Why it makes financial sense for your strata to replace that old tired fence.
Nobody who lives in strata wants their monthly strata fee to go up, and if it does go up, they probably want a good reason for that. Your strata fees are there to ensure the maintenance and management of your strata are being conducted and being conducted well. If you want to keep those fees from going up in the long run or even have them decrease, you need to lower the maintenance or management cost. If your fence is ancient and worn out, residents have probably been voicing their concerns in person or via email about how it looks and hazardous it could be to their pets or children. It may be creating a lot of work for council members and/or your property manager. You’d probably like to replace your existing fence with one that requires minimal to no maintenance and is not the subject of countless emails, conversations, and phone calls.
In this article, we will discuss how replacing a fence could save your strata tens of thousands of dollars in the long run in maintenance fees, thus keeping that payment consistent or even lowering it. Please share this article on social media or with a friend if you find this article valuable. Feel free to email us if you have any feedback about this article; click here to do so. We value your feedback and use the feedback to come up with ideas for future posts. Ok, let’s get started!
Many Strata’s we have worked with were fixated on the initial project cost. Many more variables need to be considered when making a decision, such as the long-term maintenance costs. The graph below illustrates the long-term costs of maintaining a wood fence versus a vinyl fence.
Cedar looks great, but we wanted to make sure that you’re well informed to give the best recommendations to your strata council. Cedar costs much more in maintenance because you have to stain it every 3-5 years. Re-staining 20 sections of wood fencing every 5 years costs $2080, and in our experience, every time you re-stain the fence you’re rarely able to do it without making just a few minor repairs to the wood due to the wear and tear damage that happens from kids, pets, balls, gardeners, and the elements. Balls don’t crack Heavy Duty VMA approved vinyl fences.
We also understand that there are cases where the strata may not have the funds to do a complete replacement; we would suggest replacing the fence a section at a time then. These multiple setup costs are far less than the emergency fence repair bills that will come in as the fence gradually fails. It will save your strata money to replace the fence in phases starting with the worst area first. With the politics of the process, a smaller project is a lot easier to get a ¾ vote for.
Regarding fencing, if you do the job once and commit to choosing the correct materials and having it done correctly, you won’t need to address the matter again for many years. We have a “do it once, do it right.” The mentality here at Premium Fence. Stop spending tens of thousands of dollars maintaining a tired old fence and putting up with many safety hazards while you do it. Do the job right up front and move on; you could maintain or even lower your strata fees over time due to making this decision today.
Conclusion:
We know that you may have some follow-up questions. Feel free to call or email us with any questions that you may have about our strata fence solutions, a member of our support team will be happy to assist you. We pride ourselves on having the best customer service in the industry. We care about our clients and are genuinely grateful for their business.