Peyia Paradise Update

Peyia Paradise Update Newsletter No 2 - December 2008 This Newsletter contains information about our contract with a the management company, and about how much you will be paying towards Common Expenses, how we have calculated this, and when you will be paying, as well as some other important information about other new arrangements. So please read it carefully we are sorry there s so much to read, but where money is concerned it s clearly important. The Peyia Paradise Management Committee You should already have received our first Newsletter about our new Regulations. The Committee has been fully and legally appointed by you to represent you: this was done by means of the signed documents which we asked you to return earlier in the year. We are grateful to the majority of owners who did so. The Committee will be officially registered with the Land Registry in Paphos, and we are being advised by an independent solicitor, Michael Kyprianou, based in Paphos, who will see that all the steps we take comply with Cyprus and EU law. The Communal Maintenance Contract and PFA We have now signed a one-year Communal Maintenance Contract with a professional property management company called PFA Cyprus Holiday Ltd. The contract takes effect on 1 January 2009, and will run for an initial period of one year. PFA are a Paphos-based, independent company, who have the experience and the capacity to handle large complexes like ours. Peyia Fontana, our neighbouring Hadjidemosthenous complex, has also been employing them, and has been satisfied with PFA s performance. The 1

Committee also inspected other sites maintained by PFA before awarding them the contract. In addition to handling the day-to-day maintenance and cleaning of the site, PFA will also administer the transfer of utilities from Hadjidemosthenous, and their ongoing payment. Their service also includes the collection of Common Expenses from all owners, an important factor in our consideration; indeed, there are very few companies in Paphos that offer such a complete service. The Committee fully examined the cost of engaging the services of PFA, and obtained quotes for managing services ourselves to ensure that the cost of using PFA provided value for money. Using such a company means we can benefit from their economies of scale with suppliers and employees; it means that no-one on site has to give the kind of personal commitment that would be necessary in order to handle the administration and the maintenance itself, which would be time consuming and would carry a heavy responsibility. The hand-over arrangements could have been problematic, but we have negotiated with PFA that they will take over our services from 1 January without receiving a single payment from us. They have also agreed to advance us money for the payment of insurance and to settle our solicitors costs. So what will it cost and how have we worked it out? It won t surprise you to learn that the costs of running Peyia Paradise are not cheap! Not only for day to day services such as cleaning and gardening, but also for our consumption of utilities, including water for the pool and the electricity to run it, as well as the costs of running and maintaining the sewage system. In addition, the cost of the communal insurance is around 3800; this is required by law, and will be paid annually from a contingency fund (of which more later). It is perhaps timely that we remember that we are now on our own. The buildings and equipment on Peyia Paradise only have a one-year guarantee from the developer. From now on, anything that goes wrong, wears out and needs replacing through wear and tear or damage, or needs maintenance or refurbishment, will have to be paid for by us from our shared communal contributions. We expect to get better value for money than has been the case up until now. We will, initially, take charges back to the level that Hadjidemosthenous levied in 2007, although we have identified some slight anomalies in what Hadjidemosthenous has been charging each owner. Most of us should certainly pay no more than what Hadjidemosthenous intended to 2

charge for 2008/09. We can now rest assured that the costs are completely transparent, and we know the basis on which they are being calculated. Your communal fees will comprise two elements: 1. The costs of paying for day to day services, maintenance and site utilities; these will be paid to, and disbursed by, PFA, and they will include the VAT that PFA as a company have to pay. 2. A contribution towards a Contingency Fund that will pay for emergencies and planned maintenance and larger (and thus expensive) projects such as painting the buildings, and replacing the pool liner and pump. These, similarly, will be paid by us owners to PFA, but that element of the charge will be paid by PFA directly into a bank account run by the Committee, who will be responsible for committing expenditure from it, subject to the various Regulations which you have already seen. There is no VAT on this element of the charge. All complexes are unique. We wanted to keep our charging method as clear and simple as possible (and therefore cheaper to administer), as well as ensuring we have enough money to run services both day-to-day and in the long term. It has not been easy to calculate fair charges, given that we have pledged to keep costs to 2007/08 levels where possible. We took into account two issues: a) the covered size of the units: it is reasonable that the size of the property should have some bearing on the charge, but in addition Cyprus law requires that the owners of larger units should pay more than smaller units. b) whether or not access is gained by a stairwell that has to be cleaned: it is reasonable that properties that are accessed by a stairwell should pay a small premium for additional cleaning. So we have devised a three-tier banding system: 3

