Dear Owner of Hacienda Riquelme,
Below you can find the questions raised and answers given during the meetings we have had with the Building Presidents this week.
14.12.2020
Q1. CURRENT INSURANCE DEFICIENCES – There were 500 Insurance claims from September 2019. There are now 200 claims outstanding and only 42 have been forwarded – what’s happened to the remaining 158? Have they been completed?
We don’t know.
Over the last 5 years Resortalia have been administering itself with Resortalia doing admin. This is the reason we had to stay with Mapfre because of our claim history.
All the insurance investigations recently done by Mike Portlock & John Slater have brought up some serious inconsistencies in the Mapfre policy we have had for several years. We are on the earthquake plane and if an earthquake wiped out the resort, we are only insured for 16% of the buildings.
There is likely to be an increase in the new policy of around 10 to 20%. This will be shown in the General Community budget on a separate line.
Q2. COMMUNITY FEES WILL CONTINUE TO BE CALCULATED BY CUOTA?
Yes
Paul Sawyers is a Building President & Accountant. He got involved early on with our Accountancy procedures and did our first audit as Resortalia had persuaded the Resort President at the time that we didn’t need to do one. Gordon Hutchinson asked Paul to come back in 2017 and since then he has been working with Resortalia in producing forecasts and 5/10-year plan. Paul has dealt with everything properly, although it was difficult to deal with Resortalia archaic systems. Elena, who previously worked on Accounts with Resortalia is working full time in the Self Administration Team & will continue dealing with the ledgers. We have great confidence in their abilities to continue in the same way.
Q4. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED PUTTING OUR OWN MAINTENANCE TEAM IN?
Something, we have not considered since I have been on the Board. We have our own Maintenance Man, who is self-employed, and whose prices are reasonable and we don’t have to pay the high Social Security fees. It’s difficult to get good, reliable tradesmen and it is up to individual apartments to source their own contractors.
Q5. ASSUME ALL OWNERS WILL BE SENT A COMMUNICATION IN ORDER TO INFORM THEM ABOUT NEW SELF ADMINISTRATION – SO THEY CAN VOTE? WHAT INFO WILL BE SENT TO OWNERS? –
Gordon Hutchison & Ron Locke will compile on behalf of the Building Presidents a communication to go out to all owners on the on Thursday, 17th Dec. It is best to do it this way to avoid any misinterpretation. As we all need to be “singing from the same hymn sheet” Building Presidents are asked to hold off advising owners until the communication is released.
Q6. IS THERE A BREAK EVEN POINT FOR BUILDINGS MOVING TO SELF ADMIN?
54 – 58 buildings.
Q7. JUST INITIATED INTERNAL BUILDING PAINTING WITH PINTALAC, WILL THIS BE AFFECTED?
No
Q8. IF RESORTALIA HAVE DONE A BAD JOB, WHY ARE YOU EMPLOYING THEIR STAFF?
One of the reasons is because the staff were working for two other resorts and couldn’t commit themselves fully to HR. Many complaints about poor service included the lack of response to emails. This was mainly because they were dealing with other resorts and distracted from our requirements.
Q9. WHY HAVEN’T BOARD CHARGED RESORTALIA RENT?
It is historic from several years ago. If we charged them a sum, say 10,000 euros, it would have been added to our fees, it was included in Resortalia Contract and this was the best deal we could get at the time.
Q10. IS LEGAL ADVICE & A FULL AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS IS INCLUDED IN THE NEW FEES?
Yes, they are both included in IMONT’s legal fees for the General Community. This is a fixed €23k per contract. If you have a problem you go to IMONT.
Q11. SELF ADMIN FIGURES –
Once we decided to investigate a move to self admin, we looked at how we could do things more cheaply. At our inception there was nothing in the General Community budget for this, even though most of the effort and expenditure goes into General Community areas. In 2012 Resortalia decided to put about 32% of the money into the General Community’s budget and 68% in the building’s budgets. Sub communities pay the larger share & this doesn’t make sense because 98% of their work is for the General Community. It means the Sub Communities are paying for that service. We looked at ways of changing the payments to produce savings for owners.
Q12. SELF ADMIN FEES SPREADSHEET
Capital Costs not included. When we first calculated this, we set aside €18k for furniture, hardware, phones, etc. We have achieved all this for appx €10-12k
Q13. WE OVERSEE RESORTALIA, WHO WILL BE OVERSEEING SELF ADMIN?
