Problems with management company... Advice neeeded!

popularfurball

Sorry, I am not sure if this is the right part of the forum to post in - so apologies if it isn't...

We recently moved into a new build apartment, and prior to moving in when we were viewing the property we were advised that the management fee was £55 per month and we had to pay three months up front (which was added on the mortgage). We were advised it would cover builings insurance, "you'll get windows cleaned", and all communal areas would be cleaned and maintained.

We have been here four weeks, no sign of it even being hoovered let alone windows cleaned or paintwork touched up. However, we recieved a bill (on Thursday), requesting that we pay the remaining £435.97 by the 5th May. This covers from the middle of March til the end of December. We have spoken to the Barratts sales woman who seemed to already know it was an upfront payment and wasnt bothered by that but she also said that Barratts were still "in control" of the block up until this week when it had paintwork touched up, and was handed over to the management company this week (still no sign of a hoover anywhere!!!).

To top it off we have to pay £5 to pay by debit card, 2.5% to pay by credit card and £30 to pay by standing order (which doesn't renew annually-you have to pay each year).

We are unusure of this tuff - any adivce would be greatly appreciated:

- Lack of clarity on it being an upfront payment - should they have to declare this?
- Not actually having anything done for the past four weeks maintenance wise - if they aren't in control of the block then how can they charge us and if they argue they were then they haven't done anything so should we have to pay for this time?
- Not offerring a free payment method - esp £30 for a standing order which we set up ourselves?! I understand that there are admin fees for recurrent payments normally and for credit cards, but no DD option and we pay admin fees in the breakdown.
- We are unable to pay monthly apparently because we have moved in part way through the year - you can only pay monthly it seems if you move in on the 1st January.
- The fact that we dont get our windows washed, it is the communal windows but it was misleadingly described to us.

Sorry for all the questions, we just don't think this is right but don't know where we actually stand with it! Thanks!

cattie

Contact these people for help & advice on anything to do with owning leasehold property.http://www.lease-advice.org/

I think managing agents can change the way service charges are made, as long as they let you know. Some like it in advance, others in arrears. I've lived in a few leasehold properties & the way it's paid/collected has been difference for each.

One agent collected every 6 months in advance, when I moved the next property agent collected every month in arrears.

Henry_Hoover_2

We pay our service charge in advance, every 6 months.

I think the charges are normal, however there aren't any charges for us if we pay by cheque.

Our management company is Solitaire btw.. not great, but they are getting better.

popularfurball

We have a £30 admin fee to pay by cheque...

It was the sales woman who told us a different figure, that we would get windows washed and inferred it was a monthly payment prior to purchase... She is seperate to the management company which is frustrating

QTPie

Peverel by any chance?

As another poster has said, 6 months in advance is normal. We pay by cheque.

Extra charges for paying by credit or debit card are not uncommon these days (infact becoming more and more common in every walk of life...). Same if you want to pay by standing order.

My mother lives in a block of flats (managed by Peverel) and the windows have never been cleaned (she has to clean them herself). I think that was the sales agent's ignorance - not much you can do about it now.

Personally I think that management companies (or at least Peverel) have a bit of a con going. My mother completed on the purchase in May one year and was charged the management charge from March to August. She tried very hard to fight it, but without involving a solicitor (which would have cost more than paying the charge) she had to pay it... So effectively Peverel would have double charged (the previous owners would have paid the management charge from March until May, my mother paid March until August).

In my mind, Management Companies only have right to the money from when you move in (or they take over the site in your case). How you fight anything beyond that, I don't know (unless you happen to be a solicitor or have one in the family). If you feel that you are being over charged - and are on good terms with the solicitor that did your comveyancing - you could ask them about it (and if anything could be done). But chances are that anything they could do would cost you more than just paying the extra charge.

I don't like Management Companies...

QT

popularfurball

Yeah we are already disliking them...

I'm just surprised that they can get away with not offering a free way to pay them! £30 to admin a cheque?! Same for SO. Its crazy!

We also have problems with our lease (The copy we signed isnt the copy that was issued to as after completion) so we have to wait for that back before we can dispute. I don't mind paying up front - its more that we have two weeks to find £450 - if we had been told we could have put it on the mortgage or not bought some of the stuff we have and scraped by in boxes for a bit longer. *rolls eyes*... *grumble grumble* hehe

Beardmidget

Unfortunately, management is basically a license to print money.

Obviously, they need to pay buildings insurance, which is expensive, and the lighting/heating of communal areas.

As for the cleaning/ maintenance aspects- I'd be astounded if anyone came on here to state that they had a genuinely conscientious management company that is not run by the lease holders themselves.

I suppose at least £600 odd pa is on the low side- I was reading about the Mailbox in Birmingham having put theirs up to £6000 (or more) pa recently.

