Crabtree PM Limited
Marlborough House
298 Regents Park Road
London
N3 2UU
Company Number: 1766406
Managing Director: Terry White MICM AIRPM
Director: Robert Robertson MIRPM
Director: Arti Parmar MAAT
Director: Mike Babb AIRPM
Crabtree PM Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crabtree Property Holdings Limited (address as above, company number 6508078). Crabtree Property Holdings Limited is owned by Terry White, Rob Robertson, Arti Parmar and Mike Babb (25% each).
Crabtree head office is situated in Finchley, North London, which has excellent transport links, both by road and rail. Junction 2 of the M1 is five minutes away, which provides easy access to the M25 and beyond. The North Circular is also five minutes away and central London can be accessed by car in around thirty minutes. Our office is also located a convenient five minutes walk from Finchley Central tube station which is on the Northern Line.
Crabtree Central London office is based in Rochester Row, SW1. This central location gives us excellent access all over London.
Crabtree started business in November 1983, over 25 years ago.
All of them, we do nothing else. Currently we have 15 administration staff, 16 accounts/banking staff and we have 27 in the property management team including our in-house building surveyors.
We currently manage around 16,000 units, of which around 12,000 are full ‘Blocks of Flats’ management. We have 400+ clients, the vast majority of which are resident management companies.
We can provide references from a wide variety of clients who are happy to recommend our services to potential new clients.
We charge a fixed management fee for all clients, based upon the number of flats, houses, garages et cetera – and the services that the clients require. The scope of works covered within this fee is detailed in our standard Management Agreement. This agreement also details areas where additional fees are charged from time to time, such as major works projects. Fees would be discussed and agreed alongside budget discussions for each financial year.
Appoint us and we’ll prove it! Crabtree has grown consistently over the years because residents, conveyancing solicitors, contractors, estate agents and others we come into contact with recommend us to potential new clients. This simply would not happen if we didn’t do the job professionally, efficiently and cost effectively.
Over the years we have built up a network of contractors, some specialist, some general, covering a range of trades and geographical locations.
We have over 250 contractors working on our clients’ properties at the present time. Contractors are chosen for their expertise in a particular field, their cost effectiveness, and their reliability and generally have been recommended to us. We have no ‘internal’ contractors and are not ‘connected’ to any of the companies they represent. We therefore look at all contractors independently and objectively.
New contractors are ‘tested out’ by being given a small number of jobs, which are closely scrutinised by our Property Managers.
Our Property Managers are in contact with contractors on a daily basis. They are continually reviewing the quality of work and costs. Where appropriate, quotations are obtained prior to instructions being given to the contractor.
Property Managers carefully check invoices to ensure that costs are appropriate and are constantly looking to achieve quality workmanship and good value from our contractors.
All contractors must provide relevant Health and Safety and insurance documentation before they are permitted to carry out work on behalf of our clients. Our administration department reviews the paperwork on a regular basis and ensures that we always have up to date documentation on file.
No. However, for major works projects we do charge an additional fee for supervising the project. These additional fees would be discussed with the client during the planning stage of the project and agreement would be reached on an appropriate fee for the work required.
As mentioned above, contractors are chosen for their expertise in a particular field, for their cost effectiveness, for their reliability and generally having been recommended to us. We have no ‘internal contractors’ and are not ‘connected’ to any contractor. We therefore look at all contractors independently and objectively. Whilst we cannot look over every contractor’s shoulder ever minute of the day, we do inspect at the appropriate times during the course of works and on completion. On-going contracts, such as cleaning, are inspected regularly and without prior warning to ensure that standards are maintained. And of course, we take notice of ‘customer feedback’ and act on it in a timely and appropriate manner.
Our property managers visit properties as appropriate for the particular client. The number of visits would be discussed as part of our management agreement. Additional visits are also made when specific projects are underway, to ensure that works are inspected at the appropriate times, not just on completion.
