“New builds often come with building defects – some severe, some less so, however plumbing defects are always challenging”
Matt Smith, MBCM Strata Specialists Lilydale.
Matt Smith from MBCM Owners Corporation Lilydale is an expert at dealing with new build defects. This is the reason owners of a residential property less than 12 months old approached him to assist with a major plumbing defect the previous OC manager had been unwilling or unable to address.
Matt organised for a local trusted plumber to attend the property and to meet with the owners. At this meeting, based on advice from Matt’s trusted plumber, it was discovered that the cause of the defect related to the common sewer, the owners instructed Matt to refer the matter back to the original plumber.
To complicate matters further, a representative from the local council attended site and so did the water authority, both issuing separate orders and then during the course of the following week, it was announced the developer had become insolvent.
This meant that Matt had to organise a further meeting with the owners to pass the appropriate resolutions around lodging a claim through the VMIA, whilst keeping the council and water authority updated.
The outcome was that the sewer required reinstating and a large section of the concrete drive required to be cut out to access it. The problem was solved, the owners were happy and the water authority and council were delighted that their concerns had been taken so seriously by such a professional manager.
Matt describes how, “although it required more work, seeking feedback from everyone allowed us to gain a better understanding of the full picture and everyone’s needs.” Then, by adopting some of the recommendations and putting them to a vote at an AGM, the result is that more residents will follow the rules because they have been involved in the process.
“Without the collaboration and effective communication from all parties the project could have easily blown out into a major problem due to the number of different originations involved. Fortunately, I was able to resolve this successful.”
Matt Smith, MBCM Lilydale.
