Proppa Updates··3 min read
Amy's Journey: three ways to fix one wall
Same loose brick. Three very different experiences. We follow Amy through a managing agent, going it alone, and self-managing with Proppa.
Same brick. Three experiences.
Amy lives in a small 6-flat building. One morning she notices some masonry has come away from the external wall.
It's the kind of moment every flat owner dreads — and what happens next depends entirely on how the building is run.
We follow Amy through three versions of the same story — same loose brick, three very different weeks.
1. With a traditional managing agent
Amy emails the agent. The auto-reply promises a response "within 5 working days". She follows up. She's told she's "number 17 in the queue". A contractor eventually turns up, but the other residents had no warning. The work gets done. The invoice never quite gets explained. Months later, the service charge jumps — and nobody can say exactly why.
It's slow, opaque, and expensive.
2. Going it alone
Amy decides to handle it herself. No agent fees. Total control.
But also: WhatsApp groups with 50 unread messages, quotes scattered across email, invoices in a drawer, insurance docs on someone's Google Drive, and Amy chasing payments at 11pm on a Tuesday. It works — but it eats every evening and weekend. It's basically a second job.
3. Self-managing with Proppa
Amy opens Proppa and logs the issue with a photo. Every resident is notified automatically. They run a quick vote on the preferred contractor. The booking goes on the maintenance calendar so everyone knows when work is happening. When the invoice arrives, it's uploaded, the payment is tracked, and the document is stored safely. The building overview shows cash flow, budget and tasks — at a glance.
Same problem, fixed in days. No spreadsheets. No second job.
Where Proppa comes in
Self-managing doesn't have to mean doing everything alone. Proppa gives flat owners the tools to:
- Log and track issues with photos
- Run resident votes on decisions
- Share a maintenance calendar everyone can see
- Store documents, invoices and insurance in one place
- Track budgets, cash flow and who's paid
- Stay on top of tasks and reminders
It's the structure of a good managing agent, with none of the agent.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be technical to use Proppa?
No. If you can use WhatsApp, you can use Proppa. It's built for flat owners, not for property professionals.
How small a building does this work for?
Proppa is designed for blocks of 3 to 15 flats — exactly the size where managing agents are expensive overkill and going it alone gets messy.
Do all residents need to sign up?
The more residents are on Proppa, the more useful it gets — especially for votes and notifications. But one person can get started and invite others as they go.