Band A property: One-bed apartments under 55 sq. m on lower floors that do not have stairwells; in other words, all one-bed apartments on lower floors except B003 and C003 which are much larger (81 sq m). Band B property: One-bed apartments over 55 sq. m. (including B003 and C003) and all one-bed apartments that have stairwells (floors middle and upper floor) Band C property: Two-bed apartments and maisonettes: maisonettes are slightly larger than two-bed apartments (112 sq m, compared to 88/90 sq m) but do not have hallways. The charges for each band that we have calculated are: Common Expenses Contingency Fund Total Charge Band A property: 432 380 812 Band B property: 482 410 892 Band C property: 582 435 1,017 Refundable Deposit There is also a one-off charge and refundable of 100 for each unit to PFA, which will be included in your first invoice. This deposit is to ensure that if you sell your apartment, you tell PFA about the sale and give them details of the new owner; you will then receive a full refund of the deposit. If we should part company with PFA while you still own the property, the deposit will be refunded. 4

This is normal business practice in Cyprus. From PFA s point of view someone could sell their dwelling and not pay their fees, which would involve a long (and expensive) wrangle to recover costs. With so many absent owners in Cyprus, the need for this arrangement is unfortunate but understandable. Payment arrangements The good news is that PFA will invoice you in two stages, the first is due on 1 January 2009 and the second on 1 June 2009, so that means you don t have to pay the whole fee for one year in advance as you have had to do before now. It is also easy to pay. You can pay by: Bank transfer Debit card Credit card (except American Express) Euro cheque Sorry, you can t pay in sterling - but you can use a British debit or credit card. You may be also able to pay by monthly instalments via direct debit from your Cyprus bank account in the future, but we ll let you know more about this in due course. Please settle the bill when it arrives as quickly as you can, as there are likely to be charges added for late payments. PFA s office is situated near the Alexander the Great Hotel in Othellou Street, Panaretti Court 5, Office No3, Kato Pafos. Tel. 00357 26960067. They have your email details, so please expect and watch out for a communication from them. Now for the unpleasant bit...! If payment is not made by the date given on the invoice you will be charged interest by PFA. If the worst comes to the worst, as a professional company they will use full legal procedures for recovering debt. Cyprus law says that all owners on shared complexes must pay communal fees, and as Cyprus is in the EU, decisions of the Courts here can be enforced in the UK. It is important to add that PFA would take legal action against payment defaulters with the full support of and on behalf of the Management Committee which, because it is legally registered with the Land Registry, has a legal right and obligation to recover unpaid communal fees along with the associated and expensive legal costs of doing so. 5

Settling your outstanding bill with Hadjidemosthenous We will all be liable to pay for communal services to Hadjidemosthenous until 31 December 2008. For those of you who moved in when the project was first completed, communal fees are due on 1st October each year, but for those that purchased after or have bought a resale property, then this will not be the case. Please check your statements and if necessary consult with the solicitor who handled your purchase. Unfortunately, we still have to pay IPT and our municipality taxes to Hadjidemosthenous until we obtain our title deeds. So you will still need to settle these each year with them until then. Remember they do not send out bills, so please ensure you settle these also as they charge interest. The telephone number is 00 357 26 821786 ask for Nicki in accounts (who speaks English). In addition, we have also asked Hadjidemosthenous to finish some works on site. We are pleased to report that they have been very co-operative and, to date, they are making good progress in these matters. Contingency Fund and Committee Accounts The Committee will manage the Contingency Fund. Payments will be transferred on a quarterly basis by PFA into the Committee s bank account, which as you know will be operated with strict authorisation and cheque-signing requirements. The annual contingency fund income will initially be just short of 18,000 not a huge amount, given the size of the complex and the probable cost of some of the projects that will need to be funded in the coming years. The annual insurance of 3800 will also be paid from this fund. There are also initial set up costs, including lawyers fees and Land Registry costs. No doubt there will be some additional expenses, but it is our intention initially to build up a fund to pay for larger or emergency projects straight away, as we currently have nothing in the bank! While we have done a certain amount of research, it must be said that the cost of running Peyia Paradise in the short-term and long-term is very difficult to predict. We have the experience and knowledge of PFA to lean on, but all complexes are unique. While Peyia Paradise is only three years old, the climate here takes its toll on buildings and equipment. Some items will need refurbishment or replacement within five to seven years. We are unsure of the current condition of the roofs, the pool, and sewage system, so we have asked PFA to complete a site survey at a cost of 333. If the survey identifies any problems 6

