Maintenance charges

ene

Hi I have had an offer accepted on a converted one bedroom flat in a victorian house. The survey has been done and everything is going well apart from the maintenance charges. It seems they are £500 a year and when I queried this I was told not to worry as the present owner had never had to pay this. I have asked my solicitor to look into this as there are no communal areas (I have my own outside front door), the present owner has paid for repairs to the property building, the land rent is separate (about £150 per year), so what would I be paying maintenance for? Also could I be stung for back payments of the maintenance which the present owner has not paid? This is my first home buy and I love it and am dying to move in but an extra £41 a month could be a deal buster. The only thing I can think of would be if this was for bricks and mortar insurance but I know from my parents and brothers homes that this would be far too much. What would others do- is this really a reasonable amount that I haven't factored in? Would be grateful for any advice

sooz

You need to read the lease. Whoever told you that the charges were £500, but not to worry or pay them, was an idiot

Charges can be for all sorts of things. Just because your flat has it's own front door doesn't mean that there are no communal areas. How many other flats are there? Are there any communal grounds, even just a small front garden. Is the building rendered? Or painted? The charge may also be a sinking fund, to have money to hand for big repairs, or for regular external maintenance such as painting, rather than asking you to pay in one large lump sum.

You need to read your lease. Your solicitor should also be asking to see the accounts. You should also consider what all the other charges may be. If £41 per month is difficult, how will you pay your share if the roof needs replacing?

Finally, if the previous owner has never paid this, it must be sorted before you buy. Otherwise his debts will become yours.

cattie

If the previous owner has unpaid maintenance bills then they can become your responsibility in the future so your solicitor does need to get this sorted.

The maintenance charge probably covers buildings insurance as well as the items that sooz has mentioned.

If you're going to live in a flat there are always going to be service/maintenance charges along with ground rent, so you need to consider if buying is the right thing for you to do right now if paying for these is going to be a financial pressure for you. You do also have to bear in mind that there could be a portion of bills to be paid should major works ever need to be done on the building & the costs met by the leaseholders.

ene

Thanks sooz and cattie- I'm happy to pay up if the money is for genuine maintenance purposes and the options you have outlined fit that bill. I will make sure my solicitor clarifies that in the agreement. If this covers building insurance too then that would be very reasonable. Thanks for the warning - alarm bells did ring in my head when I heard the maintenance hadn't been paid so I will make sure my solicitor sorts that out too. I know that home ownership can bring some nasty surprises but I do have some money put by to meet the unexpected - I just needed to know what my money was buying. Thanks again for your good advice