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GNTResidents'meeting Radisson Hotel Tuesday1SthDecember: 6.30pm
Contents
Agenda:
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insurance
We've all seen the awful predicament of many householders and business people in the Lake District, who've lost everything in the floods because they weren't covered by insurance.
l.Managementresourcesand future arrangements
While the Great Northern Tower isn't likely to be flooded anytime soon by rising water, water damage can happen in other ways, whether a loose connection to the washing machine or the dishwasher, or a tap left running. Last week, we heard about a tenant at Piccadilly Basin who had a fire in her flat; she'd only been in a week and hadn't got around to getting insured. Everphing she
2. Servicechargebudget2010 3. Commercialunits,groundfloor 4. lndividualwatermetering 5. GNT ManagementCompanyLtd. 6. Website 7. Securitymeasureswithinthe block- update
owned was destroyed, and there's nothing she can do except start again from scratch. So - check you have the right insurance in place - the insurance that covers the block doesn't cover the flats: and a flat owners insurance won't cover their tenants' belongings. Don't take the chance!
8. Any otherbusiness 9. Date of next meeting *'*ALLWELCOME*'-
help us to help you - pay up! (youneedto read this) Every single leaseholder owns their apartment Ieaseholder cannot win. It involves notification in accord with the terms of the lease they of the mortgage lender that is registered against signed on completion. That lease states that the lease and may result in repossessionand you service charges for each year are payablp in full losing your home. at the beginning of the year. Altogether,
this
means
the
resident
To date the management company hasn't billed directors now face problems with casMow. This the yearly service charge in advance. It's been isn't fair or reasonable - so we're going to have done on a quarterly basis,with an option to pay to make some changes. by standing
order every month or quarter. vri'itc rhar{!(.ttt'ill hepa1'able a.r Thanhs to regular payers, the company has so l;ntm ttetl_1'tttt: far been able to meet its payments for wages of concierge and caretakers, cleaning, electricity for lifts and lights etc.
;d utl itt lhc lu;r. i.e..lull irradrunccanr!ducon I tl .'JaruaD' rarlt.yeuntkty tlu leasrhttlder hlt set
up a slntrlin,gordr arransnu,nt.fir mottilil): or Howeveq we currently have over d180,000 of qrtorldy ftrtl'tnrttlin wli'urtn Dt/iult u'ill rrsult in uurears. A Iot of this debt was inherited by the imtnutiult'lrgol actittrt. \ resident
directors after handover by the developer in March 2009, but new debt keeps Not nice and not neighbourly? Perhaps - but creeping up. Lawyers are instructed to enforce then, neither is reneging on the commitment you made when you signed your collection of these debts. lease agreement. Please note that all legal expensesare at the cost of the leaseholder and do not affect the service Please sort out your standing order without charge budget. It is a costly process which a delay!
02
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energysurvey
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the Tower and our energy use, and we now have their report. It's very interesting; they suggest a number of
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things we can do immediately to reduce our energy use. Spending will be
The Carbon Trust have been to look at
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required, but with a payback in reduced bills.
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The actions range from bulb replacement, to motion sensors, and
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looking to reduce the pressure in the water pumps as far as is possible and sensible. All of these will need careful
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examination, but our objective will be to programme them in as soon as possible ands affordable - see front pase!
UPDATE: Resources: managing GNT effectively and efficientlyinto the future... A previous newsletter set out some of the things we were doing to assessimprove the management of the block into the future. The l.gul, technical and operational issues involved in a large, mixed-use, complex city-centre block like GNT require highly professional solutions, with good planning and communications. The group of residents and leaseholders who offered to help progress the interests of GNT have been struggling with the time and other demands placed upon them, as they try to ensure that the Tower is not put into a vulnerable position. We believe that GNT is a prestige block that desewes a commitrnent to excellence.We have been forhrnate to have had help from David Guest as the GNTMC Ltd "client representative" since September. His involvement is now tapering off as decisions are being made and acted upon, and will end early in the new year. David's experience of big city centre mixed-use blocks has been an asset as we've evaluated how best to resolve immediate pressing issues, in parallel with our review of m;rnagement and resourcing, to ensure that we put the GNT 'house" in order for the medium to long-term. We have been very much aware that our duty is to act in the best interest of all leaseholders, protect our individual and collective assets,and avoid onerous liabilities in future. The next newsletter will concentrate on the results of the review. and set the scenefor 2010.
digitalswitchover We'd like to gauge what interest there is in upgrading the com,rnunal TV aerial systern to accorrurrodate Sky HD and/or Sky Plus in the future. Everyone will have had a letter frorn Alex asking for their view. Only l0 replies so far - so please do reply as soon as possible. We're grappling with next year's budget at the rrrorrrent - it would be really helpfulto hnow. Thanhs! a: the license was granted with m hours and a number of conditi uding consultation with GNT residents quarterly. Thanks all who got i team operating the restaurant want to neighbours and we hope to work wi on sorting out initial problems - such efficiency of their air filter systems!