Demorilo Office Summer closing over bank Holidays

Advice to OH5 Owners

Please be advised that the offices of Demorilo Holdings, both in Larnaca and Oroklini will be closed on the below dates, which incorporate the national bank holiday of Assumption Day (a religious event):- 

• Wednesday 14th August Closing from lunchtime
• Thursday 15th August Closed 
• Friday 16th August Closed

The Demorilo offices will re-open as normal on Monday 19th August.

Should you need to contact Demorilo in the event of an emergency,  dial the Larnaca office number (00357- 24400343), which will be diverted to the out of hours phone.

Concern for Utilities

Dear OH5 Owners

Further to our recent communication which urged all Owners to bring their accounts up to date due to a low level of funds and looming Utility costs in addition to the costs of ongoing services.

At this juncture the the utility bills have arrived which all owners can download here below: 

• Page 1
• Page 2
• Page 3
• Page 4 
• Page 5

The total bill is 821.33 euro. The Lions share of the cost is Block B which amounts to 571.26 euro. Block B operates the Pool, however the amount is still high compared to last summer and in view of the fact EAC have reduced Electricity costs. We have asked Demorilo to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, some owners living in the complex on a full time basis in addition to others visiting the Complex for holidays are using the services and not contributing. All of these owners will be contacted in the next couple of days in an assertive way. All means to recover funds are being considered.

In closing, we kindly remind all owners to bring their accounts up to date as a matter of urgency to avoid a cut to Utility services. 

The OH5 Committee

Sad news concerning our Head Gardener

Dear OH5 Owners

It is with deep sadness and regret that we write to advise you that Richard Brown, Head Gardener for Demrilo passed away 19 of June, aged 29 years. At the present time the cause of death is unknown.

As you can imagine the entire Demorilo team are in a state of shock and upset at this tragic loss.

The Demorilo offices, in Larnaca and Oroklini will remain closed for business on Thursday 20^th June. The Oroklini Office will also be closed on Friday 21^st June in addition to Monday the 24th of June. 

We greatly appreciate your understanding and patience at this very difficult time.

If any owner has an emergency please call the office on +357 24400343 and it will be diverted to someone managing the line. 

UPDATE
A fund raising evening was held Friday 28th June 2013 to raise money for Richard.

The Committee considered to contribute, however due to low funds it was decided that ore personal contributions would be appropriate.

The Committee would  like to take this opportunity to thank all owners that already contributed to the cause.

OH5 Committee

Urgent request for funds

 Dear OH5 Owners

We kindly request all owners to bring their accounts up to date with immediate effect.

The balance of accounts is alarmingly low. Income is required urgently to cover ongoing utilities, maintenance charges and to ensure the general upkeep of the complex.

Owners that do not contribute promptly, penalize other owners in the complex. To illustrate this point, with the lower fixed charges in place now (compared to previous years) it is possible to reduce the monthly fee, however due to the non-paying rate, the fee has to stay higher than necessary to cover the lack of payments coming in.

Moreover, the non paying rate impacts on other areas as follows:

• Limits our options with regards to services, as we can only work with companies that will accept irregular and late payments (including insurance).
• Our capacity to negotiate costs with suppliers.
• We cannot set up direct debits to pay utility costs, due to the fact we cannot be sure there will be money in the account. If direct debits are returned charges are incurred.
• We need to fix tiles, drainage, painting, plumbing and many other general maintenance jobs, which often owners request, however without the funds it's simply impossible.

As a result of this somewhat vicious circle created by non or late paying owners, the OH5 Committee will take all reasonable measures to secure funds for the benefit and best interests of the complex as a whole.

If an owner reading this message is unsure of their funds owed or is experiencing difficulty to pay please contact Alison York from Demorilo on:

• Telephone: +357 24 644995
• email: creditcontrol@demorilo.com

For owners in difficulty, the Committee is willing to set realistic payment plans, however non compliance, avoidance or refusal will result in assertive action.

We want to avoid any impact on utilities and the next payment for Insurance, however we can only manage the money that comes in. It is not naturally sustainable or realistic to expect the Chairman or other Committee members to pay from their own pocket for Utility and Insurance bills any longer.

The OH5 Committee

AGM main Action Points - originally sent by email 23.5.13

Copy of email sent to all owners on the 23rd of May.

Dear OH5 owners

With reference to the AGM held on the 6th of May, we would like to first apologize for not getting in touch earlier, however Grant had to travel to Dubai and then Italy on business and the follow up was also delayed.

Minutes have been drafted and are currently being checked. These will be posted in due course on the OH5 Blog http://oroklinihills5.blogspot.com/

First and foremost we would like to thank all owners that cared enough to attend the AGM personally, especially those who flew in specially. Meanwhile, we thought you would all appreciate a brief overview of the outcome:

Details

Date: 6th May

Time: 11:00hrs

Location: Lithos (very quiet and we were the only ones there – only water served)

Attendance: 12 OH5 people present and 14 apartments represented with 4 proxy votes.

Committee

A temporary Committee was elected

Chairman: Grant Holmes

Treasurer: Brian Walton

Member: Reg Swallow

Member: Malcolm Price

Note: The committee agreed to stand only until the end of September at the point the Demorilo Agreement ends.

