If you are selling your property, your solicitor will need to contact us so we can provide a pre-sale enquiries management pack with details of the charges.
Enquiries cannot be answered until payment has been received with an undertaking confirming that any outstanding service charges or ground rent will be settled for the period up to and including the current year.
Through our brokers, Pinnacle Property Management arranges comprehensive insurance cover for our managed developments including, Buildings, Terrorism, Property Owners Liability, Directors & Officers and Engineering for equipment such as lifts.
Due to the number of properties we insure our brokers are able to obtain favourable terms from insurers. Regular insurance revaluations are carried out on our properties to ensure the correct level of cover is maintained.
Our brokers work closely with the insurers to submit, track and progress insurance claims. If insurances is arranged by a third party such as a freeholder, they will liaise with their brokers/insurers to ensure claims are completed.
If you need to make a claim on any of the above policies please call our office today for more details.
How close are your offices to our property?
Our head office is situated in Reading, Berkshire. We also operate satellite offices in Swindon, central London, Birmingham and Sussex so we are never far away! Please click here for contact details for the office nearest to your development.
How many years have Pinnacle Property Management been in business?
Pinnacle Property Management started in 2004.
How many staff are directly employed by Pinnacle?
We currently have 90+ members of staff, ranging from Property Managers to Accounts staff all of whom are happy to help should you contact us. As we only deal with Block and Estate Management (many agents are also Estate Agents or Letting Agents for example) all our staff are involved with management and maintenance of property.
How many blocks do you manage?
As a successful company we are continuing to grow, and this number is also increasing albeit in a manageable and controlled fashion. We currently manage more than 22,000 units consisting of over 250 clients, the vast majority of which are resident management companies.
Can you supply references for blocks you manage?
We have many references available and will happily supply these based on similar sites to yours that we may manage.
What would you charge for managing our site?
We have three different service levels; Platinum, Gold and Silver with each one offering differing services which we can offer. Depending on your site we will work with you to determine which one best suits your needs. However, we are also happy to tailor a solution to you so you can receive the service you require.
Each of these service levels has a fixed management fee based on the number and type of properties within your development.
How can you convince us that you can offer a quality service?
We have been in business now since 2004 and have always grown our business each year, we do this by providing great service to our customers and through partnering with developers. We have not grown through artificial methods such as acquisition, our growth has come from proving a professional and efficient service which gets us recommended. We are full corporate members of the Association of Residential Managing Agents.
How do you manage the contractors you have?
Identifying good contractors is key to managing developments effectively; we have therefore focussed on selecting and retaining these over the years. Also, as a local company, we put a lot of work through our contractors which makes us important to them thus ensuring great service and value for money. For any new contractors we may require, we seek referrals where possible and we clearly brief them on the expectation and specification of what is required. All contractors are then required to complete a competency questionnaire giving details of their relevant qualifications, insurances etc
How often would a representative from Pinnacle visit our development?
Firstly, we do not believe developments can be managed remotely or without inspections. The frequency of these visits will depend on the service level you selected, however your requirements in this matter will of course go some way to determining the level you choose of course. Our property managers visit properties as per the management agreement but as we believe that visits are vital this would typically be quarterly.
What IT infrastructure do you have?
As money is the bedrock of property management, we place a lot of focus on ensuring payments are received from owners and payments are controlled. With this in mind, we have invested heavily in our main ‘property management’ package which is called Qube from Qube Global Software. This package is widely regarded as the best available in our field. This package also links into our website and allows existing customers to log-on and view their Statements, make payments etc. It also offers us lots of reporting tools and financial controls to ensure your development is run efficiently. We also operate most of the usual office applications you would expect so we can easily send you data in Word or Excel formats, we are also freely available on email of course.
How do you deal with unpaid service charges?
As mentioned above, money is the bedrock of property management as without money we are unable to supply services! We therefore ensure a tight rein is kept on the income and swiftly follow-up any non or late payers.
Our process for chasing payments is simple and effective; after initial invoices and requests for payments is sent each owner has a number of weeks to either make the payment or contact us to set-up a Standing Order if this is possible. However, if no payment or contact is made we will send a reminder notice out, if there is still no further payment or contact a second reminder is sent with detailing that legal action will be taken. If we still have no payment or contact after this second reminder a third and final reminder is sent stating that legal action will commence in 7 days. If we then get to this stage, we proceed with a County Court claim. Following receipt of the judgement we would approach the mortgage company to obtain payment on behalf of the lessee.
We would however always ask owners to call us if they are having difficulties, we only proceed through the above process where this issue is ignored, and we are not contacted. We will always try our best to find a solution which suits all parties.
Where are our Service Charge monies held?
All funds for your development are kept in a separate Client Account specific to your development. These funds are protected and separate from our own company funds and banking activities.
How do you deal with complaints?
We are committed to providing a professional service to our clients and customers. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us improve our standards. In the first instance you should discuss your complaint with either your Property Manager or Service Charge Account Manager depending on the nature of your complaint, so they can fully understand the complaint and see if it can be dealt with over the phone. If we are unable to resolve the complaint in this way, please click here for a full copy of our Complaints Policy and Procedure.
Do you offer an out of hours service for emergencies?
Yes. Customers are asked to call our emergency number on 07766 668644, and an answerphone message provides them with a mobile number to call. We operate this simple two-tier system as it weeds out the ‘non-emergency’ calls which should be made to our office during office hours. Calls to the mobile number on the message are then vetted to determine the facts and dispatch a suitable contractor if appropriate.
Please list any professional or trade bodies to which your firm belongs.
Association of Residential Managing Agents 178 Battersea Park Road, London, SW11 4ND
Telephone: 020 7978 2607
What is your Data Protection Act registration number?
We are registered under the Data Protection Act. Our registration number is Z1390792.
Will your fees carry VAT?
Yes, however we will always tell you clearly whether figures we quote you are inclusive or exclusive if VAT. Our VAT Registration Number is 854 2952 06