Joe Mallon & James Farrar talk about a monumental first year in business and exciting plans for year two.
JFM Block & Estate Management turned one-year-old on 13 April this year. Things have gone very well indeed for us, with our staff numbers up to 7, our number of clients standing at 28, and the total number of units under our management now at 1,160.
On our journey, we’ve attended at least 50 new business meetings to fight for each and every one of our new clients, having started off life 13
months ago from scratch and with no promise of any clients whatsoever. Our customers range from established Resident Management Companies (RMCs) looking for a breath of fresh air, to self-managed blocks requiring urgent professional advice, to poorly-served leaseholders whom we have helped to take control of their assets through Right-to-Manage. We are humbled at the response we have had to our ethical message. It has resonated with owners in a way that exceeded our own high expectations.
The owners, James Farrar & Joe Mallon, have had a busy year
We only work for home-owner controlled blocks and estates, whether that’s in the form of Resident Management Companies (RMCs), Right-to-Manage Companies (RTMs), or Freehold Management Companies (FHMCs). We are convinced that this is the most effective form of block & estate management. By eliminating strange relationships with housing developers and large ground-rent-hungry freehold investors, we’ve set out in a unique way to take on service-damaging conflicts of interest in our sector.
We have also come across clients who have informed us of their own experience of conflicts which we had not anticipated. Whether that’s estate agents disguised as managing agents fighting to keep service charges artificially low, or large managing agents with in-house maintenance firms stifling competition, it is clear the market is in need of a new kind of managing agent.
We have done our best to contribute to the improvement of the sector for the public benefit too. We always try to spare a little time for home-owners and resident directors with service charge troubles, even if we cannot work for them initially. We have also been active members of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, the only charity representing service-charge-payers. Our recent trip to the houses of parliament to help promote positive change in the retirement leasehold sector being our latest contribution.
Terence Langton – Senior Property Manager with 10 years’ experience
As our own expertise has developed and as our company has become more attractive to home-owner-controlled blocks and estates, we are now looking to the future. We have made a landmark decision to invest in an industry heavy-weight to bolster the JFM ranks.
Terence Langton MIRPM AssocRICS joins JFM on 16 June 2016. The acquisition of Terence, a Senior Property Manager with 10 years’ experience at some of the most successful managing agents in the business, will send a clear message to the rest of the industry. It is not only home-owners that want to see change in the sector. There are excellent practitioners out there who want to provide a top-notch service to home-owner groups. At JFM we have built a platform where professionals can do just that by working with, not against, the consumer.
Free from the common constraints that hold back so many capable property managers, the JFM team are moving forward with our mission. There is a long way to go, but we have taken massive strides forward in the past 13 months. All the time our core message is resonating with the home-owners that matter. Under a JFM management agreement there is only one client that matters. One Client – Zero Conflict
By Joe Mallon & James Farrar
JFM Block & Estate Management – 18 May 2016
