App to help tenants in block of flats

monthlypaymentsaddup

Hi all
I hope this post is in the right section of the forum.

I am a home owner in a newly built small block (8 flats total). We have a management company, and the other occupiers are a mixture of home owners and renters.

In the absence of any offering from our block management service provider, I am wondering what experience MSE users have of collaborating with their fellow block tenants (home owners and renters alike) to achieve maximum value for money from their management company.

My first reaction was to wonder if there was an app for that - anything that would allow us all to sign up easily and share information - typically things wrong in communal areas and possibly voice issues in our flats that may be affecting other people too.

I've done a quick scan on Google Play and can't see anything that fits this need.

I'm also open to other options that people have had success with. I don't really want to add these people to Facebook, but I wonder if Google Plus could be an option with a private circle?

Keen for ideas and opinions, so please share.

jbainbridge

Setup a WhatsApp group.

Ebe_Scrooge

I guess I'm a bit of an old dinosaur, but - how about invite them round for a cup of coffee and a few custard creams, and talk about about it ??? Always worked for me. With the added bonus of getting to know your neighbours, and maybe even making a few friends along the way ?

monthlypaymentsaddup

Thanks Ebe, jbainbridge

Whatsapp is a good suggestion but it would become impractical for handling multiple simultaneous topics.

As for meeting up in person.. I don't want to go down that route. We're all busy, this is a chore that just needs to be managed efficiently. Hosting a face to face meeting puts too much of a dependency on someone to host, and then there's still an overhead of taking notes and sharing them with the block manager. Was hoping for more digital solutions..

gillydee

I know your not keen on the Facebook idea but I've just moved into a new street and have found out randomly that someone actually made a Facebook group/page for the street. It's private so only those invited can see posts etc. Maybe set something up like that and if you know the neighbours, invite them via the app or maybe stick a note through their doors telling them you have created a page for you all to address issues in the block and would be happy for them to join etc....

buglawton

Had the same thought myself, is there an app or readymade web solution for such groups? It's a very common need. You need to avoid tying people to particular apps. And people may not want to mix their real Facebook ID in with such a group. So a website with readymade bells and whistles might be the best idea. I even looked for such once but didn't find anything at the time.

Norman_Castle

I am wondering what experience MSE users have of collaborating with their fellow block tenants

In a block of 8 only 4 will be interested. Of those 4 only 2 will actually be willing to do anything and thats on the condition the other 1 does most of the work..

PasturesNew

What's an app? Never seen one. What if nobody else has apps?

A private/invite only Facebook page might be better as it's more widely accessible.

buglawton

I've been looking for a solution for a block of 40 households. Agreed. only 5 may actively participate but another 10 might be happy to stay on a mailing list and have a look when major issues occur. Also agree that apps don't suit all.

On a larger site I know of, the management company is big enough to offer it's own owners portal and does do email shots already on urgent issues. It's the smaller site/mangt company that does not have such resources. As for Facebook, well I think that many (myself included) may not want to use their real Facebook ID as it allows all kinds of other searches to be done/lack of privacy.

I was thinking of a website that has a Wiki, a mailing list, a simple forum, and user account management so more than one person can do basic admin of the site. I'd even give the property mangt co an admin user so they can do urgent notifications by email in a well managed way.

[ edit ]
Maybe something like this:
"Zoho Connect is your organization's private social network. Let it redefine the way your employees and teams share information and collaborate"
https://www.zoho.com/connect

Free hosted version appears to offer:
Unlimited Groups - Private and Public
5 Custom Applications (upto 1000 records)
5 GB (Shared Storage)
1 Chatroom/Group

SplanK

https://www.yammer.com/


??


Its essentially a Facebook for corporate environments and ran by Microsoft... Downside is it costs

benjus

Norman_Castle wrote: »

In a block of 8 only 4 will be interested. Of those 4 only 2 will actually be willing to do anything and thats on the condition the other 1 does most of the work..

Bit cynical... I'm in a block of 6, of which 5 are owner-occupiers. I've never met the owner of the one that's rented out and the tenant isn't very sociable, but all the owner-occupiers care about keeping the building nice and are prepared to put on work for it. Last weekend I replaced the door locks on the external doors, put a new door closer on the front door and planed down the back door a little so that they both close and latch properly. A few months ago we had scaffolding all around the building as all the windows were being replaced - we took advantage of it to clean the gutters and paint the windowsills, downpipes and gables, all mucking in together. We meet in person about every 2 months, usually over some wine or beer, and talk about what needs doing. Next up is re-tiling the entrance hall floor. We just use email to coordinate the meetings and discuss bits and pieces.

I'm sure it helps that we're self-managing so have control over the budget, but it's not impossible to get this sort of thing going, especially if there are a good number of owner-occupiers.