Barratts - ground rent and service charges

dp313

Hoping someone can give me some advice on a property I purchased about 8 months ago so here goes...

I purchased my very first home with my girlfriend, a 2-bed new build Flat from Barratts.

We were aware of ground rent and service charges but were not told we would have to pay the first installments on the day we moved in (possibly being a bit naive) so I played my mouth and got the charges deferred for a month. Barratts said they would pass our details onto the management company with a note explaining charges would start from the following month.

After getting to grips with all the bills that come with home-owning, a couple of months down the line I remembered we were expecting a letter or contact of some sort from a management company but nothing came, its now been 8 months and I know I should chase it and pay it but if I dont what will happen? the management company/cleaners and gardenenrs are by all means a rip-off and the service they provide is poor (not that i can complain)

our block has now been completed and all tenants are moved in and management company have taken over the responsibility of servicing etc

will they definitely find out and can they demand the money upfront or what would be their general route to claim the money be? Is it a case that it is our responsibility to pay or theirs to request it?

any advice/ experience accepted

housebuyer_abc

dp313 wrote: »

Hoping someone can give me some advice on a property I purchased about 8 months ago so here goes...

I purchased my very first home with my girlfriend, a 2-bed new build Flat from Barratts.

We were aware of ground rent and service charges but were not told we would have to pay the first installments on the day we moved in (possibly being a bit naive) so I played my mouth and got the charges deferred for a month. Barratts said they would pass our details onto the management company with a note explaining charges would start from the following month.

After getting to grips with all the bills that come with home-owning, a couple of months down the line I remembered we were expecting a letter or contact of some sort from a management company but nothing came, its now been 8 months and I know I should chase it and pay it but if I dont what will happen? the management company/cleaners and gardenenrs are by all means a rip-off and the service they provide is poor (not that i can complain)

our block has now been completed and all tenants are moved in and management company have taken over the responsibility of servicing etc

will they definitely find out and can they demand the money upfront or what would be their general route to claim the money be? Is it a case that it is our responsibility to pay or theirs to request it?

any advice/ experience accepted

Okay - so the one thing that won't happen here is that you won't get out of paying it. When they audit the accounts each year (which they have to do) they will see there is a shortfall from the projected income. They'll check the records and realise the oversight.

The best you can do really is phone them, explain that you think they may have made an oversight and ask for them to check and then propose a 'meaningful' way to deal with the arrears... maybe pay double installments until the outstanding fee is paid back.

Simply ignoring it won't make it go away - and people are happier to get small amounts back over a longer period of time, if you owe loads you'll find they are keener to get this back pronto.

dp313

Thanks for the super quick reply,

you pretty much confirm what i thought. I kind of expected them to get in touch at the end of the financial year but still nothing?

do you think i should save up a few hundred pound and then approach them after a couple of months or should i approach them asap and hope they dont make unreasonable demands?

spud211

approach them as soon as possible - the longer you delay the more it will look like you are trying to get out of paying..which won't go down well!

They will more than likely be reasonable about it if you approach them rather than the other way around

dp313

Ok will do - thanks for the advice so far

Just one more thing off the top of my head, without sounding like a complete 'dellboy' - how do they know when I moved in and when the charges should have started from? do i inform them or will they already have that information and have just overlooked it thus far? for instance, the flat below was empty for a few months before the occupiers moved in - the flat was finished in september - could I claim i didnt move in until jan-feb or will they know? god i sound like a right piece of work!

cheers

Idiophreak

Same exact thing happened to me...I just kept on thinking "they'll be in touch soon, surely?" - turns out that whilst I was always sold the charges as monthly, they're in fact annual - so one day a bill for £750 just dropped through the door. Tbh I was just relieved that we'd done everything above board - and we're now paid up til xmas this year

dp313

Idiophreak wrote: »

Same exact thing happened to me...I just kept on thinking "they'll be in touch soon, surely?" - turns out that whilst I was always sold the charges as monthly, they're in fact annual - so one day a bill for £750 just dropped through the door. Tbh I was just relieved that we'd done everything above board - and we're now paid up til xmas this year

ahh right. thanks for that

Im tempted to pay off my credit card or get the balance right down, and in the case that a bill does turn up then i can pay it right off with that card, good idea/bad idea?

what to do what to do...

Idiophreak

dp313 wrote: »

ahh right. thanks for that

Im tempted to pay off my credit card or get the balance right down, and in the case that a bill does turn up then i can pay it right off with that card, good idea/bad idea?

what to do what to do...

I don't know about barartts, but our place only deal with cheques or bank transfers - just something to watch out for \

I think the best thing to do is give them a bell and clarify the situation - you won't get anything for free and it's better the devil you know.

dp313

dp313 wrote: »

Ok will do - thanks for the advice so far

Just one more thing off the top of my head, without sounding like a complete 'dellboy' - how do they know when I moved in and when the charges should have started from? do i inform them or will they already have that information and have just overlooked it thus far? for instance, the flat below was empty for a few months before the occupiers moved in - the flat was finished in september - could I claim i didnt move in until jan-feb or will they know? god i sound like a right piece of work!

cheers

sorry to quote myself! but with regards to the start date does anyone know how it works?

thanks for your replies so far, much appreciated

[Deleted User]

Don`t ignore. Pay up or you will incur interest charges. If you read the lease you will probably see that service charges have to be paid in advance. Who on earth do you expect to pay for your share? everybody else?

dp313

kittie wrote: »

Don`t ignore. Pay up or you will incur interest charges. If you read the lease you will probably see that service charges have to be paid in advance. Who on earth do you expect to pay for your share? everybody else?

Why 'on earth' would everybody else pay for me? they pay their agreed amount prior to moving in. On what basis would I incur interest charges, I appreciate your input but if you could back it up with facts that would be good. Do I incur interest automatically or if i cant pay it back straight away - or as someone else suggested I could probably come to an agreement to pay back double for a few months to clear the balance? and someone else suggested it is actually paid annually and i will get a bill come through after a year?