We use computer technology extensively, far too extensively to list it all here. Our main ‘property management’ package is the Property Portfolio Management System (PPMS) from Qube Global Software. This package contains all the contact details for lessee, names, addresses, email, telephone, fax, etc., etc.. We also program into it the ‘set up’ for each client, including the lease dates and structure, service charge proportions, events diaries, and a multitude of facts and figures about the buildings, units, lessees, charges and transactions. The PPMS program is used extensively by all staff and is constantly updated with new and changing information. Alongside the PPMS system, our accounts department runs full branch software for our Bank of Scotland activities. This enables us to handle most finances electronically, including direct debits, standing orders and cheques on the receipts side – and BACS credits and CHAPS payments on the payments side. All client funds are held in individual interest bearing client accounts, which are reconciled daily. Generally within the office, we use all the usual computer packages including Word, Excel, Access and Outlook. All staff are contactable directly by email at: firstname.lastname@crabtreeproperty.co.uk
We are registered under the Data Protection Act. Our registration number is Z5409931.
As mentioned briefly above, client funds are held in individual interest bearing accounts with Bank of Scotland. Interest is credited to the client’s account by the bank in accordance with the level of funds in the account. The PPMS software monitors ground rent funds, service charge funds, etc and applies RICS accounting rules to each fund.
As the vast majority of lessees pay by direct debit, generally monthly, non-payment is not a vast problem. Having received a demand, in accordance with the lease, non-payers will receive a reminder followed by a final notice. If payment is not made after that (and if no payment terms have been agreed) then a County Court summons will be issued. The usual County Court procedures will be followed and a Judgment will be obtained if necessary. Following that we would approach the mortgage company to obtain payment on behalf of the lessee. Costs for this process are charged to the offending lessee. The above process only takes place if the lessee is failing to ‘head in the right direction’ and has not agreed a payment schedule. We always take note of individual lessee’s circumstances and try to reach agreement wherever possible.
Promptly is the short answer. If the complaint is about a third party, such as a contractor, then the individual property manager would ascertain the facts and would take the appropriate action as promptly as possible. The property manager would liaise between the lessee and the contractor, attending site as necessary, to ensure that the problem was remedied swiftly, appropriately and with the minimum inconvenience to the residents as possible. If the individual property manager could not solve the problem, then the matter would be referred to the departmental manager. Complaints about how we are doing our job are dealt with by the individual property manager in the first instance. If they cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant then the matter would be referred to their manager. If the manager could not resolve the problem then a relevant director would review the matter, and, if appropriate, refer it to the managing director. If the managing director could not resolve the problem then the complaint could be taken up with ARMA, who have a complaints procedure that ensures that ARMA members handle such matters within agreed professional standards and guidelines.
A full copy of our Complaints Procedure can be obtained from the Downloads page accessed via the Resources button on the main menu.
The action that we take depends upon the exact nature of the breach and the specific wording of the lease. Initially we would ascertain the facts. We would then speak to the lessee, to explain the problem and try to reach an agreeable remedy. This would be followed by a confirming letter. If the breach could not be remedied amicably then solicitors would have to be instructed on behalf of the client, having obtained the client’s instructions first. Having said that, it does very much depend upon the nature of the breach and the circumstances surrounding the case. Each case is individual and there is no hard and fast procedure for dealing with such problems.
Yes. Lessees telephone our main office number, 020 8371 7070, and an answerphone message provides them with two mobile numbers for two of our property managers (numbers vary depending upon who is on duty). These property managers ‘vet’ the call, ascertain the facts and dispatch a suitable contractor, if appropriate. Most out of hours problems have a contractor on-site within an hour.
No one can anticipate when an emergency is likely to happen, but it could happen to any of our clients at any time. We do not charge any additional costs for this service; it is available to all of our clients free of charge.
At Crabtree we are committed to providing our clients with the service they require, effectively and efficiently, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
If you’re giving notice of our appointment, then as much notice as possible but we have been known to get up and running within 24 hours. If you‘re giving notice of termination of our contract then three months is usual.
Association of Residential Managing Agents 178 Battersea Park Road, London, SW11 4ND Telephone: 020 7978 2607 Email: arma@garlandintl.co.uk
Our property managers are also encouraged to join the Institute of Residential Property Managers and to take their exams where appropriate.
We are approved by the Financial Services Authority to place insurance and deal with claims on behalf of our clients.