which need immediate attention, Hadjidemosthenous have indicated that they would be happy to discuss any such work(s) with PFA with a view to Hadjidemosthenous funding the repair(s) if it is adjudged that the work can be considered to be a result of their failure to properly maintain the complex. This will give us a clearer view of future costs, and will help us to budget in the future. In the meantime we are sure that you will expect us to be both prudent and cautious to ensure that the complex is maintained to a high standard, and that any future expenditure on a large scale must be anticipated as early as possible. In any event, at the end of each financial year (in Cyprus that s 1 January to 31 December) accounts will be prepared for the complex that each owner will receive sometime during the first quarter of the following year. This will detail all expenditure. We will all then be able to see for ourselves exactly how money is being spent, including the Contingency Fund, and how much it all costs. Day to Day Management and Running of the Complex We will be paying PFA a monthly fee to handle most of this for us: the work is largely what you would expect, including gardening, cleaning and pool maintenance. In addition, Dee Clarke will act as Site Co-ordinator. This is a minor role and will involve her in a few hours work a month, for which she will be paid an hourly rate. Dee will oversee the contract with PFA on behalf of the Committee, and liaise directly with owners when necessary. This role will help smooth our site operations, particularly in the first year. Communication with Owners Owners (or indeed their guests on behalf of owners) will be able to bring matters of concern to the attention of the Committee or (through Dee) our contractors. There will be a post-box in the stairwell of Block B.. There you can leave any messages for the Committee s attention; the box will be emptied each day. Alternatively, you can email peyiaparadise@yahoo.com. We are, of course, hoping that there will not be anything major for Dee to deal with, given that we are employing PFA to do a thorough job, but some issues will inevitably arise from time to time, and you must not hesitate to raise them. There will be a notice board for visiting PFA contractors to sign in the same stairwell, so that we can keep track of who is on site and what they are doing. Dee will make a weekly check on this to ensure it is kept up to date. 7

There will also be a notice board in each stairwell for appropriate messages to owners and their guests. If, for instance, we have a problem with the pool, which unfortunately may happen from time to time, Dee will place a notice to let all visitors and owners know what the situation is and when it will be rectified. In addition she will produce a quarterly newsletter to inform you of our progress (hopefully, they won t be as long as this one or the earlier one, which are necessarily long so that you are made aware of the new arrangements). We will arrange an Annual General Meeting on site: we know that we cannot all attend, but hopefully as many as we can who are on site can be involved. We are hoping to have our first meeting in the late spring of 2009, and a date will be advised well in advance. From then on, we will have a Meeting once a year, as is required by law. Dee will also be available, but her door is out of bounds except in real emergencies (things such as flood, fire and accident), so please use the email or the post-box and she will get back to you within two working days. Living over the shop is a concern, and the Committee is determined that her presence on the site must not be abused; and this also applies to Andy MacRae, our Chairman. Of course, both Dee and Andy will welcome calls as they usually do from all their friends on Peyia Paradise! Names and addresses of all owners We been asked by our Solicitor to obtain the names and UK (or otherwise) normal residential addresses of our owners. This is a new requirement by the Land Registry. Please could you send these details via email to Dee? This is totally in confidence. Additionally if you wished to include a phone number in case of emergencies, it would be helpful. And finally, Please settle your bills with Hadjidemosthenous. Please look out for your invoice from PFA via email and pay it, of course!! Please send Dee your usual home address as soon as possible. Thanks for sticking with this very long newsletter til the end, and best regards for Christmas and the New Year. See you all soon! Peyia Paradise Management Committee 8