Fire_Fox

Your solicitor should have clarified how much you pay, when and what for and if payments are up-to-date: they would normally write to the managing agents or freeholders about this, and it's normal for the other side to charge for the information. Read through all the paperwork from your solicitor, if they haven't sent you a copy of the breakdown of charges they have not done their job properly.

Managing agents can be very conscientious or they can be charging money for old rope: as it's your money they are playing with, it's down to you to keep on top of them. I wouldn't pay anything until I'd seen a copy of my lease so I know what they can legally charge for, a copy of last year's accounts and/ or the predicted spending breakdown for this year. You have a legal right to view copies of any invoices or service contracts you wish, and a legal right to challenge service charges that you believe are unfair. You do not need a solicitor to do this but you do need to do your homework.
http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=14

What you are saying is that you are charged a fee for paying by standing order, cheque or card? What about paying by cash directly into their bank account? They can only make extra charges if the terms of your lease allow, and if you pay late there isn't usually much they can do about it. Some lease documents allow for interest to be charged, most don't. The law doesn't allow managing agents to do any more than take you to the small claims court in the early stages, and they can't even do that if the charges are under dispute.

I would be very careful claiming that nothing has been done maintenance wise - the management company may well be checking emergency lighting/ fire alarms/ fire escapes/ extinguishers, servicing lifts, paying electricity bills, removing rubbish, etc. etc. That is why you need a full breakdown of what the charges relate to and to see the service contracts. You have no idea how often the cleaners are supposed to visit, nor what their duties are at present. Buildings insurance is not that expensive - we are a small block so no economies of scale and are charged less than £100 a year for buildings and terrorism cover.

kes1981

Also, I've heard that it's good to keep paying your maintenance/service charge because then you are fulfilling your side of the contract. When I moved (August 2006) i had to pay the service charge til the end of the year (I put it on mortgage I think) and then every January they send a statement of services and the next year's bill, that you can then pay upfront or my SO every month.

My management company are more concerned with the car park for our apartments than cleanliness or anything like that. They've built electronic gates, hired a parking company, issued permits etc, but like yours, they never clean the windows! And windows are in the list of services!

AMILLIONDOLLARS

:eek::eek:OMG SOLITAIRE/PEVEREL

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE THIS READ THIS LINK BELOW!! AND YOU' RE IN FOR A VERY ROUGH READ I'M AFRAID

http://www.thetruthaboutsolitaire.co.uk/


A WARNING TO ANYONE WHO BUYS A BARRETTS HOUSE, THEY USE THIS MANGEMENT COMPANY FOR MOST OF THEIR PROPERTIES.

PLEASE PEOPLE DO YOUR RESEARCH INTO WHATEVER MANAGEMENT COMPANY IS GOING TO RUN YOUR DEVELOPMENT, IT WILL STOP THIS KIND OF HEARTACHE.

GOOD LUCK
AMD

PS ALSO READ THE ALL COMMENTS AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

Fire_Fox

kes1981 wrote: »

Also, I've heard that it's good to keep paying your maintenance/service charge because then you are fulfilling your side of the contract. When I moved (August 2006) i had to pay the service charge til the end of the year (I put it on mortgage I think) and then every January they send a statement of services and the next year's bill, that you can then pay upfront or my SO every month.

My management company are more concerned with the car park for our apartments than cleanliness or anything like that. They've built electronic gates, hired a parking company, issued permits etc, but like yours, they never clean the windows! And windows are in the list of services!

I haven't paid my (disputed) service charges for over two years, on the advice of a solicitor. The Leasehold Advisory Service also know I haven't paid, and have never advised me to do so. Having said that, it isn't the best course of action in the early stages of a dispute.

I have written over ten letters in the past two and a half years, all recorded delivery, commenting on specific service that are billed but not carried out, asking questions related to invoices, and asking for copies of documentation. Several letters have been ignored, two answered after five months, and others responding to only some queries or supplying only some of the documents. We have repeatedly offered to attend mediation which, again, has been ignored.

Initially you should pay the charges as per the terms of your lease, but you can enclose a letter saying that you reserve the right to challenge these charges at a later date. You should familiarise yourself with the lease and the link I posted earlier, then ask a lot of awkward questions! It's not reasonable two years down the line to complain that the windows have never been cleaned, you must inform the management company in writing at the earliest opportunity.

This is well worth doing IMO - I am now £4K in 'debt' but am confident that I will not have to pay the vast majority of this as I have amassed a substantial body of evidence and a strong paper trail. This leaves me in a position to happily pay out for large expenses such as redecorating and recarpeting the entire place once our new landlord takes over later in the year.

I would also note that you MUST pay your ground rent and buildings insurance as you are unlikely to be disputing these charges, and you risk losing your leasehold if ground rent remains unpaid. I pay these by cheque, stating on the back what they relate to and enclosing a covering letter. I staple the recorded delivery receipt to every letter - rather anal TBH!!