A large local business with depots in Deagon and Clontarf has just contracted Common Ground Property Services to look after their yard maintenance. As of today, Common Ground will be maintaining the lawns, gardens, hardstand areas and controlling weeds at the company’s two commercial properties.

The company’s facilities manager found our quote to be clear and sensibly priced, and approved it almost immediately. She then requested that we start our scheduled service programme as soon as possible.

Common Ground Property Services understand the appearance of external areas is extremely important to any commercial property, and we are a safe bet for all your garden maintenance needs. Your management team can leave the scheduled servicing of your lawns and gardens to our experienced and friendly staff, knowing that the work will always be completed safely and on schedule. Our gardening work will also always be completed as quoted, and any variations or additional work that may be required will always be subject to the written approval of a separate quote.

Please contact us today to discuss your gardening and common area cleaning needs. Common Ground Property Services can assist with commercial, body corporate and domestic work.

Common Ground Property Services was recently selected as the cleaning and gardening contractor for two body corporate clients in Taringa and St Lucia. Both body corporate committees had had bad experiences with their previous contractors, and were looking for a reliable company that was capable of bringing their properties back up to scratch quickly.

The St Lucia body corporate was also in need of a contractor that was able to help its committee develop a vision of how their complex’s gardens could be rejuvenated with fresh plantings, while the Taringa complex needed a contractor that could keep one step ahead of its resident scrub turkey.

We are looking forward to working hard to develop long term relationships with these two new clients, and know that they will enjoy seeing the positive changes that will take place around their properties.

When an owner of a unit in a community titles scheme lives off-site, it can be a challenge to try and keep tabs on contractors. Having said this, irrespective of whether owners live on-site or not they should be able to trust their contractors to complete cleaning & gardening tasks as quoted.

With this in mind, we asked body corporate committee member and absentee owner Sarah three short questions about her experience in dealing with Common Ground Property Services.

1. What problems were your body corporate committee facing in the lead up to appointing Common Ground Property Services?

“As an absentee owner and body corporate committee member of a unit in Auchenflower, I was finding it difficult to deal with contractors attending our property when I couldn’t be on-site to supervise them.  Over time, this resulted in a noticeable decline in the level of service received from our gardeners and cleaners, to the point where they had even stopped turning up, but still were charging us. 

All this changed when we switched to Common Ground Property Services – now I feel confident that our gardens and common areas are being cared for to a high standard.  When I do find the time to drive over and have a look I can see the difference – the gardens and lawns look great and the common areas are clean.”

2. What were the reasons behind your committee’s decision to contract Common Ground Property Services to look after the ongoing cleaning and gardening duties at your apartment complex?

“Common Ground Property Services stood out from the competition right from the quoting stage.  Garth was very thorough and took time to listen to what our needs were, offered ideas and solutions to the problems we were having with some areas of the property, and prepared a detailed and professional quote. 

Compared to the competition, who actually said they preferred me not to be there when they came to quote, it was obvious that Garth was someone I could trust to do a good job!  His interest in plants and landscaping only improves the versatility of Common Ground Property Services – as well as maintaining the property, Garth goes those extra steps to improve it, such as with his maintenance program to remove weeds from the lawn.”

3. What outcomes has your body corporate committee experienced since Common Ground Property Services commenced work at your apartment complex?

“We are more than happy with Common Ground Property Services, and I have since engaged Garth to also take care of another rental property that I own.Previously, I used to go around to the units from time to time to remove weeds and trim trees – even though we were paying someone else to do this!  Now I feel confident that Common Ground Property Services are taking care of everything.

Garth is proactive and a great communicator as well, which is perfect for busy owners who live off-site.”

Sarah, Body Corporate Committee Member

Auchenflower Apartment Complex

Common Ground Property Services have had a solid start to 2013, with three new customers signed up in early January.

On Tuesday we received confirmation that our quote for the ongoing cleaning of an office in Lutwyche had been successful, and then later in the week we were selected to take over the garden maintenance of a property in Bardon and the cleaning of an apartment complex in Hamilton.

Two of these three new clients came from referrals from our existing customers, which is a very satisfying way to gain new business.

Common Ground Property Services is very fortunate to be able to deliver a lot of jobs which provide us and our clients with very ‘high visual reward’ (HVR). Examples of HVR jobs are things such as house washing, pressure cleaning of concrete, or making over a badly neglected garden, where the client sees a dramatic change in the appearance of their property at the end of the project. HVR jobs always finish with you standing back at the end of the day and admiring your work, proud at what has been achieved. So is it possible for ‘low visual reward’ (LVR) work to be as satisfying as HVR work?

