Property Management fees - Going to Court

May

Can anyone advise in regards to property management fees?

Last year my property management company advised that they would take me to court should i not contact them in regards to the arrears.

After a year of 2 redundancies, umeployment and then a car accident, I fell behind on the management fees. I contacted my property management company and explained the situation and made an agreement to pay back the arrears with the intention then review the situation in a couple of months.
The management company then confirmed all the bank details in writing so that i could start making payments.

I then confirmed this in writing to the management company.

Then just recently, my mortgage company sent a letter stating that the arrears would be added to my mortgage as instructed by the management company. I wrote a letter informing them that a mutual agreement had been made with the property managers. I also sent a copy of this letter to the management company both by recorded delivery.

I did not hear anything until Friday just gone, when the housing association sent a letter advising that the property management company had been in contact with them advising of the arrears and the intention to take me to court!

I did not want it to get to this stage, hence making an arrangement to pay back the money owed. Yet, the property management company have not been in contact with myself and have gone behind my back after making an arrangement with me!

As far as i am aware, i have done everything possible to avoid this action and have bank statements proving that i am making payments!

I am at my wits end with my partner suffering post traumatic stress from his car accident. As he is a Civil Servant, he could lose his job over this.

I have kept the Management company informed constantly via letters and recieved no response from them at all. I dare not phone them in case i am wrongly advised by them as no one from the company seems to know what the other is doing.

Please help!

Xbigman

Your mortgage holder will pay any unpaid management fees directly to your management company. It is a requirement of your mortgage that you pay them (because it includes an element of buildings insurance the mort holder is only protecting themselves). Although you made an arrangement to pay, the management companies solicitor is legally required to inform the mort holder, who you had made no arrangement with, so they paid by default.

Check that you are now up to date. Then check that there was no fee from the mortgage holder, if there was then try for a refund on the grounds you had an arrangement with the management company in writing (might work / might not. Lastly, the mort holder has probably added this amount to your mortgage as a sub account and you could well be paying extra interest on it. You might want to start paying this off as a priority.
Regards



X

May

Thank you for your advice.

I did receive a letter from the mortgage company stating that they would add the maintenance fees to the mortgage and that should i not contact them within 21 days, they would automatically do this with a charge of £75.

I immediately sent a letter to my mortage company (recorded delivery)advising them of the arrangement and sent a copy of this to the property management company.

However, to this date i have not received any response from the mortgage company or management company so therefore i do not know if this has been added to my mortgage!?!

Like i said, the only letter since, has been from the housing association who have informed me of the intention to take us to court. But like i said, i have paid the arrangement every month and have proof from statements.

I think the only thing i can do is to contact the mortgage and management companies. It's ruined my weekend and my health has suffered.

I'm just so angry because i dealt with this last year to prevent this kind of worry. I needn't have bothered should i if this is the hassle i am now receiving.

Xbigman

I'm guessing but it looks like the mortgage company did not add the arrears to the mortgage, so the management company, on receipt of the mortgage holders refusal to pay the arrears, has gone to court.
Send the management companies solicitors a copy of your agreement to pay. Tell them you are happy to go to court and will propose to the court the same deal already accepted in writing BUT you will dispute any costs the solicitors apply for on the grounds they are unnescesary because you already have an agreement in writing. This should scare the solicitors off (they don't like not being paid).
If they continue towards court action you can either go to court and do as I said (offer to pay and challenge costs) or if you don't fancy that contact your mortgage provider and arrange (very politely) to have the arrears added to your mortgage and take the £75 hit.

You did everything right in trying to sort this out :A and it is pants that you are in this situation now. You have my sympathies :grouphug:
Regards



X

May

Thanks for your advice but it looks like i'm up the creek with no paddle. The property management company did not put the agreement in writing as they do not answer to anything and it slipped my mind to ask as my partner was in hospital at the time.

I did speak with the lady at the management company yesterday and she remembers making the agreement but informed me that she was not dealing with this anymore and therefore couldn't discuss it. I had to speak with her manager - who was not available. I then asked her if she had received my payments to which she advised that only one for January had been received - they had not checked their bank statements over the last couple of months. So i faxed over my bank statement and later in the afternoon called again as i had not received a return call from her manager. Still, no one was able to deal my call and no one returned it either.

I can't afford a solicitor and not quite sure where to go from now

Xbigman

It sounds like the classic situation where verbal agreements are legally binding as long as you can prove it in writing! :rolleyes:

I've had dealings with management companies in the past and they are a nightmare. Contact your mortgage holder and arrange to have it added to the mortgage. This is not the best solution as it costs £75 + some interest. But as you have nothing in writing you really do not want to go to court with this as the costs will be £100's. Sort it all out before that happens.
Regards



X

May

Yesterday i contacted the management company and spoke with the lady who originally agreed to the arrangement. She remembered making the agreement with me and also advised that they had only received one payment in January! So at least she's admitted making the agreement.

But she said that she couldn't discuss any further with me and that i would have to speak with the Property Manager - Who wasn't available but would call me back. Too my annoyance - no one called back, so i faxed my bank statements as proof of payment.

Today, i spoke with the Property Manager who advised that i needed to speak with the lady from the previous day who i had made the arrangement with and she wasn't in today!!!!

I'm going round in circles with this company!! No one will speak with me and passes the buck every time i want to discuss my arrangement with them - especially as I need them to realise that i have made the payments and have proof - I'm on the verge of a nervous break down and even though i am making every effort to keep them informed, they're just gonna take me to court regardless!

I don't know whether i should now be seeking legal advice - and if i have to, i can't afford it!