// Customer Insights

Mobilisation: Laying the foundations for happy homes through expert block management services

31 July 2023

As soon as a developer engages with a block property manager, the work begins immediately. This approach ensures that the two parties are aligned to bring the developer’s vision to life and put everything in place to ensure the smooth running of the development.

Early Engagement

From day one, our specialist block management teams cover every angle, ensuring clients are engaged, informed and assured, and that the end customer is happy with our service, safe in the knowledge that we have a clear understanding of our duties and how the site should operate.

When we were appointed manager of the first phase of an 88-acre development in London, our team were present on site as soon as we were appointed. By having this presence during the build phase, we were able to work closely with all parties to ensure mobilisation and occupation was straightforward.

Clear Communication

This clarity and transparency helps to establish a partnership approach with clients early in the process, with clear, open and honest communication, allowing both parties to work with a customer-first approach, to ultimately ensure that customers and their homes are well looked after, whilst creating a community on site.

At a mixed-use development in North London, FirstPort’s Operational and Mobilisation teams worked closely with the client to ensure that the development was ready for occupation and that there is a clear and resilient management strategy in place, for comfort and safety.

This entailed taking on the management of complex assets, such as 13 lifts, which encompass passenger, platform, bicycle, and bin lifts, as well as a plant room with cold water storage, booster pumps and tanks for water supply and fire tanks to provide for the site’s wet risers and sprinkler system.

Versatility and Specialist Services

At FirstPort, our specialist teams have the extensive experience and versatility to embrace the specific requirements and intricacies of each development. Securing value via an array of in-house expertise, including:

Procurement
Health and safety compliance
Property maintenance
Contractor management
Insurance management
Leasehold management
Arrears management

As the Property Manager at a 650+ apartment development in Rotherhithe, sustainability is important to colleagues and residents. Site colleagues work with specialist contractors to continue the upkeep of the development’s green roofs, as well as welcoming two hives of honeybees in a bid to help both the bee population and the local environment. Our colleagues work closely with the relevant specialists, to ensure these features are maintained as required and continue to thrive.

Collaborative Working

When it comes to residential block management, the handover from developer to property manager is not always an overnight process. The two will often work side-by-side as part of a phased approach, with residents moving into completed units, while the developer remains on site, as further construction works continue. While effective communication is of course essential, experienced block management teams are crucial to understand the interim measures that are needed to keep works on track, whilst ensuring residents’ homes are safe, comfortable and functional.

At a new build development in Kingston-Upon-Thames, we worked closely with the developer to reconcile the energy use on the site. The Development Manager held weekly meetings with the developer’s estates team to monitor the power meters, to understand what metered electricity is being used for communal power in the managed areas and any unaccounted gaps in usage.

The journey from building site to occupied development requires a 360-degree approach, with specialist teams from both sides coming together to ensure all bases are covered and all parties are able to perform their duties effectively, so that the developer’s vision for the site comes to life.