1. Have the scheme’s governance documents available

Managing agents perform a paralegal role in bringing professional expertise and support for the operations of the trustees and owners in meetings. In order to give good advice, they need to have available certain basic information so that they can apply their expertise to the specifics of the scheme concerned. This information includes:

2. Understand the scheme’s finances

The trustees will almost certainly be relying on your understanding of the scheme’s financial affairs and your advice in this regard. Even if you do not handle the bookkeeping aspects of a scheme, you should have the latest management report and most recent financial statements available whenever you give the trustees financial advice.

3. Be Mr/Ms FixitAll, not Mr/Mrs KnowitAll

Be careful not to be seen to give financial, engineering or legal advice. Because of your experience in running sectional title schemes, it is appropriate for you to have opinions and to voice them. But you need to qualify those opinions in order to avoid liability in the event that the results of actions taken on your advice prove unsatisfactory.

Say “I am no expert on… but in my view you should think about….” and “My initial views are … but you may want to get some professional advice on this issue.” You may know that the trustees or owners will not want to spend money on independent professional advice, but make sure that when they take your advice they know it does not come with the authority of a specialist in the particular field.

Nobody ever became less popular by saying “I am no lawyer, but …”.

Student Feedback

Bridget Bakker, Managing Agent.
 “I am a managing agent and was not very clear on the procedure of meetings. I feel confident that I know far more now and that I have the notes as backup. Due to the in-depth course content, I feel confident that I could answer most questions asked of trustees about procedures of meetings.”