Buying a flat managed by Peverel OM. Should I be worried?

greenmoneysaver_2

They now can't legally refuse to sell the FH, but the valuing and legal negs can be made as expensive and difficult as possible. . .

sebtomato

biscuit1 wrote: »

Ps ..I doubt peveral will allow purchase of the freehold ..i suspect the residents are trying to change the management providers

Peverel OM is just the management company, not the freeholder (their name don't appear on the lease), so I don't think they can block the purchase of the freehold.

Fire_Fox

biscuit1 wrote: »

Mum bought one of these in lincoln and to be honest the flat was lovely ..nice and secure which is what she wanted, she made some great friends the manager was great with her the area was lovely ..But the service charges were steep ..the problems started when she died and we tried to sell the flat and we then became responsible for the service charges even though the flat was not lived in..we cant rent it out as peveral have clauses in place to stop this or to make it so expensive you cant ..by the way you can change the management company but peveral still hold the cards ..three years on we have still to sell the flat and were still paying £3000 a year charges so its up to you ...flats really are great just read the contract very carefully

If the flat has not sold in three years then it is overpriced for the current market. Any clauses prohibiting subletting or allowing admin charges if you do so will be specified in the long lease - nothing to do with the managing agent! By law admin charges must be reasonable, if they are not you can challenge them at a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

You can also challenge the £3K a year service charges - initially simply ask in writing for a breakdown of the charges and access to the receipts and service contracts - which will probably make the flat more attractive to buyers. Peverel do not hold all the cards, the legislation is quite clear on leaseholder's rights. Are you not receiving a summary of these rights with each invoice?