Managing agents- dodgy?

Worried

Has anyone ever had dealings with Urbanpoint Property Management LTd. based in New Malden, Surrey? I am buying a leasehold maisonette, for which they are the managing agents. I've googled them and not hearing very positive things about them, which is worrying me somewhat. Has any one had any dealings with them, positive or negative? What is peoples' experiences of managing agents generally? Are they all much the same i.e. demanding money for nothing?

hazeyj

No not all the same, although they do all demand a fee per apt for managing the block along with collecting money from you to pay for bills, maintainence etc. Why dont you write to a few owners to see if they will give you some info on how they are? When you buy tho, they have to provide info on budget/accounts, rainy day fund etc to your sol, so you would be able to see for yourself what sort of state the accounts etc are in. Also you can change management companys. I was instrumental in the sacking of our old management company as many owners didnt realise they could do this. We now have a cheaper, far more efficient company, I think this is because they dont look after many buildings tho and are quite small and so they want to retain that customer service satisfaction. Massive companys dont seem to care enough for the residents or their buildings I find.

aloiseb

I presume you've read what I just read, at http://www.touchkingston.com/business/list/bid/489982
?
I don't know these agents myself but they certainly bear an uncanny resemblance to the ones I used to have to deal with while living at a flat in Sutton (not far from New Malden - could it be the same people?). The stories of undone gardening, communal areas not cleaned, any work that was donework being paid for over the odds by us, and then done by dodgy builders who were almost certainly mates of the freeholders, etc. were painfully familiar....You could also add problems getting them to take an interest in anybody's bad behaviour in the flats, such as loud music at night, or parking disused cars all over the allocated spaces...they just didn't care about any of it. We had awful problems selling the flat on when the time came, partly because the managing agents had such a reputation.

I think you might be well advised to look for a flat NOT managed by these guys! The estate agents will undoubtedly know that they are a problem manging agent, but it may be hard to get them to show you anything else, if they have a lot of "their" flats hanging around on their books! I would also advise going for a really good solicitor who knows what's going on leasehold-wise in the area. PM me if you woudl like to know who we used.
Good luck!