Pricing – Due to the fact that the market for building management and maintenance companies in Israel is a fragmented market, there is no fixed form of payment in the market. There are currently three accepted forms of payment in the market:

• COST+ method – a method that determines that the management company earns its profit based on a fixed percentage of the monthly maintenance fees paid by the building. The disadvantage of this form of payment is that the management company has no desire to lower the annual maintenance costs of the building because this would harm that company’s monthly profit from the building, and sometimes the company even increases the building’s COST in order to increase their profit percentage.
• FIXED PRICE – A fixed monthly payment to a management company that includes all building services, including electricity, maintenance, elevators, cleaning, insurance, and more. This method has the advantage that building residents can trust that any problem that arises in the building will be handled by the management company. The disadvantage of this method is that unreliable companies may leave buildings in debt to suppliers such as elevator companies and electricity companies.
• Payment of management fees – Most payments to suppliers go through the committee itself, with the management company being one of the suppliers. This form of payment gives the committee maximum control over the current account.

2. Human capital – In a maintenance and management company, you must know who the people who will work with you are. Before signing a contract, insist on getting to know the company representative who will supervise and provide assistance for your building.
3. Experience – It is necessary and desirable to check the past experience of the management company. Ask to see buildings that the company actually manages and go check them out. Do not rely on the phone numbers of “recommendations” that the companies will provide you.
4. Conflict of interest – Almost all building maintenance and management companies work with regular suppliers. When building tenants receive a quote for work and/or services, they may receive it with a “commission” from the management company or receive a higher quote than the tenants could have received from another place. However, it should be taken into account that the company’s choice of a particular supplier is not necessarily because it is the cheapest, but rather because it may provide the best, most reliable and efficient service. Therefore, building tenants have the responsibility to thoroughly examine the quotes they receive.
5. Cheap company – It is worth noting that you should not necessarily go after the company that offers the cheapest price. This may turn out to be a mistake when it later manifests itself in poor maintenance of the building systems, poor cleaning, or inadequate response. Of course, this section may not be correct in cases where the company is new and wants to enter the field or the company has other buildings in your area and can therefore give a low price.
6. Transparency in expenses – Require the company to provide ongoing reports of building expenses that are visible and available at any given time.

*These tips are suitable for owners of apartment buildings, offices, and factories.

*These tips come as a recommendation only. The tips are directed to customers who are considering hiring the services of a building maintenance and management company or to customers who have already hired a maintenance and management company.

Written by: Daniel Ken-Tor

Manager, Ken-Hator Building Maintenance and Management Ltd.

Congratulations! This time of year has arrived and you have elected a house committee.

Shoshana with the cat from the 3rd floor was elected chairwoman and everyone was overjoyed (yes, the same roof we’ll get to soon). It started well, the gardener arrived, the technician for the fountain in the lobby finally fixed the leak, and they even replaced the missing light bulbs in the parking lot.

But it turns out that Shoshana’s cat is sick and she can’t come to the house committee meeting scheduled for that week, and it was postponed. From there, the roof (to our knowledge) started to drip, the damage to Yaakov’s apartment on the 9th floor won’t repair itself, and what do we really do with a sprinkler inspection?

Yes, who hasn’t experienced this? Now the fights start and all the committee members aren’t really eager to fulfill their duties, because after all, who has the energy to do that when they come home from work?

This is where we come into the picture.

Say goodbye to building disputes, delayed maintenance, and an aging building due to lack of care. We’ll take all that headache away and leave you with the simplest task – to enjoy yourself, because you have a great building, and Shoshana’s cat is really cute.

Between us, today’s buildings require a lot of attention. From standard tasks like gardening and painting, to disinfecting water reservoirs and periodic fire extinguisher inspections. At Ken-Hator Building Management and Maintenance , you will enjoy peace and quiet while we take care of the building. After all, you deserve to rest, you are at home.

When the committee is not functioning, the little things can get missed. We’re not talking about the landscaping, which is an issue that everyone sees, but about the little gnomes that hide in the hidden corners of the building – aka the fire extinguishers.

We all know how important fire extinguishers are, especially in high-rise buildings. In an emergency, we must handle the incident as quickly and efficiently as possible. A fire that breaks out (not on us, tap tap tap) on one of the floors must be brought under control quickly before it spreads and, in extreme cases, blocks the escape routes of the residents of the upper floors.

Think about it, smoke, chaos, shouting, and suddenly you discover that Moshe, the housekeeper, hasn’t bothered to order a fire extinguisher inspection in two years, and the only thing that comes out of the extinguisher when you really need it is a kind of weak and embarrassing “poo.” Don’t forget to forgive Moshe, he didn’t do it on purpose. He just didn’t know.

At Ken-Hator Building Management and Maintenance , our fire extinguisher inspection service doesn’t require much of a headache. The inspection is performed in-house (answer: we do), with talented and excellent technicians from the company’s team performing the periodic inspections with a meticulousness and professionalism unmatched in Israel!

So don’t say “it won’t happen to me”.. Call now and join Ken-Hator Building Management and Maintenance . And again, don’t forget to forgive Moshe, he didn’t know

And today in our “Get to Know the System” corner, we will get to know the water pressure boosting system in a building. Yes, there is such a thing.

So what are we talking about? Good question! Imagine for a moment that you live on the 10th floor, you invested in a shower with a huge window overlooking the M-H-M-M view of Downtown Givatayim. The breeze is from the sky, even the parking downstairs is very convenient. But what, the water in the shower? Alas! Weak drips that ruin all this urban fun.

Now seriously, in order for the water pressure on the upper floors to be equal to that on the lower floors, there is a system in the basement of the building to increase the water pressure in the pipes, consisting of very powerful pumps that “throw” the water upwards. The system requires regular periodic maintenance, from checking the pipes once a month to an annual engineer’s inspection of the entire system.

So if you haven’t known the system by now, and even if you do, trust us, we know what we’re doing

You know those days when no matter what – Murphy is right and everything that can go wrong will go wrong. You’ve been arguing all day about the air conditioner at work, you forgot your lunch at home, and let’s not talk about the traffic jams on the way home. But then it’s finally quiet. You get home, your feet on the living room table and your coffee is boiling. At that moment Murphy wakes up, the leak you forgot about in the bathroom has decided to take the rug out for a swim and move the living room into the bedroom.

These and other malfunctions require quick, efficient and high-quality treatment. From the small repair of the toilet, to repairing damage to the floor, walls and the apartment on the floor below. Your first call will be to the management company – come, it’s an emergency.. How good that at Ken-Hator Management and Maintenance , we come from a background in construction and engineering with 30 years of experience and countless projects at the highest level in Israel. When we work with the best contractors and professionals in the field, we can bring the best and most professional service to you.

And now, finally, we can rest. At least until the kids arrive