We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Help! Factor Problems / Absentee LandLords / Common Insurance
retro.kid
Posts: 49 Forumite
Hi everyone. Long time Lurker here, springing into action.
Hoping someone can advise what to do next. I'm at a loose end with two issues i'm banging my head against with my factors.
I live in a block of six flats in Central Scotland. All ex-local authority, and all privately owned.
Factor is a local housing association, and has been since well before my time of purchasing the flat in 2004.
I was particularly inspired in purchasing my flat because a) it was very nice, b) was in a reasonable area, c) i got it for a very reasonable cost and d) was in a block of 100% privately owned flats. Turns out this is now the biggest problem...
Three of us in the block are outright home owners and live there. The remaining three are owned by three different private landlords who sub-let out. One of these has a family in it, and they're great. So we have four out of the six flats occupied.
The remaining two (both top floor flats) are also owned by landlords but are lying empty. One has been empty for several years (We'll call it Flat 1). The other has been empty for several months (We'll call it Flat 2).
First Problem - Factor has suspended all non-maintenance work on our block.
At least one (possibly two) of the landlords of the empty properties have not been paying their factor fees, and as a result our factor has now suspended all non essential maintenance on the block due to the level of debt on the block.
With regards to Flat 1 - I think in my 7 years there, someone lived in it for a year.
They have contact details for the owner of Flat 1 (which they won't give me), and have now commenced legal action but i have been told this could take years. In the meantime, Flat 1 is unsecured. The front door is lying wide open. A front window is open, and a back window is open. Pigeons are entering the property.
I have emailed many times our factor about this and they have sent several letters to the owner, but to no avail and the situation remains the same. I have attended meetings with my factors. I have sent photographs. Each time, all i get from the factor is "we have sent them a letter, but not had any reply or contact" - they just aren't interested.
I'm trying to pursue Flat 1 with Environmental Health on the grounds of pigeons entering the property through open windows, as well as dead pigeons lying on the front gardens of the flats with their heads torn off but so far not had much joy on that front.
Flat 2 is subject to legal action as well, but because the owner of the property has died, the estate is being wound up by their lawyers between the family - again this could take years.
The factor has told me that they have placed a block on Flat 1, so that if the owner sells the property they can recoup their losses. But that is unlikely to happen. Both Flat 1 and Flat 2 are owned by landlords who bought outright, have no mortgages on the empty properties and are absentee. Owner of Flat 1 just simply doesn't care.
Here's my main concerns.
1) Block maintenance suspended due to lack of payments by the absentee landlords
2) One property is unsecured and lying wide open. Anyone who enters the common close, and climbs the stairs has unrestricted access to the property.
Factors tell me there is nothing more they can do. They have written to owner, who apparently has no interest. Legal action has commenced by the factors but could take years. In the meantime, we are living in a block with no maintenance, and a vulnerable property. Factors can't do anything. So now in limbo.
I really want to sell up now, cos i'm fed up to my back teeth of it all, but of course, i'll have to explain the lack of maintenance and absentee landlords situation to any buyer which is more than not going to turn people away or dramatically reduce the value of my home.
Is there anything i can do? I am now wondering why on earth i still pay a quarterly management fee. I am getting nothing out of this. I'm frustrated by my factors attitude - they won't give me any information other than "legal action is proceeding". Meanwhile we wonder what is going on. If the flat belonged to a tenant, they would have been kicked out a long time ago but the factor says they have no power. I just don't know what else i can do.
Second Problem - Factors have cancelled all building insurance
Not just on our block but on every block they manage. We used to pay an insurance charge on our factoring bill. This covered our properties for building insurance as well as common areas such as the roof or the close.
Due to owners not paying this, the factor has now suspended this agreement and as from midnight on 31st March each owner occupied property now must have it's own building insurance. Tenants continue to receive theirs through the factors group policy.
So i have buildings and contents insurance with RBS. Great as it has more benefits than the previous factor supplied policy. But i was querying last week about who insures the common areas? My insurance only covers my flat and does not cover the communal areas - so if the roof blows off or there was a fire in the electrical cupboard, it would not be covered by insurance.
After several days of emails back and forth between myself and the property manager, this is where i am:
Factors cannot and will not insure common area because they do not 'own the property'. It is up to the owners to extend their building insurance to common areas...?!
