David is an owner and Chairman at Mainstay Group, one of the largest residential and mixed use asset managers in the UK with over 40,000 units under management.
A former chair of ARMA, he was involved in the creation of their independent regulatory regime and, way back in 2001, the IRPM – to which he returned in 2012 and currently chairs. The IRPM provides portable professional qualifications for more than 3000 residential property managers and others in the sector.
David is also a non-executive director of Fortis Property Care, part of Fortis Living, a housing association providing 15,000 homes in Worcestershire and Herefordshire. He will become vice chair of Fortis Property Care and take a non-executive role on the main board from October 2015.
“I became a property manager quite by accident having started out as a civil servant working for social security. A local housing association needed property managers who had housing benefits knowledge. After three years there I was tempted over to the private sector with Fineman Lever in the West End.
The best thing about my occupation: the positive changes I have seen over 25 years. Despite what you might read on the internet, leasehold management is an entirely different world from that of the 1980s. We have become professional, embraced technology and recognised who our customers are. A lack of barriers to entry will always mean that there are some rotten apples but these are diminishing as consumers take control and regulation becomes more of a focus.
If there was one thing that I could change about my profession: it would be to excise its general reticence. Managing agents provide hugely important service to communities, infrastructure and place. We should sell the essential nature of what we do with energy, passion and absolute belief in its value.
The highlights of my career so far have been: getting this far without illness or injury, meeting many wonderful characters and hopefully giving something back. I have also been part of building a wonderful business that continues to thrive.
The longest day of my career so far has been: err… there have been so many. Getting a call from a very drunk resident unable to get his car through the gates at his luxury wharf home at 3 am Sunday morning; the MD of a regional developer screaming foul abuse at me on a Friday afternoon; the lessee calling to tell me he could see the stars above him whilst lying in bed; up to my knees in water at a block of 700 flats. Sometimes all of those types of things at once.
I will know I have achieved the peak of my career when: every managing agent is regulated and all managers are appropriately qualified.
If I had not been a property manager I would have been: a singer in a rock and roll band. Obviously.
If I had the choice between a leasehold or a common hold property: I would rather live in leasehold. I suppose many see Commonhold as a panacea. It is not – the same, or similar problems exist in management the world over. Failure to act in the best interest of the whole is a common failing of human beings and money always makes people behave strangely – particularly where they do not have expertise and proper controls. For that reason I am happy to remain in leasehold for now – at least until there is a more sensible attempt to create a workable commonhold solution.
Would I prefer a property I occupied to be managed by a property manager appointed by a right to manage company/the freeholder following a collective enfranchisement/an investment freeholder? Gosh, how to answer this? It is all so dependant on key individuals – you should really interview them all before buying. I have seen wonderful landlords and agents as well as bad. I have seen unbelievably difficult RMC/RTM directors as well as committed and expert ones. Every building is different, it pays to do your homework carefully.
Self regulation or statutory regulation of property management? I would like to see statutory regulation but this is a pipedream given that most regulation now is moving towards self-delivery models with occasional external audits. My main concern is that we are creating a two tier management sector – those who are and those (cheaper) who are not. Consumers will vote with their feet and insist on accredited agents only if ARMA Q proves its worth very quickly.
The biggest challenge currently facing service charges/property management is: the huge capital costs associated with the ongoing management of large complex schemes built in the last 25 years. Cladding, plant and machinery and weather protection all have life spans considerably less than the leases and are hugely expensive to replace. Engineers and architects do not think more than 30 years hence when designing. I know this because I have been in the meetings…
I would overcome that challenge by: ensuring I have had a proper long term capital expenditure plan undertaken and have agreed how to fund it (in full) with clients and customers.
My favourite book? – Far too many favourites to list, I am a voracious and constant reader. From recent reads I can recommend The Glass Room by Simon Mawer.
My favourite film is Kind Hearts and Coronets. I hope to die without having seen Titanic.
My favourite building is the Natural History Museum, or sometimes the Chysler Building or Grand Central Station or perhaps Kings Cross. Does the whole of Venice count? Maybe something Art Deco, or a castle. I love buildings, I’m a property manager!
If you come to Birmingham you should go to the Barber Institute (quietly holds one of the finest art collections in Europe), eat at Lassan (Michelin standard curry anyone?) and visit beautiful Sutton Park – the largest urban park in Europe and site of special scientific interest (to walk my dog). Visit Birmingham Library too – it is amazing.”
