessees. The Notice must generally describe the proposed works, state the reasons for considering the proposed works, and invite leaseholders to make written observations within 30 days.

    Stage 2: the Statement of Estimates

    Once the 30 day consultation period has finished, at least two estimates should be obtained. If any nominations were received from leasees during the consultation period then an estimate should be obtained from at least one of these nominations. Once estimates for the works have been obtained, a notice must be served to all leaseholders detailing the costs, how to inspect them and inviting any comments.

    Stage 3: the Notice of Reasons

    Once the contract is awarded, the landlord must send notice if they did not choose the cheapest estimate or a contractor nominated by the leaseholders. It must explain why they chose that particular option.

    Who does section 20 apply to?

    It applies to all Landlords, Resident Management Companies (RMC) and Right to Manage (RTM) Companies. Even if everyone in a block is a member of the RTM a consultation must still be carried out.

    How long does a consultation take?

    For stages one and two, leaseholders must be given at least 30 days to reply with any comments. So even if estimates can be obtained quickly, it will take at least two to three months as a minimum.

    What are the repercussions is section 20 is not carried out properly?

    If a consultation is not carried out properly the Landlord/ RMC/ RTM will be subject to a penalty: the maximum costs leaseholders can be made to pay for the work will be limited to £250. This is regardless of the final bill. Where would the rest come from? It is possible the Landlord or RMC/ RTM directors would be liable because they were negligent in not following section 20 procedures.

    How Resident® can help

    Resident® is a cloud based block management software designed to simplify block management. Resident allows users to log all general repairs and maintenance and will issues users with a warning alerts if proposed expenditure hits the section 20 threshold for major works. The resource centre also includes step by step guides and templates for all the necessary notices that need to be issued throughout a section 20 consultation. If users have further questions they can speak to our experienced team.

    Other clever features included with Resident® are: automated service charge demands; communication tools including remote voting and instant messaging; and calendar reminders for repetitive important tasks including insurance renewals, health and safety assessments, and service contract due dates. Resident® also sends email alerts for everything you might need reminding of including: maintenance tasks; insurance renewals; service inspections; meetings and; health and safety checks.

    Resident® is the intelligent property management software that does your thinking for you, saving you time, worry, and money.

    Kate Boyes MRICS, Resident founder

    Resident® was created by Kate Boyes, a chartered surveyor and property manager who has been letting and managing property for twelve years. Kate recognised a need for a more cost-effective solution that modernises block management and makes it more accessible and transparent, and so Resident® was born.

    Kate has a first class honours degree in Land Management from the University of Reading specialising in Investment & Finance, and trained at Nelson Bakewell (now Capita Symonds), a Property Consultancy, in London. She qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 2004, and is a ARLA Board Member.

    Kate established Alexandre Boyes Residential Lettings in 2003 and Alexandre Boyes Estate & Block Management in 2007. The award winning teams recently won gold for Property Management Company of the Year at the Negotiator Awards.

  • Resident announced as finalist at the News on the Block Property Management Awards 2015

    Resident are very pleased to announce that we have been selected as finalists for Best Industry Supplier at the 2015 Property Management Awards! The awards will be announced at a black tie dinner on Thursday 3rd December at Wembley Stadium.

    Our sister company Alexandre Boyes has also been selected as a finalist for Best Regional Property Management Company and Lettings Management Team of the Year. These awards come just a few weeks after Alexandre Boyes won gold for Property Management Company of the Year and bronze for Small Letting Company of the Year at the Negotiator Awards. Resident was shortlisted for Website of the Year and Supplier of the Year: Technology.

    If you work in the industry you can vote for us by clicking here!

  • Resident® proud sponsors of the FPRA AGM & Networking Event

    Resident® are proud sponsors of the Federation of Private Residents’ Associations (FPRA) AGM & Networking Event to be held on 10th November 2015 offering an evening of networking with guidance and advice opportunities from the FPRA and experts in Leasehold. Please click here for more information.

    The Federation of Private Residents’ Associations are a not-for-profit lease advice, support and lobbying organisation for private residential leaseholders, tenants’ and residents’ associations, Residential Management Companies and Flat Management Companies.

    They are the national voice of residents’ associations and are frequently consulted by government. Their leasehold advisory services are free to members, who pay an annual subscription fee.

    The FPRA is able to offer its members specialist legal, insurance, management and building guidance, representing and understanding the interests of leaseholders seeking to set up a tenants’ association, existing tenants associations (recognised or not) and resident management companies.

    Resident® looks forward to meeting you at the FPRA event on 10th November.

    www.fpra.org.uk
    www.resident.uk.com
    www.newsontheblock.com

  • Resident® announced a finalist in The Negotiator Awards: Best Website & Best Supplier: Technology

    Resident® has been shortlisted as finalists for Best Supplier: Technology and Best Website at the Negotiator Awards 2015, known as the Oscars in residential property.

    The Negotiator Awards are the UK’s premier awards for estate agents, lettings agents, property managers, auctioneers and industry suppliers.

    The 2015 entry list was the biggest in the history of the Awards and so competition was keener than ever. The winners and runners up will be announced at a glamorous gala dinner hosted by comedian and impressionist Alistair McGowan, on 3rd November at the five-star London Hilton on Park Lane.

  • Resident® selected for Alpha Class of 2015 at the Dublin Web Summit

    Within four years Web Summit has become one of the world’s most influential and international tech events.

    Resident® has been selected to be part of the Web Summit Alpha Class of 2015 who engineer meetings between high-potential startups and renowned tech investors…Less than 10% of those that apply are offered a place. Read more about the Web Summit here. Previous Web Summit success stories include Uber.

    The Web Summit includes 800 world-renowned Speakers on 9 stages; 2,000 startups; 200+ satellite events, 1,000 Investors, and 800 of the best tech journalists. For three days this November, Dublin will once again become the international tech capital and we can’t wait to be part of it!!!