...But
Insurance company cannot and will not insure common area because i do not own the common areas.
Potentially in a block of six, there could be six different insurance polices in place. Neither of which would cover the common areas.
Now previously as i mentioned, the factors covered all this. They sent out letters last year advising us that as from 31/03 we had to have individual policies in place for our properties. There was no mention of common areas - I like others presumed the factor would still have a small nominal interest in the common areas and on checking this out last week, turns out this is not the case.
Added to that, I'm fairly certain that Flat 1 and Flat 2 in my block certainly won't have building insurance in place considering both properties are empty and they are in debt to the factor.
So to summarise my dilemma...
• Lived in the property for over 7 years - private purchase from previous owner. Paid all my factors fees on time with no debt
• Top two flats empty - One of which is unsecured and open to the world.
• Absentee Landlord on the unsecured flat. Legal action apparently in progress but has been since at least last year and Factor reports nothing. Owner not replying to letters about condition of flat.
• Would like to sell my property but cannot because of the current situation of suspended maintenance.
• Block is now not looking the best as we have been excluded from the work which has been done to other blocks.
• Our block missing out on things like painting, cleaning and general maintenance due to non essentials being suspended.
• Any repairs needing done must be paid up front by ourselves - Currently split four ways instead of six due to the absentee landlords
• Block insurance cancelled and replaced by individual insurance. But nothing covers communal areas.
• Two empty properties highly likely with no insurance on them. One of them is Flat 1 which is empty, and in my eyes is a high risk for possible problems - Fire / Flood etc.
• Just frankly depressed now that as a responsible home owner the value of my property is potentially dropping because of absentee landlords and lack of help from the factors, plus i would now like to sell up and cannot.
Help! :mad:
PS - Sorry for the length of this - Well done to anyone who got this far without falling asleep.
Hoping someone can advise what to do next. I'm at a loose end with two issues i'm banging my head against with my factors.
I live in a block of six flats in Central Scotland. All ex-local authority, and all privately owned.
Factor is a local housing association, and has been since well before my time of purchasing the flat in 2004.
I was particularly inspired in purchasing my flat because a) it was very nice, b) was in a reasonable area, c) i got it for a very reasonable cost and d) was in a block of 100% privately owned flats. Turns out this is now the biggest problem...
Three of us in the block are outright home owners and live there. The remaining three are owned by three different private landlords who sub-let out. One of these has a family in it, and they're great. So we have four out of the six flats occupied.
The remaining two (both top floor flats) are also owned by landlords but are lying empty. One has been empty for several years (We'll call it Flat 1). The other has been empty for several months (We'll call it Flat 2).
First Problem - Factor has suspended all non-maintenance work on our block.
At least one (possibly two) of the landlords of the empty properties have not been paying their factor fees, and as a result our factor has now suspended all non essential maintenance on the block due to the level of debt on the block.
With regards to Flat 1 - I think in my 7 years there, someone lived in it for a year.
They have contact details for the owner of Flat 1 (which they won't give me), and have now commenced legal action but i have been told this could take years. In the meantime, Flat 1 is unsecured. The front door is lying wide open. A front window is open, and a back window is open. Pigeons are entering the property.
I have emailed many times our factor about this and they have sent several letters to the owner, but to no avail and the situation remains the same. I have attended meetings with my factors. I have sent photographs. Each time, all i get from the factor is "we have sent them a letter, but not had any reply or contact" - they just aren't interested.
I'm trying to pursue Flat 1 with Environmental Health on the grounds of pigeons entering the property through open windows, as well as dead pigeons lying on the front gardens of the flats with their heads torn off but so far not had much joy on that front.
Flat 2 is subject to legal action as well, but because the owner of the property has died, the estate is being wound up by their lawyers between the family - again this could take years.
The factor has told me that they have placed a block on Flat 1, so that if the owner sells the property they can recoup their losses. But that is unlikely to happen. Both Flat 1 and Flat 2 are owned by landlords who bought outright, have no mortgages on the empty properties and are absentee. Owner of Flat 1 just simply doesn't care.
Here's my main concerns.
1) Block maintenance suspended due to lack of payments by the absentee landlords
2) One property is unsecured and lying wide open. Anyone who enters the common close, and climbs the stairs has unrestricted access to the property.
