Developers

Although our primary focus is on residents (as our name suggests), we have a broader interest in changing the residential property industry for the better.

That starts with developers. Some developers are more interested in working constructively with residents than others.

Doing the right thing means treating residents with respect and supporting them through the house-buying process, and beyond. Our focus is on the “beyond” bit.

The Challenges that Developers Face

We have prepared an article that summarises some of the Challenges that Developers face. The key points are summarised below:

• S106s – the time it takes to negotiate with the Local Planning Authority, changing requirements and the viability of developments.
• Management Companies – the complexity of setup and transferring control to Residents can be contentious.
• Managing Agents – the poor reputation of Managing Agents rubs off onto Developers, perhaps unfairly.

We have experience of working with developers around the UK and we think we have an opportunity to help Developers evolve to meet the new challenges ahead.

What Can Residents First Do for Developers?

• The Developer’s core skill is in construction and house sales. Post-sales support is lacking (in our experience), especially when this relates to Open Spaces, Management Companies, Managing Agents and Property Factors.
• Most Developer-engaged Managing Agents only care about profiteering from residents, keeping residents at arms-length and have no empathy in the position that residents find themselves in. They are perceived (by residents) as being the enemy.
• We want to offer a post-sales Resident Liaison Service to Developers that addresses those challenges head on.

The Resident Liaison Service

In the context of a freehold site, the Resident Liaison Service could work like this:

• Residents First takes on responsibility for liaising between homeowners and the Developer on a site as an independent service provider.
• We establish proactive communication channels to engage with residents including a site-specific website, a Facebook group, holding group calls and onsite meetings.
• Residents First is perceived as being on the side of residents, even though they may have been originally engaged by the Developer. Although, being engaged by the Developer, Residents First needs to be sensitive to Developer objectives.
• We educate, explain and support homeowners following their house purchase through to the handover of the Open Space to the Management Company.
• During construction, the Developer provides details of the work to be undertaken on site and we communicate the plans to all residents. This makes residents feel engaged and informed all the way through the process.

Benefits:

• The Developer has a single point of contact for all resident issues, which simplifies the management of homeowners.
• If done well, the Developer should see a reputational improvement for commiting time and energy to supporting residents through an independent service provider: independent of the Developer and independent of the Management Company and Managing Agent that will take on maintenance responsibility in the future.
• We can even advise on good quality, local Managing Agents that we work with to take on responsibility for the site, rather than rely on large, unscrupulous companies whose sole objective is to make money from residents.

We can demonstrate the potential of this service through a pilot site, which could either be a new site or retrofitted onto an existing site.

We see this as being a potential game changer for Developers. If this makes some sense to you, then why not get in contact with us?