I currently live in and own a house that is on a shared title with another house. There is no common ground. There is a hallway connecting the two properties, but a wall is placed there on the boundary. The other house’s electricity meter is on my property. My question is, do we have to have strata managers? We currently pay $1,300 per year to a strata manager, which includes building insurance. If there is no common ground I don’t understand why we need to pay this. Can you send me any info on this and on self-managing, if possible? – Tara, NSW

Q: I currently live in and own a house that is on a shared title with another house. There is no common ground. There is a hallway connecting the two properties, but a wall is placed there on the boundary. The other house’s electricity meter is on my property.
My question is, do we have to have strata managers? We currently pay $1,300 per year to a strata manager, which includes building insurance. If there is no common ground I don’t understand why we need to pay this. Can you send me any info on this and on self-managing, if possible? – Tara, NSW

A: Strata managers are not mandatory, and you are free to self-manage the property if you wish. There are, of course, pros and cons to not having a strata manager, which you can read more about by clicking here.

Having a strata manager may help with tasks involving paperwork, legislation and working out fees for the property, among others. Click here to read about some of the most common mistakes property owners tend to make when self-managing.

If you are looking for a more competitive rate on your strata management, you may wish to request a free strata assessment by clicking here.