Property Industry - Introducing NAMA to the Public

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANAGING AGENTS (NAMA) is a voluntary organisation for Managing Agents who are managing Sectional Title Complexes, Home Owners complexes and – Estates, Retirement Villages and other Institutions who require the services of a managing agent.

Due to the vast number of clients serviced by our members NAMA became a key role player in the property market backed by its 431+ members. In the high importance of communal living, in our days, NAMA and its members touches the lives of millions of people every day living in these security environments as well as the public at large who are interested in moving into a security environment. South Africa has 33 000+ Bodies Corporate, covering some 815 000+ units (With an estimate annual income of R7,3+ billion), occupied by some 3,3+ million people. Our members manages 15,500+ Sectional Title Complexes and Home Owners Associations with 560,000+ units in total which is 69% of the total units in the country. NAMA was formally registered as a Section 21 Company (now NPC) in 2004 and is still moving forward in our efforts to uplift the services of our members to their clients.

The National Association of Managing Agents (NAMA), under the national chairmanship of Koos Croukamp from Pretoria, recently underwent a brand upliftment project. This was the first upliftment since March 2004. As the property management industry is a dynamic and ever-changing industry NAMA Directors had the purpose of uplifting the reputable brand of the Association. The NAMA Board of Directors is made up of representatives from varying regions of the country, thus ensuring continuing national input. “Times are changing fast and we need to re-establish ourselves within the dynamic and competitive industry of Property. We want to provide our members with state of the art services and an everlasting sustainable brand with which they can associate” stated Koos Croukamp, of NAMA. Koos Croukamp has been serving as the National Chairman of NAMA since July 2013. His vision for NAMA is to add even more value to its members as the association essentially belongs to its members. As an active member of the NAMA regional committee, Mr Croukamp first served as chairperson of the NAMA Gauteng North region for 3 years. He created strategic alliances with organizational leaders to effectively align and support NAMA initiatives. As the new national chairper on of NAMA, Mr Croukamp believes in the philosophy of “Life begins when you are out of your comfort zone” and embeds this in his enthusiasm about NAMA and in the future this association holds for its members.

Sectional Title ownership is by far the most popular form of home ownership in South Africa. To nurture the growth in the industry and to meet the challenges of an ever-changing environment in which managing agents operate, it has become necessary to adequately train professionals to effectively manage the affairs of sectional title schemes and homeowners’ associations as well as varying other categories of community housing. It is also an imperative that trustees / committees are better skilled and informed about their management and fiduciary responsibilities relevant to their scheme development and the advantages of employing a professional manager. Hence the reason the National Association of Managing Agents was formed, and in March 2004 it was registered as a section 21 Company (now a NPC). The establishment of NAMA was approved by the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) – the regulatory body for the South African property industry. In consultation with managing agents countrywide and with legal authorit es on sectional title, the Association completed a National Constitution, Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Articles and Memorandum of Association, which today govern the operations of the Association.

Part of NAMA’s focus is providing training programmes for owners and trustees, as well as candidate property portfolio managers employed by its Members. It also produces educational material for all members. The goal is to position NAMA as a recognized authority in the Industry. “This is why it is imperative that we communicate our new brand in the most effective way to our members and the public.” said Mr Croukamp. Another important component of NAMA’s service, not only to the sectional title community but to the community housing fraternity in general, is to generate consumer confidence and customer recognition of the Association’s objectives and ideals, leading to credibility for the profession in the public domain. NAMA is well positioned to help Bodies Corporate by assisting interested trustees seeking to appoint a professional managing agent.

In closing Mr Croukamp stated; “This association has grown a great deal and we contribute significantly to the Property Management Industry. With this in mind, we need to make sure that our brand is impeccable so as to ensure a relationship based on trust with all our members”.

Source: J.J. Croukamp (Chairman of NAMA)

Courtesy: EAAB - The Estate Agency Affairs Board