The Board will be electing a Vice President so we will have a President & Vice President who will control Self Administration, with help from other Board members.
Q14. HOW MANY PEOPLE DO RESORTALIA EMPLOY?
7 people employed, not one dedicated to HR full time.
Q15. HOW DO YOU KNOW 3 EMPLOYEES WILL BE SUFFICIENT TO COVER HOLIDAYS, SICKNESS & TRAINING?
Pepa Pérez has worked in Resortalia for 12 years and she has sufficient knowledge of how many full-time employees we require. All procedures will be documented and tested, and all staff will be trained in these roles. We have employed the best staff from Resortalia, and we are confident they will be able to handle the workload. It is better to employ 3 staff and add one at a later date than it is to employ 4 staff and have to get rid of one. It may be in the future we will need to employee a part time person; we will only know in time.
Q16. I HAVE TO MAKE MY NEXT COMMUNITY FEES PAYMENT IN JANUARY, ARE PAYMENTS GOING INTO THE SAME BANK ACCOUNT?
Yes, the bank account is the General Community Account NOT Resortalia Account. The bank account details will remain the same. Our bank is the Cajamar Bank in Sucina.
Q17. WHAT SAVINGS WILL BE ACHIEVED?
Once the whole budget is worked out, we will know the savings. We are only looking at the savings of Self Admin versus Resortalia. We have to be careful not to raise owners’ expectations. It’s most important we get an improved service & it is not all about savings. Small savings go into a bigger pot. The savings compared to Resortalia’s proposal will be about €400k over three years.
Q18. HOW DO SUB COMMUNITIES NOTIFY RESORTALIA ABOUT CANCELLATION OF CONTRACTS?
Pepa will arrange the EGM’s and Resortalia will be invited to attend. The minutes will be produced by IMONT, our Lawyers.
15.12.2020
Q1.- At the moment, we are not able to get the emails from the recovery department at Resortalia, why is this?
As Pepa, Elena and Charlotte have joined the new HRGR Admin Team, they no longer work for Resortalia and therefore do not have access to their previous email accounts. Once the contract with Resortalia finishes on the 31.12.2020, they should pass all the details for the Resort over to us either paper or digital. As of today’s, date this has not been done.
Q2.- Resortalia are claiming they are still the Administrator until the AGM is held in March 2021, is this true?
No, the contract for the General Community was not renewed and therefore the current contract expires on the 31.12.2020. The AGM that is normally held in March is to approve the accounts and Building President but is back dated to the 1st of January. However, your block can hold an EGM at any time to vote for the change of Administrator.
Q3.- Are we looking to keep Jose as the general maintenance man for the complex and continue his role as it is now?
Yes. He is self-employed.
Q4.- With regards to the EGM, we are not currently in Spain. How do we go about holding the EGM?
You can’t hold a Zoom meeting for an official EGM. However, as per previous EGM’s the BPs and owners of your block can send their vote by Proxy. You can give your vote to Gordon (Current RP), Pepa or the Legal Team at IMONT. However, you cannot give your proxy to Resortalia.
Q5.-Has it been considered to negotiate just one more year contract with Resortalia instead of a 3-year contract?
No, the contract is normally only for one year. However, the last contract we had for the General Community was for 3 years as the General Community had negotiated the contract. The contract with the Sub-Community’s is for one year only.
**Pepa makes note that it is not required to sign a contract to assign an Administrator. It is noted that under any circumstance, do not sign a contract. An Administrator is appointed, not contracted.
Q6.- It is noted that in order to self-administrate we need 54 blocks, is there a backup?
No back up is necessary as we already have an idea of the number of blocks that are going to self-administrate.
Q7.-I don’t think I will be able to get 51% of owners in my block to vote in ratio to number of apartments there are? What happens then?
The % is in relation to those who attend or give a proxy.
Q8.- What is the situation with the Legal team, the insurance and the workload for the BPs?
Workload for Bp’s: The same if not less, as the new Admin team will be solely dedicated to HR and not any other Complex.
Insurance: At the moment it looks like we will be renewing with Mapfre but with a more amplified policy with more coverage. This is due to the high number of claims we have with our current policy.
Legal: The first contact for any legal enquiry would be with the new Admin team and they would contact Imont for you for anything related to your building.
