Webinars for you to purchase

We have a range of past webinar presentations written specifically for the Property Management sector.  If you would like to purchase any of them webinars listed below, here’s how to order them:

Simply email marieholloway@brethertons.co.uk and state your chosen webinar title(s) and the dates the original webinar(s) took place.  Caroline will ask you to send a cheque for £50 + VAT per title, and in return you will receive a VAT receipt and an email, linking you to the PowerPoint presentation slides.

22/4/10             Recovering Service Charges - Getting What's Due

Recovering service charges is at any time difficult.  In the aftermath of the credit crunch, it is likely that recovering service charges will only get harder.  This webinar explains how Property Managers can recover what is due from Lessees and avoid making expensive mistakes when it comes to recovering service charge.

20/4/10                          County Court procedures 

How to maximise your chances of successfully recovering your cash if you have to go to a court hearing. If your debts remain unpaid you may find yourself attending a hearing before a District Judge in the Small Claims Court.  This webinar covers the following subjects:-

• How to avoid bad debts in the first place
• County Court proceedings
• Understanding the courts vocabulary
• Preparation of cases prior to trial
• Conduct at a hearing
• Dealing with judges
• Mediation and alternative dispute resolution
• Advantages/disadvantages
• The role of the mediator
• How the process works
• Costs
• Enforcement proceedings and recovering expenses

14/04/10            Asbestos - The Hidden Danger

If there is one word that is likely to strike fear into the heart of a Property Manager it is likely to be “asbestos”. The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 applies to all commercial (non-domestic) properties and common areas of domestic properties under multiple occupancy e.g. stairwells, lifts, garages and roof voids. In this webinar, Roy Mansfield the Managing Director of Oxford Integrated Solutions explains how Property Managers should prepare to deal with asbestos.

31/03/10                        Company Law Basics

Every year it is likely that a Property Manager would have to attend half a dozen AGMs.  On many occasions the Directors of the companies do not quite understand the procedures they are supposed to implement and look to the Property Manager for advice.  This webinar explains some of the company law basics, including:-

• Limited liability – role of the Company Director
• Director’s responsibility
• Duties of Company Secretary
• Resolutions and taking votes
• The purpose of AGMs
• The paperwork that is required
• Restoring companies to the register

25/03/10                 Training your Staff for Mediation

From April 2009, each County Court in England and Wales has an in house mediator, who encourages parties to participate in the mediation process and not proceed to trial. Whilst many credit controllers may be familiar with the legal process, mediation is something new.

This webinar explains what participants should expect when the Courts are not involved in the debt recovery process.

17/03/10                      Disruptive Lessees             

Disruptive Lessees and anti-social behaviour are the bane of Property
Manager’s lives. This webinar explains how problems caused by the anti-social behaviour of lessees/tenants can be dealt with in an effective manner and includes some of the following points:

• What is meant by a disruptive Lessee
• Lessees who refuse to pay service charge
• Noise nuisance
• Unauthorised pets
• Sub-letting
• Structural or decorative alterations
  Remedies available to freeholders Injunction, Possession Orders
  Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO)
• Mediation
• Satellite dishes
• Using premises for immoral purposes
• Lifting carpets and replacing with wooden flooring

11/03/10              Understanding Residential Long Term Leases

The starting point with any dispute between Landlord and Tenant is the Lease, which sets out the party’s obligations to each other. However, reading and understanding a Lease is a skill which has to be developed and judging by the number of negligence claims that are brought against solicitors each year, is something that even lawyers do not always get right first time. This webinar is a useful introduction to the mysteries of residential leases for those new to property management and will also act as a refresher course for senior members of staff.

18/11/09              The Digital Switchover - Are you Prepared?

Starting in 2008 and ending in 2012, TV services in the UK will go completely digital, TV region by TV region. This process is called the digital TV switchover. The UK’s old television broadcast signal, known as ‘analogue’ is being switched off and replaced with a “digital” signal. Any TV that’s not set up to receive digital when the switchover takes place will no longer receive TV programmes.

If you  manage a property that has a communal TV aerial system, you will need to ensure that the building is set up to receive digital, otherwise residents may not be able to receive a digital television signal after switchover, even if they have ensured that they have the right equipment. In order to avoid the risk of residents having either limited or no access to television services when the analogue TV signals are switched to digital, it is important for property managers to check their aerial systems and if they need upgrading or replacing to consider their options, in consultation with the residents,  as soon as possible.

In this interactive webinar Property Managers will learn what the future has in store is respect of the digital switchover and what steps they should be taking to avoid future problems.

17/11/09                           How to Win Small Claims 

How to maximise your chances of successfully recovering your cash if you have to go to a court hearing.

