ᐅ Does property management need to be transparent for all owners?

Good day.
In our small residential complex (6 units), there is a small property management.
The chairperson is a "friend" of the property manager.
It seems I have no say.

But:
As one of the owners, am I allowed to know the following?
- Status of the service charges (i.e., breakdown)? When? At any time or only at the end of the year? Upon request with a copy?
- Review/inspection of the contractor invoices? Billing for pellets? etc.?

How transparent is this usually handled?
If I ask about this in the group, I will probably be accused of "distrusting" the property management and the chairperson...
But I need to know if I have the right to this information.

Thank you very much
erika

The management is, of course, accountable for your money. At least once a year, there is a full statement of all costs and expenses. If you are suspicious, you can also request receipts or invoices. If the property manager is also an owner and contributor, they likely have a greater interest in keeping costs low. 🙂

Taking legal action here will definitely backfire.
Rule 1: Don’t sue your neighbor.
No matter what the issue is, you will lose. Even if they run their chainsaw all night long...

What property managers often forget is that they work for you.

Basically, you always have the right to review the figures, but it is naturally a lot of work for the property manager if five other owners request this or that invoice or statement every few days. Furthermore, the question arises what you are supposed to do with an interim value if some items are not yet known because they will only be settled at the end of the year.

For this reason, there is the annual statement and meeting, where you have the same rights as any other owner. However, if you want to see or audit every single invoice, you will quickly make yourself unpopular, because the property manager has a certain scope of discretion, meaning that they can (and must) handle amounts up to a certain total for individual orders or a total sum per year without having to call a meeting and hold a vote each time.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

fraubauer schrieb:
...
How transparent is this process usually?
If I ask around, I will probably be accused of "distrust" towards the homeowners' association and the chairperson...

Good evening, Ms. Bauer,

Is this just an assumption?

Don’t jump to conclusions right away! 🙂

Mrs. Bauer should have bought a house instead of an apartment 😕