Services to Developers

Mainstay works closely with a wide range of property developers and their technical and sales teams. Uniquely we deliver a full package of advice and consultancy from pre-planning right through to handover and ultimately management of your scheme, utilising a dedicated new business department that handles developments right up to formal handover to the management team.

Formed in 2000 Mainstay currently employs in excess of 250 staff fully dedicated to property management and manages in excess of 25,000 residential apartments across the UK. Our success reflects our uniquely enthusiastic approach to residential block, estate and mixed use management backed up by genuine expertise and commitment to being the industry leader. Schemes under management range from 6 to 1000 plus units with a diverse range of services including concierge and site staff, leisure facilities, retail, café bars, live-work units, business centres, offices and guest accommodation.

Mainstay is proud to number many well-respected National and Regional Developers, (including most of the top 20 UK developers) and corporate institutional investors amongst its clients as well as over 200 Residents’ Management Companies.

Managing Agents are unique in that they must have a detailed understanding of developers, their schemes, legal frameworks and customer relationships. We have experience of both the good and the bad across a whole range of property and we are therefore well versed in current best practice. Developers rarely seek to utilise this pool of knowledge but at Mainstay we will not shrink from giving good advice, be it where to put the bin stores, or what rent review clause is adding the most value.

Complex developments require that service charges are calculated correctly and that weighting between commercial and residential contributions are equitable for all parties. This requires skilled and experienced technicians with a deep understanding of the management process.

At Mainstay we have chartered surveyors and senior professionals from property backgrounds who will deliver the technical know how. These people are backed up by a service culture that helps us to deliver the right message clearly and effectively to your customers.

We believe that the range of services that we offer developers upfront add substantially to the quality of the scheme going forward. We utilise the benefits of our wide experience to;

• review the plans and ensure the scheme is manageable and cost effective,
• recommend products and contractors to assist in the development utilising our experience across a wide range of schemes,
• advise on meeting Health and Safety requirements in the context of good management,
• review lease terms to allow proper management and collection of service charges
• provide residents’ guidelines.
• provide detailed budgets and matrices with explanatory notes
• offer training on service charge details for sales staff

Services Include:

• Single point of contact at Director level
• Management proposals pre-planning
• Review plans, elevations, consents etc. and comment
• Attend and contribute to technical meetings
• Provide methodology for refuse disposal
• Provide methodology for window cleaning
• Comment on access control and security
• Comment on finishes to common areas and landscapes
• Advise on Health and Safety matters
• Advise on parking control
• Advise on staffing and recruit as appropriate
• Advise on service charge costs and reserves
• Advise on M&E information to be handed over
• Calculate complex and multi-level service charges and matrices utilising the latest technology
• Advise on legal structure and attend legal meetings if required
• Supply standard lease or clauses
• Constantly review service costs throughout build
• Train sales team on service charges
• Undertake full independent snagging prior to handover
• Purchase reversionary interest including forward purchase if required
• Put in place all contracts prior to formal handover
• Phase handovers to reduce void costs whilst maintaining equitable balance for all.

To discover more about our Services to Developers please download our factsheet.