Life of the upper class: who manages luxury real estate in Russia?

Residents of luxury apartment buildings are essentially held hostage by developers, as expensive real estate is primarily managed by companies created by developers. The "RIA Real Estate" website has found out what services are provided to residents of expensive apartments and how much their maintenance costs.

Moscow, September 14 - RIA Novosti, Vera Kozubova. Residents of luxury apartment buildings are essentially held hostage by developers, as expensive real estate is primarily managed by companies created by developers. The "RIA Real Estate" website has found out what services are provided to residents of expensive apartments and how much their maintenance costs.

Developers dominate

According to the chairman of the board of directors of Kalinka Group, Ekaterina Rumyantseva, about 70% of residential complexes in the luxury segment in Russia are serviced by management companies created by developers. The market for independent management companies not affiliated with developers exists, but is still underdeveloped and does not compete much with companies created by developers, she notes.

As the head of the "urban real estate" department of Welhome company, Tatyana Dmitrieva, says, at the initial stage after the commissioning of a residential complex, the developer must himself manage the building.

"According to the Housing Code, within 20 days after the developer receives permission to commission a multi-apartment building, an open competition is held to choose a management company. Until the choice and conclusion of a contract for the operation of a residential building by a management company, the developer himself manages the building. Payments for utilities can be made to the developer who operates the residential building," explains Dmitrieva.

Choosing with obstacles

In accordance with Russian legislation, homeowners can choose management companies themselves, Dmitrieva notes. However, in practice, when a buyer purchases an apartment in a new high-budget building, the building is usually already managed by a company affiliated with the developer.

"Large developers have their own management companies. For example, the developer "Vedis Group" has its own company AO "VK Comfort", which provides services for all residential complexes of the developer, as well as parking lots. Pik Group has an operating company LLC "Pik-Comfort", and so on," says Dmitrieva.

Of course, homeowners have the opportunity to create homeowners associations, but very few take this step, explain Kalinka Group experts. The fact is that residents of luxury apartment buildings are usually busy people, and few want to hold meetings, collect payments, and address issues related to building maintenance.

At the same time, not all owners of luxury real estate agree with the choice of the management company. Requests to change management companies are not uncommon, say experts surveyed by RIA Real Estate. However, as it turned out, it is not so easy to do this.

"For example, the procedure for changing the management company in the "Triumph Palace" residential complex has been going on for several years. A similar situation in the management company market is not unique, since management companies are not interested in reducing the number of serviced objects and, as a result, reducing the cash flow, and actively hinder the initiatives of residents," says Alexander Shibaev, director of the consulting, analysis and research department at Blackwood.

From time to time, the management company changes in small club houses, where payments are particularly high, adds Dmitry Voronkov, director of the elite urban real estate department at Contact Real Estate.

In the "4 Solntsa" complex, according to him, the management company was replaced by a homeowners association. There are also examples when the management company starts working properly instantly when there is a threat of changing it. This is exactly what happened in the "City of Capitals" complex

"Many residents do not agree with the tariffs, which are often inflated. There are cases when apartment owners do not understand what they are being charged for, for example, for passage through the territory of the building. Owners try to change the property management company, and it ends up in court battles. Property management companies, who are unhappy with the owners' desire to change, sue the residents," Razvorotneva says. In her opinion, it is necessary to establish a maximum cost for property management services at the regional level. "Many residents do not understand what they are paying for and how much the property management services should actually cost," Razvorotneva notes. Property management companies are not willing to lose a "lucrative piece," as managing elite buildings is a very profitable business, says Voronkov. "The average cost of service in the luxury market is about 120 rubles per square meter. If there is a swimming pool in the complex, the price can rise to 240 rubles per square meter, and in small elite club houses, the price can reach up to 300 rubles. Multiply the price per square meter by the total number of square meters in the building and you get an approximate amount. In general, this figure is about a million rubles per month or more," Voronkov explains. There are cases where top managers of certain property management companies, which serve elite complexes, are able to afford apartments in the same buildings, he says. "Sometimes buildings with the same technical composition and number of apartments differ dramatically in the level of utility bills, for example, by 2 times. In some complexes, the amount of utility bills may not correspond to the level of services provided by the property management company," the expert points out. Services for the elite The list of services provided by property management companies in luxury and business-class residential complexes is very extensive. This includes a quality security system (fenced territory, video surveillance system, access control, etc.), concierge service, apartment cleaning services, grocery delivery, car rental, dog walking, and even nanny services, says Irina Kalinina, Managing Partner at Point Estate. However, as a rule, all buyers of luxury real estate have a personal assistant in their staff who manages the service staff (chef, cleaner, nanny, etc.), so they hardly need a concierge service as such, adds Shibaev. Due to this, developers are increasingly abandoning the idea of creating a full-fledged Western-style concierge service. According to Kalinina, luxury service is unthinkable without professional staff with a good level of technical education who are able to make decisions and work with intelligent security systems. CEO of Tweed agency Irina Mogilatova, in turn, notes that in luxury buildings, the staff wears uniforms, and there are professional electricians and plumbers working there. "If a light bulb burns out, it is immediately replaced. You don't have to wait for hours for a plumber, all issues are resolved quickly and clearly," Mogilatova says. The price of the matter The minimum monthly service fee for residents of luxury residential complexes in Moscow will cost them approximately 90 rubles per square meter per month (without electricity and water meters), Kalinina explains. But in landmark projects, this figure can be even higher. In the Moscow International Business Center "Moscow-City," due to the height of the buildings and the complexity of the engineering systems, as well as the status of the apartments, the maintenance cost is significantly higher. For example, in "Capital City," the service costs up to 240 rubles per square meter per month. On average, operating expenses for owners of square meters in club houses in Moscow are 250-300 rubles per square meter per month, Rumiantseva says. The highest figures in the bill are seen by residents of club houses, followed by the cost of operating apartments in skyscrapers, and in elite residential complexes. Rumiantseva points out that operating expenses are not regulated by the state, so their size depends solely on the needs of residents and the appetite of the property management company. The fee for premium-class apartments and apartments may start from 30-40 thousand rubles per month. For "de luxe" housing, you will have to pay from 60-70 thousand rubles per month. According to Kalinka Realty, in the business segment, operational expenses on average amount to 130-160 rubles per square meter. However, as in other segments,