Seymour Consultants prepares strata compliance reports for bodies corporate in Cairns and the surrounding far north. Our inspectors travel from our Gold Coast office, and we schedule far north work in blocks so that a trip covers several schemes rather than one.
The clients are committees and strata managers. The reports are the ones a scheme is required to hold under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997.
What we prepare
- Sinking fund forecasts
- Work health and safety audits
- Fire safety audits, evacuation plans and training
- Pool barrier inspection and certification
- Insurance replacement valuations
- Common property condition reports
- Termite inspections and pest management
Climate, and what it does to a forecast
Far north Queensland is hard on buildings. Humidity, heavy wet season rain, salt air near the coast and cyclone exposure all shorten the life of external finishes and roofing compared with a building of the same age further south.
A forecast built on southern assumptions will understate what a Cairns scheme needs. Painting cycles come round sooner. Roof fixings and flashings matter more. Timber elements need closer attention because termite pressure in the tropics is higher. We allow for that rather than applying a standard curve.
Fire safety and evacuation
Many Cairns complexes have short stay or holiday letting occupants who do not know the building. That raises the practical importance of clear evacuation signage, a current evacuation diagram and staff who have been trained on it. We prepare the audit, the plan and the training as separate pieces of work, so a committee can take whichever it is missing.
Termites and timber
Termite pressure in the tropics is higher than most southern committees would expect, and a body corporate carrying timber decking, pergolas, fencing or structural timber has a real exposure. Regular inspection is cheaper than the alternative by a wide margin.
Where a scheme has had treatment done, we want to see the records. A barrier installed twelve years ago and never reinspected is not protection, and the forecast needs a line item for renewing it.
Questions we get from far north schemes
Is a Cairns forecast different from a Brisbane one?
The method is the same. The assumptions are not. Shorter finish life, higher roofing and flashing attention, and greater allowance for timber and termite work all change the numbers for a building of identical age and construction.
Our insurance valuation is a few years old. Does that matter?
Probably. Construction costs in regional Queensland have moved considerably, and remote or cyclone rated work carries a premium that older valuations often do not reflect. Underinsurance is the body corporate’s problem, not the insurer’s.
Do you actually come to Cairns, or is this done remotely?
Our inspectors attend site. Far north visits are scheduled in blocks so a trip covers several schemes, which is why early notice helps and why it is worth telling us if your manager has other properties in the region.
Arranging an inspection
Call 07 5573 4011 or send through the scheme details. Because far north visits are scheduled in blocks, it is worth asking early. If your strata manager has other schemes in the region, mention it and we will look at combining the trip.
