Still buying a repossession - unhelpful Management Company now delaying us

togarama

Now more than two months after having an offer accepted on a repossession purchase that was meant to take 28 days...

For the past few weeks, every time I phone my solicitor there's just "one or two tiny things outstanding before we can exchange". Having seemingly thrashed most of them out, we come down to three outstanding questions (small but important) waiting to be answered by the Managing Company of the building.

I don't have very much faith in my solicitor. She personally seems very nice but slow and not very competent and the firm's general systems for simple things like processing mail and following up on search queries seem dysfunctional.

She told me that she'd tried for weeks to get these answers from the Managing Company without success. They first claimed their letter was in the mail, then that they were sending answers by DX and then that they would email them across. Nothing ever reached her.

I called up the Management Company myself today (at my solicitor's request, although I was about to do it anyway) to establish (very politely) what the problem was. The first person I spoke to asked for my name and number and then just put the phone down on me. The second person claimed that he personally had just re-sent over the letter to my solicitor by fax. He offered to take my email address and send a scanned copy by email. (After I offered to go and collect a hard copy from their building, which is about an hour away from my house.) Again, nothing arrived. My solicitor has no faxed copy and I have no emailed copy.

So, I feel like I'm very blatantly just being messed around but I can't understand what their motive is. Why would the Management Company act like this in the sale of a repossession? (Do they have something to hide? Something to gain?) What can I do about it?

We're FTBs. Can any of the more knowledgeable and experienced forum members shed light on this?

Thanks!

Fire_Fox

It's quite normal for management companies to be a nightmare and for the vendor to need to chase them. However you don't have a proper vendor! Our ex-management company was so incompetent that they never billed me for service charges for two years, despite being chased on several occasions. I had staff claiming to have no record of phone calls they had actioned, not receiving letters they had replied to, not replying to letters for five months when they were sent recorded delivery. I still don't have copies of basic documents I have asked for numerous times over three years!!

At least you are forwarned. You may need to go through your service charge accounts with a fine tooth comb, ask for proof of everything, send every letter recorded, take the name of every person you speak to. The legislation is explained here:
http://www.lease-advice.org/
I'd ring again and say you are coming down for the documents in one hours time, no excuses about e-mails or faxing. Check you have everything you need before you leave their office!

Milliewilly

togarama wrote: »

Now more than two months after having an offer accepted on a repossession purchase that was meant to take 28 days...

For the past few weeks, every time I phone my solicitor there's just "one or two tiny things outstanding before we can exchange". Having seemingly thrashed most of them out, we come down to three outstanding questions (small but important) waiting to be answered by the Managing Company of the building.

I don't have very much faith in my solicitor. She personally seems very nice but slow and not very competent and the firm's general systems for simple things like processing mail and following up on search queries seem dysfunctional.

She told me that she'd tried for weeks to get these answers from the Managing Company without success. They first claimed their letter was in the mail, then that they were sending answers by DX and then that they would email them across. Nothing ever reached her.

I called up the Management Company myself today (at my solicitor's request, although I was about to do it anyway) to establish (very politely) what the problem was. The first person I spoke to asked for my name and number and then just put the phone down on me. The second person claimed that he personally had just re-sent over the letter to my solicitor by fax. He offered to take my email address and send a scanned copy by email. (After I offered to go and collect a hard copy from their building, which is about an hour away from my house.) Again, nothing arrived. My solicitor has no faxed copy and I have no emailed copy.

So, I feel like I'm very blatantly just being messed around but I can't understand what their motive is. Why would the Management Company act like this in the sale of a repossession? (Do they have something to hide? Something to gain?) What can I do about it?

We're FTBs. Can any of the more knowledgeable and experienced forum members shed light on this?

Thanks!

The Cynic in me says they are stalling for time for one of their 'friends' to buy the ?flat? at a knock down price instead.

Get your solicitor to write to them with some penalty clauses for not completing within (their specified) 28 days including billing them for the extra work this has caused you & your solicitor.

moromir

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Our ex-management company was so incompetent that they never billed me for service charges for two years, despite being chased on several occasions.

I trust your solicitor actually sent through all the deeds of transfer etc the amount of calls we get at work being shouted at by new owners (not saying you'd shout at anyone!) that we arnt' sending them service charge bills yet their solictors have never provided us with the legally required paperwork to change the ownership, and we would be the ones acting illegally if we sent invoices to people where we didn't have the correct paperwork verifying ownership in place so we have to use the last known (verified) owner!

clockworks_2

i completed on a repossesion on Friday gone, it went over 28 days as we were waiting on documents from the property management company too ( they only took over the site 2 months ago so were not too familiar with everything themselves). Because of this they obviously didn't give us any grief for not completing within the 28 days.

Good luck

Fire_Fox

moromir wrote: »

I trust your solicitor actually sent through all the deeds of transfer etc the amount of calls we get at work being shouted at by new owners (not saying you'd shout at anyone!) that we arnt' sending them service charge bills yet their solictors have never provided us with the legally required paperwork to change the ownership, and we would be the ones acting illegally if we sent invoices to people where we didn't have the correct paperwork verifying ownership in place so we have to use the last known (verified) owner!

Trust me, I have been pretty rude both verbally and in writing! My solicitors were excellent copying me in on all communication, including repeated attempts at getting a response from the managing agents.

I didn't move into the flat I let it, therefore I wrote to the management company with my home address, I moved and I so wrote to them again. Months later I telephoned and they admitted receiving my letter, admitted not having written to me at the flat OR at my home address, then promised a bill which STILL didn't materialise. I have dealt with a series of four people, each more incompetent than the last. The first bill I got (after two years) was completely wrong in my favour, the second bill was completely wrong in their favour ....

Once I moved in, I started writing about the level of service charges and the complete lack of cleaning or maintenance (barring the lift). Three years on I still haven't got a copy of the caretaker's service contract, two of my letters were ignored for five months each, they refused to investigate allegations of fraudulent invoicing .... oh, and part of the fire escape collapsed on a resident. :rolleyes:

That is the short version! The head lease was sold in the summer and the caretaker is now our freeholder and managing agent, his wife is the cleaning company. All very odd as he seems to have been paid to take the building off their hands!! No idea what went on with the accounting, as each year we were invoiced estimated service charge in advance and then adjustments (extras) at the end of the financial year. At the end of five years, when the head lease was sold, all the leaseholders got a partial refund for each of the five years!

Emily_Repo

I really sympathise. I'm hoping to exchange and complete on a repossession tomorrow, 3 months after we put in our offer. We got pretty fed up with how slow they were being so we asked our solicitor to request a reduction in the price and surprisingly they agreed. Maybe a threat like this will speed them up, or make the waiting more worthwhile?

Just hang in there, you'll eventually get the answers you need. Good luck!!!

hethmar

Son had the same when he bought his repo flat, the management company were a nightmare not sending the right documentation to his solicitor. His 28 days became nearly 3 months. You can only ring them again I guess and ask them to fax or email the stuff as you hold on to the phone.

Thrugelmir

togarama wrote: »

Now more than two months after having an offer accepted on a repossession purchase that was meant to take 28 days...

Have you paid a deposit?