The Strongest Institutions Are Difficult to Absorb

In many sectional title schemes the managing agent does nearly all the visible work, collecting levies, drafting the budget, choosing contractors and writing up the minutes. The trustees sign what is put in front of them, and most owners have not opened the conduct rules since the day they bought.

A scheme run like that is easy to take over. Whoever controls the managing agent, or whoever buys enough units to swing a vote at the general meeting, can steer it, and the other owners tend to find out when a special levy appears. Nothing illegal has to happen. The owners simply handed away the information they would need to object.

Schemes that are hard to absorb are usually unremarkable to look at. The trustees keep their own copies of the levy records and the insurance schedule, they read the budget line by line, and owners turn up to vote. The managing agent there is a contractor doing a job, replaceable if the work slips, and an investor buying up units still has to win arguments in the open. Working with outsiders stays a choice the owners make each year.