It seems the economic situation is still having a devastating effect on property owners in Spain, with many struggling to pay their mortgages and community fees. The value of unpaid community fees is expected to reach €1.6 million by the end of this year, and is having direct consequences on communities.
Increasing non payments means the level of bad debts is rising and community presidents are forced to reduce budgets, whilst maintaining or raising community fees to cover the debt. Many of the owners who are paying their community fees are also taking longer than ever to do so, making it more difficult for communities to pay their bills on time.
Has your community suffered as a result of the economic state and non payers? If so, there are a number of actions you can take to minimize costs, recuperate debts and make sure you are getting the most for your money.
- Digital water meter readers – These could save your community thousands each year by monitoring and reporting leaks. There’s an excellent example in a previous post of how much unreported leaks cost a community every year and how digital water meter readers can help.
- Consider using ozone generator treatment for the swimming pools instead of chemicals like chlorine – Apart from being much kinder to your skin and eyes, the ozone generator is a very effective way of cleaning your pool and can reduce maintenance by up to 75%.
- DIY – During these hard economic times, communities could minimise expenditure by doing what they can themselves such as small paint jobs or looking after the lawn. That way more of the community budget can be saved for other priorities.
- Take advantage of online community managers – Reduce time and effort of repetitive tasks, keep track of issues past and present, improve communication within the community and achieve more fruitful AGMs through a community website specifically designed with the needs of the community in mind.
- Consider debt chasing companies such as European Community Fees to obtain the debt for you at no cost to the community.
To improve the communication on your urbanization with an online community manager, call us on 902 007 202 or visit our website.