Main Action Points

1. Communication: Many owners present expressed the stress of over communication by email by some owners and the volume of exaggerated complaints, which were realized upon visiting the complex. All agreed in principle that future communications should be kept to the Blog, positive, collaborative and productive.
2. Solutions: It was determined that in future all owners should focus on a solution based approach, as to criticize or complain was destructive, it provided no help, solutions or way forward. Only by focusing on solutions with owner collaboration could we progress as a complex.
3. Demorilo: All agreed to maintain the Demorilo agreement until it expires at the end of September 2013, thereafter the situation should be properly evaluated with new tenders sent by 1st September 2013 (all comprehensive and serious proposals are welcome. Meanwhile, Grant Holmes will seek to negotiate to reduce the Demorilo cost yet further.
4. Sewage: The sewage issue was discussed and all owners unanimously voted on the least expensive quote (previously indicated). A follow up will be sent out in due course.
5. Insurance: Issue discussed and a copy of the current policy was agreed to be posted throughout the complex (done).
6. Public Toilets: All agreed the outside toilets should be kept open in the summer months, then closed 1st December – 1st of March.
7. Reporting: All agreed a reporting procedure was required. This will be set up via the Blog and automated.
8. Swimming Pool: Flaps urgently required (already ordered), Net needed (already in place and donated by Demorilo), more loose tiles needed repairing (others previously fixed – pending new quote), One cover necessary (ordered).
9. Lighting: Times to be changed to 7pm – Midnight to save on electricity cost. Some bulbs to be removed (every other one) to save electricity cost in Car Park area.
10. Blocked drains: Letters to be distributed to all residents of OH5. Also a sign recommended. Drain-pipes are to thin, so all residents must adopt best practices.
11. Non-payers: Main cause of current price is to cover the effect of non-payers (fact) and not the actual cost of the operation. No owners have the right to tell others t=not to pay. All assertive means available will be taken to collect funds. Demorilo to report to all owners quarterly fees paid, fees owed and balance.
12. Trusted Traders: A couple of Owners suggested a trusted Traders list could be posted on the OH5 Blog. This was warmly welcome.
13. Accounts: Brian Walton will oversee accounts. Each quarter a balance of accounts will be posted on the Blog. Owners that require more detailed information should request to Brian Walton, who will arrange for owners to see the accounts personally with Demorilo. It was suggested by Brian that Andrew N could audit the accounts.
14. Blog: The Blog will become the main means of communication. The existing Blog already features the most comprehensive information of a complex that any committee is offering in Cyprus we know of. It has long since answered many of the frequent questions repeatedly raised in the multiple emails sent in the past. Grant Holmes will yet further develop the concept in due course.

New OH5 Committee

See Minutes, voting and updated Action Points on the left hand column. 

Sewage Update - Pending proposal

Dear OH5 Owners

We would like to inform all owners that on Wednesday, April 3rd 2013, as a Committee we delegated the task (by email) of analyzing all the various quotes to repair the sewage plant and improve the situation (including sewage distribution) to the two owners that were dedicated to this task. We asked them both to formally make a formal proposal, as they initially raised the issue and made the complaint. We vowed to forward their proposal to all owners in order to decide by vote, as the investment is likely to be significant.

We took this decision as both above-mentioned owners reported the challenging situation we face concerning sewage issues in our complex (common to many complexes in the area, as we are not on the main sewage mains) to the Environment Agency on a European level, which naturally affects all owners. Moreover, the detail in the quotes and input became extremely complex and was out of our professional capacity to analyze in addition to the fact the 2 people in question did not want to follow the advice of our professional management company. This in essence took the matter out of our hands and out of the direct influence of the local Oroklini council who initially supported us, until the sewage issue was reported. In short our complex has been singled out above all other complexes in the region for a common problem and our options have been severely compromised, meaning the only options available would be expensive at a time when funds are low partly due to recent events, instability and the economic crisis in Cyprus. 

Until the date of this post we have not received any proposals whatsoever and the deadline for all motions for the AGM on the 6th of May has also passed.

This communication was simply made to inform all owners of the prevailing situation. A copy of the original owners in question is available on request. 

The OH5 acting Committee

Crisis in Cyprus and Bank Account update

Dear OH5 Owners

No doubt you have all seen the international news and read about the economic crisis in Cyprus, which is still unfolding.

Our current funds are around 1000 euro and as such not affected by any haircut. We do feel however that it’s better to close the current account and ask Demorilo to collect funds on our behalf as before. The reasons for this are as follows:

1. As a Company Demorilo will be able to collect funds in a variety of ways Bank Transfer, Cash and PayPal. Due to the crisis, we need to collect funds using different ways facilitated through a professional administration Company, which can be held accountable. 
2. As Committee members we have never collected any cash personally (except for Fund raising) or PayPal payments, as we thought it unwise to do so. In light of all the heated conversation about accounts, this proved to be the right choice. 
3. Individual Accounts have a spending limit of 300 euro per day, which is limiting. Moreover, as a Committee, we only ever-used Cheques for payments (except when one of us or Demorilo paid personally if there was no funds available), so it could be recorded, now cheques are more difficult to use for suppliers. 
4. Clearly company Accounts have more flexibility; hence it’s in the best interests of the complex to take advantage of a Demorilo bank account. 
5. As Demorilo complete the accounts, it also makes the process faster, to ensure accounts are updated more speedily, as a couple of owners have requested this of late (before we received no requests). 
6. As there is an AGM in May, we should close the Committee account before then. This will facilitate an orderly transition. 

For any owners with a direct debit, we kindly ask you to cancel it. We will close the account over the period of one month to allow for any direct debits that may come in.

Meanwhile, Alison from Demorilo will be in touch soon to request payments. We ask all owners to cooperate with Alison and bring their accounts fully up to date.

Grant, Brian and Costas