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Notes on running a building well

Common expenses, reserve funds, arrears, inspections and the AGM — answered plainly, with the arithmetic shown and the law named where it applies. Written for committees and managers, not for search engines.

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An unforeseen repair in a budget year: extra contributions on top of the levy

A building billed by budget levy promises its owners a fixed amount each month. Then the lift motor burns out in September, the quote is €4,800, and the budget line for lift maintenance was spent in March. Someone has to decide: absorb it and true up next year, raise the levy, or ask the owners for a one-off extra. In Domera the third option is a tick on the invoice. Approve it and the owners' next statements carry an extra contribution line, split by the rule you chose, added to their balance, with the invoice itself kept out of the information section so nobody sees the job twice.

10 min · 2 October 2026

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Common expenses

When one flat caused the damage: charging a repair to one owner or a few units

How Domera charges a repair to a single unit or a hand-picked set of units: the recharge versus a common expense, the committee decision, rule-based or exact amounts on one invoice, the sum check and what the owner's statement shows.

9 min · 2 October 2026

Common expenses

One cleaning company, two buildings, two splits: allocation overrides per building

How Domera lets one building split the same vendor or category by a different rule: the vendor → category → rule chain, building allocation overrides, what wins over what, existing invoices, budget levies and what owners see.

8 min · 2 October 2026

Common expenses

Split by bedrooms, occupants or meters: allocation by a unit attribute

How Domera allocates a cost by bedrooms, occupants, a meter reading or any number recorded per unit: unit attributes, the By unit attribute rule, and what the owner's statement shows.

9 min · 2 October 2026

Common expenses

Blocks in a complex: allocating a cost to one block, not the whole site

How Domera allocates a lift, cleaning or pool bill to one block of a complex: allocation groups, block shares, category defaults, and what the owner's statement shows.

9 min · 1 October 2026

Common expenses

The dates behind a building's accounts, and how they fit together

Commencement of contract, opening balance date, first levy months and ownership dates: what each one decides in Domera, and the rules that connect them.

9 min · 28 September 2026

Software

Spreadsheets vs building management software: an honest comparison

Where a spreadsheet works for common expenses, where it breaks — audit trail, mid-period sales, reserve, owner access — and what the manual month costs.

7 min · 8 September 2026

Software

AI in building management: what it does and what it should never do

A candid account of AI in building software: the chores it removes today, the human-in-the-loop rule, what it must never decide, and what to ask a vendor.

9 min · 1 September 2026

AGM & governance

Annual general meeting checklist for building committees

A six-week AGM timeline for committees: notice and agenda, the accounts to present, the budget and reserve vote, quorum and proxies, minutes and follow-up.

8 min · 25 August 2026

Compliance

Choosing and managing vendors for a building

How to tender cleaning, lift and insurance, compare quotes on the same scope and period, track renewal and notice dates, and spot out-of-pattern invoices.

10 min · 18 August 2026

AGM & governance

Data protection for building committees: GDPR basics

What personal data a committee holds, the lawful basis for using it, who may see what, how long to keep records, what to do in a breach, what to ask a vendor.

10 min · 11 August 2026

Compliance

Building compliance inspections: what managers must track

The inspections every residential building carries — lift, fire, electrical, water hygiene, boilers, emergency lighting, insurance — and how due dates chain.

8 min · 4 August 2026

Countries

Germany's WEG model: Hausgeld and Jahresabrechnung for managers

How German condominium accounting works: WEG, Hausgeld advances, Wirtschaftsplan, Jahresabrechnung, Miteigentumsanteile, Erhaltungsrücklage and the 2020 reform.

9 min · 28 July 2026

Common expenses

Selling an apartment: common expenses and the clearance certificate

What happens to arrears, the reserve fund and the current period when a unit is sold, why buyers' lawyers ask for a clearance certificate, and how to issue one.

9 min · 21 July 2026

Arrears

Collecting overdue common expenses without losing the community

A calm arrears process for committees and managers: clear statements, a fixed reminder cadence, payment plans, when to escalate, and the certificate at sale.

8 min · 14 July 2026

Reserve fund

How much reserve fund should a building hold?

What a reserve fund is for, how to size it — a percentage of the budget or a lifecycle plan — and why it must sit apart from the operating account.

7 min · 30 June 2026

Common expenses

How to read your common expense statement

What each line on your common expense statement means — opening balance, charges, allocation basis, reserve, payments, closing balance — and how to check it.

9 min · 16 June 2026

Common expenses

How are common expenses allocated in an apartment building?

Five ways to split common expenses — equal share, floor area, ownership shares, meters, custom rules — when each is fair and how to round to the cent.

7 min · 9 June 2026

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