Although LVR work does not transform a property as dramatically as a HVR job can, it can be just as rewarding. When I take over the cleaning and gardening for a new body corporate client, it generally takes a few visits to get the property up to the Common Ground Property Services standard. This means a lot of elbow grease and in most cases a lot of HVR during the initial stages of the contract. However, once the property is up to standard the benefits of LVR work start to kick in.

LVR comes from keeping the small things under control, and can be something as simple as vacuuming residents’ door mats, removing a graffiti tag, or reattaching a loose fence paling. Our body corporate clients appreciate the small things we do, and although they may not always notice every little detail of Common Ground’s work, they know their complex is in good hands and in turn residents come to take more care when using their common areas.

However, the most powerful thing about LVR is how much energy it can give you. When a complex looks great at the end of each Common Ground visit, it gives me the energy to work harder and harder to keep improving the appearance of the property. So while HVR work is generally very physically demanding, LVR work can actually be energy giving (and far more sustainable in the long term).

So in a nutshell, there is definitely a real ‘wow factor’ to HVR work, but for me it is LVR work and the satisfaction of improving the quality of service week in week out that energizes me and keeps me passionate about what I do.

A 14 unit apartment complex in Morningside found itself with a compelling reason to change its cleaning and gardening contractor after he started a full-time job, while trying to maintain his body corporate work on the side.

The body corporate committee were initially very patient, and tried to work with their contractor. However after a continuous decline in service standards, enough was enough.

Common Ground was contacted on a Tuesday, we completed a site inspection the next day, and the body corporate had a written quote by Thursday. The following Monday we were notified that our tender was successful, and we commenced work on the Thursday (just over 1 week from initial contact!).

This case proves it is always best to have a committed and passionate contractor for your complex. Common Ground Property Services specialise in the maintenance of common areas for residential apartment complexes, and there is no other work to get in the way of us delivering high quality services for our body corporate clients – week in and week out.

Common Ground Property Services is delighted to welcome a new body corporate client in Auchenflower.

Commencing in October, Common Ground will look after the complex’s fortnightly cleaning and gardening needs, as well as periodic tree grooming and pressure washing work. The body corporate chairperson noted that the committee was impressed with how prompt  and thorough Common Ground’s proposal was.

Please contact us today for an obligation free discussion of your complex’s cleaning and gardening needs.

It has been three months since Common Ground Property Services took over the cleaning, gardening and maintenance of an apartment complex overlooking New Farm Park. Common Ground staff have enjoyed the challenge of bringing the common areas and gardens back to a standard residents expect of a complex in such a prime location. Staff have also enjoyed the fact that they can take their breaks in beautiful New Farm Park!

In addition to the regular cleaning and maintenance work, Common Ground recently completed extensive pressure washing of the complex’s public areas to remove slip hazards and to improve general appearance. The body corporate committee has also asked Common Ground Property Services to assist with an upcoming project to replant the majority of the complex’s garden beds, which are in need of a make-over.

Body corporate committee chairperson, Jenny, made the following comments when asked to look back on the past three months.

“Since changing to Common Ground Property Services our unit complex is looking much cleaner, tidier and ‘fresher’. Garth and his team have been very easy to work with and are friendly, prompt and we know that tasks will be completed professionally. As a Body Corporate we have been impressed with how Garth takes pride in his work. He takes the time to look around and report to us on any maintenance or cleaning issues that he becomes aware of.

It is with great pleasure that Common Ground Property Services welcomes its first body corporate client in Redcliffe. The body corporate committee, of the 17 unit complex in Clontarf, contacted Common Ground after receiving poor service from their previous contractor.

Common Ground Property Services have been contracted to look after all the complex’s cleaning and gardening needs with a weekly visit, and will also be given the opportunity to quote for upcoming high-pressure cleaning and other maintenance work.

Julie, the body corporate committee chairperson, commented that, “I’m glad to finally have found a contractor that is passionate about what they do, and is willing to take some ownership. Thank you Common Ground for taking the time to consider the needs of our complex, and for detailing that clearly in your proposal. I look forward to working with your team.” 

One of our body corporate cleaning & gardening clients in Fortitude Valley has been having problems with trespassers getting up to no good in a stairwell by the entry to the complex.

We tried a number of strategies to deter these people from congregating in the stairwell, but in the end the only solution was to install a large steel gate at the top of the stairs.

Problem solved!