If your debts remain unpaid you may find yourself attending a hearing before a District Judge in the Small Claims Court.  This Webinar will cover the following subjects:-

• How to avoid bad debts in the first place
• Smalls County Court proceedings
• Preparation of cases
• Conducts at hearings
• Enforcement proceedings and recovering expenses 

4/11/09           The Perils of Christmas for Employers

The Christmas party season is a great source of revenue to Employment Lawyers.  Every year, without fail, staff and management will get drunk, make fools of themselves and a few days later when they have sobered up, the recriminations will begin. 

This FREE Webinar will cover employment law on discrimination, bullying and harassment, as well as, dealing specifically with legal issues around the following areas:

1.          Christmas Bonuses
2.          Secret Santa
3.          Company Gifts
4.          The Christmas Party
5.          Spurious sickness and Health and Safety
6.          New Years Resolution – Equality – the Equality Bill

28/10/09        Overpayment of Salaries - The Right To Recover

As all Payroll Managers know, recovering money from ex-employees who have left a business can be fraught with problems and assistance is  often sought from the credit control team,  well help is at hand.
 
Overpayments can include salaries, benefits, reclaiming holiday pay and employee loans.

Brethertons solicitors  has a specialist team of collections staff who have many years of experience in these types of recoveries.

Subjects which will be covered include:-
• How problems occur and how they can be avoided.
• Christmas and holiday periods - safeguards employers can make.
• Contractual terms of employment – what your contracts should contain.
• Genuine errors or mistakes of law – what’s the difference?
• Court action.
• Defences.
• Remedies.
• Situations when the employees have spent the money.

Who Should Participate
• Payroll staff
• HR Managers
• Credit controllers
• FD’s and anyone who gets involved in or who has an interest in the recovery   process

27/10/09            Section 20 Consultation and Long Term Agreements

As any Property Manager knows, Section 20 Consultation has to be carried out with Lessees correctly if major works are to be paid by the Lessees rather than the freeholder. Section 20 is extremely important as far as Property Managers are concerned and getting it wrong could not only have disastrous effects for freeholders, but can lead Property Managers open to a professional negligence claim.

The subjects which would be covered in the Webinar would include:
• Consultation of major works
• Consultation of long term agreements
• Detailed procedures to be followed
• Who is responsible for consultation
• Emergency works
• Nominator contractors
• Planning Ahead
• Using the LVT

4/12/08                          Effective Letter Writing

How to write letters which will grab a debtor’s attention

If your debts remain unpaid you may find yourself attending a hearing before a District Judge in the Small Claims Court. This Webinar will cover the following subjects:

• How to avoid bad debts in the first place
• Small claims County Court proceedings
• Preparation of cases
• Conducts at hearings

13/11/08                  ‘Small Claims Court Procedures In A Nutshell' 

How to maximise your chances of successfully recovering your cash if you go to a court hearing

If your debts remain unpaid you may find yourself attending a hearing before a District Judge in the Small Claims Court. This Webinar will cover the following subjects:

• How to avoid bad debts in the first place
• Small claims County Court proceedings
• Preparation of cases
• Conducts at hearings
• Enforcement proceedings and recovering expenses

30/10/08                  Insolvency for Property Managers In a Nutshell

What you do when lessees and freeholders go bust?

Subjects which will be covered include:

• Bankruptcy and Individual Volutary Arrangements (IVAs) in a nutshell
• How a bankruptcy and IVAs affect the payment of service charges and ground rents
• Freeholders - what happens when they go into liquidation?

22/9/08                  ‘New Build Problems - How to Overcome Them’

This webinar covers the following topics:

• Developer voids
• Who is the client?
• Keeping everyone happy
• Snagging and service charges

11/9/08             ‘Terms and Conditions, Whats the Point?’ webinar

All business should have Terms and Conditions of Trading, as failure to do so could mean that it is left to the Court to decide on what terms businesses have entered into contracts. Who in there right mind will want a Judge deciding the terms on which you should do business?  

6/08/08                        Employment Law for Property Managers

This webinar covers all areas of employment law for managers, with a particular focus on the following:

• Why do you want to employ staff at all?
• Subcontractors that are really employees
• Foreign workers – the Rules and Regulations
• Age Discrimination
• Disability Discrimination
• Hiring and Firing- getting it right

11/06/08             Disruptive Lessees and How To Deal with Them

The speaker for this webinar was Justin Bates from Arden Chambers. He is fully conversant with all aspects of property litigation including forfeiture claims, property management disputes, service charges and enfranchisement matters. He is the co-author of “Leasehold Disputes – a guide to the LVT” and regularly appears in the LVT and Lands Tribunal.

20/05/08                                    Contracts of Employment

What every employer needs to know

As an employer, you don’t need to be reminded that there have been numerous changes in Employment Law over the last few years – over 70 pieces of primary legislation in the last 10 years alone.

