This month we are with Carl Warland, a senior property manager at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward. From dealing with consequences of thunderstorms to visits of new residential developments and responding to reports of a possible moth sighting, Carl shows that no two days are the same in this game!
7.00: Arrive at the office. It’s the best time of day. The office is completely silent with no phones ringing and it is empty, well almost, there are always a couple of even earlier birds. With my first cup of coffee of the day in hand I start rooting through all of my letters and notes from the quarterly residential committee meeting in Hampstead last night. When the office is at its quietest I take out my dictaphone and make a list out loud of all of the things that need to be dealt with. It is a strange feeling talking to myself and the worst part is playing the tape back. Does my voice really sound like that?
9.30: With e-mails and voicemails responded to it is time for cup of coffee number two. The office is full and bustling now and after a quick meeting with my PA, our amazing typist hands back the dictaphone with all of my early morning ramblings that have been transformed into letters to be signed and sent as well as the minutes from last night’s meeting. 10.15: I receive my daily call from Mrs A, an elderly resident from one of our blocks. Today she is calling to let me know that there is a moth in her flat. She thinks that it might have come from the carpet. I decide not to break it to her that her flat has wooden flooring throughout.
10.20: Time to compile my management report for a board meeting next week. It needs to go out in advance so I do a quick double check that all required action points have been taken and the necessary information received. A couple of phone calls later and a fax received and it’s time to get the dictaphone out again!
12.00pm: After a quick lunch I am off to visit a development of new apartments in Kent. We have been involved from early on helping to work out a range of issues from drawing up the budget for the service charge allocation and advising on specific details of the lease, to simpler tasks such as advising on the best location for the resident’s post boxes. It’s an exciting development and a great project to get your teeth into.
4.00: Back to the office and only three messages have been left on my phone since I have been away. One of them is from a private investigator who we hired in response to complaints about a night porter sleeping on the job, his findings confirm the residents’ suspicions.
4.45: There is a thunder and lightning storm outside. The excitement of these storms tend to be lost on a property manager as I’m just wondering if there will be any leaks or blocked gutters in our properties.
5.10: The phone rings and it is a call from one of our residents reporting a blocked drain. I was close. After organising for maintenance to deal with the drain and assuring the resident that the company is en route, it’s time to shut the computer down and head home. I’m praying for sunshine tomorrow
Are you a PM looking to share your day time story, then contact the editor at jamie@newsontheblock.com or call him on 0207 616 5262. We are always looking to write about the quirky side of block management.
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