• Read more about Can building insurance be paid from sinking fund and recovered via admin fund in strata schemes?
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We are a new body corporate in QLD. We had our first AGM in February this year & there are 10 lots in the CTS. My enquiries relate to body corporate fees. Firstly, our building insurance is due soon and we intend to pay the insurance premium from the sinking fund and then recover this money from the administration fund over the year as lot owners pay their fees. Is this allowed to occur or does the insurance premium get paid from the administration fund? If there are insufficient funds to pay it, is a special levy/ contribution raised to pay it?

• Read more about Should body corporate budgets reflect sinking fund forecasts when planning future expenses?
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The Body Corporate had a Sinking Fund Forecast prepared. This included an estimate of painting all units in the scheme. This was an expensive task and was predicted to occur a number of years down the track.

The agreement with the Body Corporate Manager includes the following:

“..... Prepare for the purposes of discussion and approval by the committee a draft budget each financial year.”

• Read more about Can cash from sinking fund term deposits cover admin fund shortfalls in strata schemes?
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A Sinking Fund Term Deposit on being transferred to the Villas Cash account to pay for Pool refurbishment will have some cash remaining from the Term Deposit.

Can this money be used to pay for a shortfall in the Administration Funds which will not be able to pay the necessary accounts ( e.g. Insurance, Caretakers Fees, General Managers fees, normal electricity etc.) until after the A.G.M which is in June and levies have been approved until July Quarter 2020.

• Read more about Is there a required sinking fund percentage or minimum balance per lot in strata schemes?
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Is there a percentage value that a sinking fund needs to be per building and if so what is the percentage? I realise it may vary depending on the site and available facilities of the complex but just an approximate idea would be helpful.

Also does the age of the apartment determine any factors of the sinking fund.

• Read more about Are sinking fund accounts safe with body corporate managers?
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We have considerable funds in our reasonably sized scheme's sinking fund. Our funds are held by our body corporate manager.

These funds are in the name of the corporate manager's own cash management fund. They say the funds are invested in the Bank of Queensland. What guarantees do the residents of our scheme have that the sinking fund is secure? What happens if the manager's cash management fund makes some bad investments and becomes insolvent?

Would it be better to have the funds invested in a bank or a similar large organisation in our own name?

• Read more about Painting touch-ups in strata: Should costs come from admin or sinking fund?
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I understand a Sinking Fund is established to cover the cost of “capital works of a non-recurring nature”. All other Body Corp costs are to be paid for out of the Administration Fund.

If we paint our building every 10 years, this clearly should be allowed for and be paid out of the Sinking Fund.

However, if we do touch-up painting in highly trafficked areas every two or three years should this be allowed for in the Administration fund or the Sinking fund? Does it matter which one we use?

• Read more about How to recover a neglected body corporate: Fixing sinking fund shortfalls and maintenance backlogs
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We took over the committee responsibilities for our small strata in a ‘coup’ two years ago after several years of neglect by our predecessors. Since then, we have been getting the body corporate back to a safe and compliant physical state, plus getting the finances into good order. We've started looking at the 10 year Sinking Fund Forecast.

• Read more about Is it normal for admin fund contributions to be higher than sinking fund in small strata schemes?
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I have noticed our admin fees have gone up quite a bit this year, around 20%, while the sinking fund less so.

In addition, we pay around $488 per qtr for the admin fund, and around $270 per qtr for the sinking fund. Is it common for the admin fund to be more than the sinking fund?

We are a 4 lot complex of 1 bedroom older units - no lifts, no pool. Just a shared driveway.

• Read more about Can funds be transferred between sinking and administrative funds in a body corporate?
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• Read more about Should sinking fund forecasts change if a strata building may be sold to a developer?
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Interest is currently being shown by a number of developers in our 41 year old strata building. It is highly unlikely that the building will be standing in 5-10 years time.

What bearing does this have on our forecasting over the next 10 years for major items like window replacement, balustrade, etc? Monies are accrued now for expenses unlikely to be actualised. To reduce contributions, some owners have requested we remove these items from the forecast. Is this the correct way to deal with the problem?