Q9.-Is there a general communication that will be produced for us to send out to all the owners in my block? So that all owners in the Community receive the same information?
Yes, we are currently working on this communication to send out to all owners. Done.
Q10.-With regards to their being an excess introduced to the Insurance policy for the complex. If an owner has to pay an excess for damage that is being caused to their property by another owner’s property or by a communal fault. Will they be able to claim the excess back?
Unfortunately, we do not have the answer to this question. We shall request the answer from Risk media as soon as possible to inform all owners.
Q11.-The cost for the legal team, has this been negotiated? Is it a fixed cost?
This cost has been negotiated and is fixed for the next 12 months.
Q12.-Will the call for the EGM be sent out by the new Admin team on behalf of each Building President and Phase President?
Yes.
16.12.2020 – 10:00
Q1.-Who will be handling the Sub-Community accounts?
The new HRGR admin team. These shall be handled the same way as previous, if not better.
Q2.-Are the Sub-Community accounts protected?
By law, Resortalia must give us all the information and documentation requested for all the Sub-Community accounts. As soon as I have been able to access them, we shall inform Bps.
Q3.-What will be the procedure for handling an Insurance claim with the new Insurance broker?
If the claim is related to an owner own property, they must contact Risk Media directly. If the claim is related to a problem with the building or General Community, the BP should contact the new Admin team who will revise the situation and communicate with Risk Media.
Q4.-Will there be any additional work for the BPs to handle?
No.
Q5.-Do you now have possession of all the homeowner’s details?
No, not yet. We have already requested this information to Resortalia, however as of today’s date this request has not been responded to. It is however, their legal responsibility to send us this information.
Q6.-We have received a communication stating that the contact for our Sub-Community expires the 31.03.2021, is this true?
No.
Q7.-How will the savings that we should gain from Self-Administrating be spent?
The savings shall be spent on various areas to improve the Complex as a whole, for example: Water costs, pipework etc.
Q8.-If my Sub-Community is unable to reach 51% of favourable votes, what will happen?
Your Community shall need to decide whether they wish to stay with Resortalia or to appoint another Administrator.
Q9.-With regards to the staff for the new Admin team, what reviews shall be carried out to ensure the service they provide to owners shall continue to be of a high standard?
We shall ensure that they have the opportunity to go on courses, volunteers shall offer training and advise to run the office as smoothly as possible. Plus, if any other owner has any suggestions, these shall be welcome. We want the new Admin staff, Board members, Bp’s and owners to all work as a team together.
Q10.-As a fairly new Bp, we feel that there was not a lot of initial advice or help regarding our new role. Will this be something that the new Admin team will be able to assist with?
This is a great question, and the answer is yes. This is something that we are looking at. We are considering having seminars every other month with Bps and have more ‘get togethers’ to make sure BPs are providing their owners with the correct, up to date information. We do not want the BPs and owners to feel it is them against us, as previously said, we are all going to be working as one team.
16.12.2020 – 17:00
Q1.- What is the main drive for this change?
To have an overall better service, a team that is dedicated solely to HR, quicker response time to all owners and to improve the Resort.
Q2.- Surely it would have been better to involve all owners beforehand?
No, for distinct reasons:
- In the past other Resort Presidents have tried to change the Administrator but have been unsuccessful due to the way they approached the situation and information was shared too soon.
- Some BPs have their own agenda regarding Administrating their Buildings and may have tried to affect the outcome if the information was shared too soon.
- The process may have been blocked by Resortalia if the information had been shared too soon.
Q3.- If we agree with the self-admin, will we have to have a 3-year contract doing so?
No, it will be on a renewable yearly appointment.
Q4.- Surely this means more workload for the Board members, what happens if they tire of the workload?
Our aim for changing to self-administration is to eventually do less work than we are doing now after the initial transition. At the moment, the Board members are doing a majority of the work that we feel Resortalia should be doing. This is because the staff at Resortalia do not solely administrate Hacienda Riquelme, they also Administrate 2 other Golf Complexes and therefore their staff do not have the time to complete tasks for the Resort. We are looking for more BPs and owners to become involved and volunteer with their assistance.
Q5.- Our account continues to be with Cajamar, who is the main signature holder on this account, and do we have subsidiary signatures for the account?
Currently, there is only one signature holder, Isaac Abad. As the contract expires with Resortalia on the 31.12.2020, this is the date the main signature holder will be changed.