13/05/08                            Training your staff for mediation

Since April 2008, each County Court in England and Wales will have an inhouse mediator, who will be encouraging parties to participate in the mediation process and not proceed to trial. Whilst many credit controllers may be familiar with the legal process, mediation is something new. This Webinar explains what participants should expect when the Courts are not involved in the debt recovery process.

03/04/08                             Insolvency in a Nutshell

This Webinar covers some of the Insolvency basis including bankruptcy,
Individual Voluntary Arrangements and Corporate Insolvency procedures.

20/09/07                               Small Claims Court

A web seminar for Credit Controllers and Finance Directors which aims to explain:

• How to avoid bad debts in the first place
• Small Claims County Court procedure
• Preparation of cases
• Conduct at the hearings
• Enforcement proceedings and recovering expenses

29/11/07                                 The LVT Expects... 

In this Webinar Robert Long who sits as an LVT Chairman in Chichester,
will explain what he and his fellow LVT representatives expects of
Property Managers when they come before him.

14/11/07                                  Enfranchisement 

“Enfranchisement” is a group (or collective) right for leaseholders of flats to buy the freehold of the building they live in. Leaseholders have this right even if the freeholder or landlord does not wish to sell and the process must be exercised through a Nominee Purchaser.

To exercise the Right to Enfranchise, you must be a “qualifying tenant”.
Once you have worked out whether or not you qualify, the next stage
is to work out whether or not the Building qualifies. The enfranchisement process is formally started when the landlord is first given notice by the Nominee Purchaser of the wish to exercise the Right to Enfranchise. The Landlord is then invited to give his Counter-Notice by the date set out in the Initial Notice. The Nominee Purchaser and Landlord are then given time to agree the terms of the acquisition. Topics covered in this webinar are:

• Do I qualify?
• The Process; and
• How much will we have to pay?

07/11/07                           Sportelli The Final Judgment

The Court of Appeal have handed down the decision in the Earl Cadogn v Sportelli case, which has caused much gnashing of teeth amongst the Property Management industry.

As many Property Managers will know, deferment rates were effectively turned upside down by the Sportelli decision. This webinar explains the decision in detail.

16/10/07                                  Right to Manage

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 created a “no fault” Right to Manage. Leaseholders can now establish a Right to Manage (RTM) Company to take over the management of the building they live in without proving that their manager is at fault or paying any premium.

The formal procedure for exercising the RTM is started by the RTM Company serving a Claim Notice on the Landlord; it then follows a prescribed route. The RTM is not exercisable unless the building qualifies and there are sufficient qualifying leaseholders who are willing to participate in RTM.

The RTM does not necessarily have to take over the day-to-day management of the building; it can appoint managing agents of its choice to take over the Company's responsibilities.

The aim of our RTM Webinar is to provide Property Managers, Landlords and Leaseholders with some practical advice regarding the RTM process and how RTM's operate in practice. The subjects covered during the Webinar includes:

• Stages of the RTM Process
• Qualification
• Landlords Response & Applications to the LVT
• Costs of the RTM Process
• Duty to Pay Uncommitted Service Charges
• Approvals

26/9/07                               Insurance in a Nutshell

The subjects that covered in this webinar include:

• Premiums - How much?
  - Insurers consideration of “risk”
  - How premiums are calculated
  - Why premium rates differ
• Claims Processing - Speed vs. Delays
  - Probably the best way to present a claim
  - The problems usually encountered and how to avoid these pitfalls
• Specific Policy Cover Topic - “Trace & Access”
  - What cover are you really being provided?
• Latest FSA Issues - Any Updates?
• Insurance Valuations - Are the figures really up to date?

19/09/07                       New Service Charge Rules 

1st October 2007 is a date all Landlords, Managing Agents and RMC's should have in their diaries. From this date, all Landlords, Managing Agents and RMC's will be required to serve a summary of the rights and obligations of tenants of dwellings in relation to service charges, with any demand for service and/or administration charges.

In other words - no summary of rights and obligations - no service &
administration payments!

To find out what you should be doing from 1st October 2007 simply
complete the booking form below. The subjects covered include:-

• General Rules about Service Charges
• Payability & Reasonableness
• Tenant's Right to Information
• Summaries of Cost
• Statements of Account
• Summary of Rights and Obligations

04/07/07                                    Painless AGM's  

The subjects covered in the webinar include:

• How an AGM should be run properly
• Separating AGM meetings from estate meetings
• Getting the paperwork in order
• Restoring companies to the Register once they have been struck-off
• Failing to comply with The Companies Act

09/05/07                Understanding Residential Long Term Leases

The webinar will be a useful introduction to the mysteries of residential leases for those new to property management and will also act as a refresher course for senior members of staff. The subjects covered in this webinar include: -

• Understanding the Lease
• How to read a Lease and the rules of Lease interpretation
• Finding your way round the Lease
• The importance of knowing what is in a Lease
• Remedying defective Leases