New Freeholder Owner - Potentially Dodgy Company

Crsaun · 17 July 2017 at 6:23PM

Hello,

I’m in the process of buying a leasehold flat. I was under the impression that this was owned by Telford Homes although today I found out that the freehold was sold to Adriatic Land who use a company called Home Ground to collect the ground rent. Having checked the internet it appears that Home Ground are a fairly dodgy operation. They seem to charge excessive fees for ground rent payments that are late and their website has no phone number to contact.

I need some advice. Do I just pull out of the deal? If I pull out of the deal I’ll lose a bunch of money I’ve already paid (broker and solicitor) plus 5 months of my life getting to this advanced stage of the sale. Or do I go ahead with the sale and risk that I have no problems with Home Ground?

I know at the end of the day it’s my decision to pull out or not but I’d appreciate any input.

Thanks,
Callum

G_M · 17 July 2017 at 8:12PM

Well it's your choice and to some extent depends how much you like the property.

This is an increasing problem though, especially with New Build estates where the developer sells on the freehold to money-grabbing investment companies whose only concern is to satisfy their shareholders.

anselld · 17 July 2017 at 9:23PM

Why do you want to pay the ground rent late?

Crsaun · 17 July 2017 at 10:22PM

From what I've read in forums it's less to do with paying the ground rent late, it's more to do with payment letters not being received by the leasehold and then Home Ground charging late payments.

There are also complaints about them not providing information therefore holding up sales. Not great.

bouicca21 · 18 July 2017 at 9:23AM

If it is only ground rent that worries you, then one possibility is to set up a standing order to ensure it is paid on time.

What happens about service charges?

It's your call. Which would make you kick yourself hardest - pulling out or going ahead? Can you find something else just as good? Or is it likely that in the area you want, most of the properties in your budget will have the same problem?

Crsaun · 18 July 2017 at 10:04AM

Thanks.

The service charge is managed by another company.
Yes, if I go though with the sale I'll definitely set up the direct debit. I'm just expecting something to go wrong during the transfer of the property i.e. they continue sending letters to the former owner and then charge me a tonne for late payment.
I just don't like the idea of the freehold being owned by some mysterious offshore investment company (Adriatic Land).
I’ll have to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision.

[Deleted User] · 18 July 2017 at 11:46AM

If it was me I'd pull out.

I have heard of Adriatic before and not in a good way.

LandyAndy · 18 July 2017 at 11:52AM

BBH123 wrote: »

If it was me I'd pull out.

I have heard of Adriatic before and not in a good way.

There isn't just one company. There are at least 12 of them with names in the style ADRIATIC LAND x (GRy) Ltd where x and y are numbers from 1 to 4. They are ultimately owned by Jetty Finance Ltd which is registered in Ireland

Crsaun · 18 July 2017 at 7:29PM

My train of thought at the moment is as follows: since I only see myself living at this property for 3-5 years (before moving out of London), the risks are smaller because I have no intention of trying to buy the freehold which is where the majority of problems with Adriatic Land appear to arise. I will keep an eye on Home Ground to ensure I have no problems with ground rent.

So, unless anyone can point out any other major problems with Adriatic Land or Home Ground that I should know about before my purchase, then I'll just take the plunge and go ahead with it....

Thanks

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

New Freeholder Owner - Potentially Dodgy Company

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free