Q6.- How do you propose on obtaining all the accounts information, owner’s info, and digital signatures from Resortalia?
As the contract expires on the 31.12.2020, by law Resortalia must provide us with all this information by the 31.12.2020.
Q7.- We recently received an email from Resortalia confirming how much funds we had in our account and informing us that each Sub-Community needs to open their own account, is this true?
No. Each Sub-Community does not need to open their own account, if this was true why has Resortalia not informed owners before now?
Q8.- If I as the acting Building President wish to open a separate account for my own Community can I do so?
Of course. However, other points need to be considered regarding this. Who will maintain the account, you will be charged commission by your bank for the maintenance of the account, charges for payments made and transfers etc.
Q9.- In the past, we have had problems with our proxy forms and doubts whether or not they have been accounted for. Can you confirm that there will not be similar problems if we decide to call and EGM?
We are aware of the of past problems that owners have had with the proxy forms, we are currently liaising with the Legal team from Imont Lawyers to confirm that the proxy form we shall produce is valid. We need to be clear so that the proxy form and the points cannot be challenged by Resortalia.
Q10.- Does each owner need to vote by proxy? Can we not hold a zoom meeting for the EGM?
Yes, all owners that are not able to attend to the EGM will need to vote by proxy. Owners that are currently in the complex can vote in person.
Unfortunately, by law EGMs cannot be held via zoom meeting or any other similar online meeting platform.
Q11.- If an apartment in my Sub-community had joint owners, does this mean each owner can vote?
No, it is one vote per property.
Q12.- It was stated that we have 3 choices: 1. To Self-Administrate 2. Continue with Resortalia 3. Appoint another Administrator. What is the likelihood that we can appoint another Administrator should we decide to?
This is for you as the current BP and the owners of your block to decide.
Q13.- Does the BP have to be voted as the new Administrator/Secretary of their own block?
Yes, after liaising with legal team from Imont Lawyers this is true. Gordon is the Administrator/Secretary of the GC and his block however, as he is not an owner in any other block, he cannot be the Administrator/Secretary. Therefore, it must be the Building President. This does not mean more responsibility for the BP; it is merely for the self-administration purpose.
Q14.- Does this mean that each BP will need a Professional Indemnity policy?
In effect we will take advice from the new professional Insurance Broker-Risk media. They have advised that a D&O policy would be advisory. We continue to discuss this with Risk media and will confirm their answer as soon as it has been received.
Q15.- At the EGM, Resortalia may try everything and anything to stop the self-administration from going ahead. Should we make sure that we ‘dot our ‘s and cross our t’s’ before going any further?
Yes, and we have done so by passing everything regarding the process via our legal team at Imont Lawyers first to avoid anything being challenged by Resortalia.
Q16.- With regards to Health and Safety in general for the resort, who is responsible for this? Resortalia? Will the new Admin team be responsible?
We are currently working on this. Recently we have a new owner on the Resort who is a Health & Safety expert. We have asked for help to assist us with this. However, due to the global pandemic he has been unable to come over. He will be onboard to help as soon as he can get here.
Currently, on the Ground floor level of each block there is a document signed by a previous Resort President. However, we do not know if this 100% up to date and therefore need to seek professional advice.
Q17.- If Resortalia are present at the EGMs, is there any physical way they can stop the EGM from happening?
No. Not that we are aware of. The BP can call as many EGMs as they wish to throughout the year. The BP is always the person to call and EGM, not the Administrator. Also, Resortalia as the Administrator cannot vote.
Q18.- I believe there has been conflicting information being sent out to owners regarding the legality of the current contract Resortalia currently have with the Sub-Community’s. They have stated their contract is until March 2021, is this correct?
No. On a side note, a BP can call an EGM whenever you want and vote to cancel the contract with its current Administrator.
Q19.- As the current BP, if I wish to wait to call the EGM and talk to the owners of my block first and call the EGM at a later date, will the Board still accept my building as part of the new self-administration team at a later date?
Of course. The board will accept any decision that you and the owners in your block make.
Q20.- With regards to Debtors in my building. There are some Spanish ‘Monitorio’ procedures in place, will these continue?
Yes. Resortalia must hand all this information over to us.
Q21.- Can the percentage of distribution for the owner’s community fees also be changed with the new self-administration?
No.
Thank you