Factors tell me there is nothing more they can do. They have written to owner, who apparently has no interest. Legal action has commenced by the factors but could take years. In the meantime, we are living in a block with no maintenance, and a vulnerable property. Factors can't do anything. So now in limbo.
I really want to sell up now, cos i'm fed up to my back teeth of it all, but of course, i'll have to explain the lack of maintenance and absentee landlords situation to any buyer which is more than not going to turn people away or dramatically reduce the value of my home.
Is there anything i can do? I am now wondering why on earth i still pay a quarterly management fee. I am getting nothing out of this. I'm frustrated by my factors attitude - they won't give me any information other than "legal action is proceeding". Meanwhile we wonder what is going on. If the flat belonged to a tenant, they would have been kicked out a long time ago but the factor says they have no power. I just don't know what else i can do.
Second Problem - Factors have cancelled all building insurance
Not just on our block but on every block they manage. We used to pay an insurance charge on our factoring bill. This covered our properties for building insurance as well as common areas such as the roof or the close.
Due to owners not paying this, the factor has now suspended this agreement and as from midnight on 31st March each owner occupied property now must have it's own building insurance. Tenants continue to receive theirs through the factors group policy.
So i have buildings and contents insurance with RBS. Great as it has more benefits than the previous factor supplied policy. But i was querying last week about who insures the common areas? My insurance only covers my flat and does not cover the communal areas - so if the roof blows off or there was a fire in the electrical cupboard, it would not be covered by insurance.
After several days of emails back and forth between myself and the property manager, this is where i am:
Factors cannot and will not insure common area because they do not 'own the property'. It is up to the owners to extend their building insurance to common areas...?!
...But
Insurance company cannot and will not insure common area because i do not own the common areas.
Potentially in a block of six, there could be six different insurance polices in place. Neither of which would cover the common areas.
Now previously as i mentioned, the factors covered all this. They sent out letters last year advising us that as from 31/03 we had to have individual policies in place for our properties. There was no mention of common areas - I like others presumed the factor would still have a small nominal interest in the common areas and on checking this out last week, turns out this is not the case.
Added to that, I'm fairly certain that Flat 1 and Flat 2 in my block certainly won't have building insurance in place considering both properties are empty and they are in debt to the factor.
So to summarise my dilemma...
• Lived in the property for over 7 years - private purchase from previous owner. Paid all my factors fees on time with no debt
• Top two flats empty - One of which is unsecured and open to the world.
• Absentee Landlord on the unsecured flat. Legal action apparently in progress but has been since at least last year and Factor reports nothing. Owner not replying to letters about condition of flat.
• Would like to sell my property but cannot because of the current situation of suspended maintenance.
• Block is now not looking the best as we have been excluded from the work which has been done to other blocks.
• Our block missing out on things like painting, cleaning and general maintenance due to non essentials being suspended.
• Any repairs needing done must be paid up front by ourselves - Currently split four ways instead of six due to the absentee landlords
• Block insurance cancelled and replaced by individual insurance. But nothing covers communal areas.
• Two empty properties highly likely with no insurance on them. One of them is Flat 1 which is empty, and in my eyes is a high risk for possible problems - Fire / Flood etc.
• Just frankly depressed now that as a responsible home owner the value of my property is potentially dropping because of absentee landlords and lack of help from the factors, plus i would now like to sell up and cannot.
Help! :mad:
PS - Sorry for the length of this - Well done to anyone who got this far without falling asleep.
0
Comments
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7174631.stm
Do any of these suggestions help?
Do your title deeds say anything about the factors?0 -
I am not a lawyer. Some of this may have changed by the recent property reform legislation.
Under Scottish law a neighbour is entitled to make emergency essential repairs to a property and to recoup the cost of doing so from the owner. So you can block up the vulnerable front door, either get a joiner in to board it up or use a security door contractor - a lot of local councils use Sitex.
Your individual house insurance should cover your share of common area insured risks, but if there's a problem remebdial work won't be done until someone pays for the uninsured 2/6ths.
But it might be worth the four sensible owners getting together and obtaining legal advice as a group with a view to taking action against the other two owners.A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.0 -
Interesting.....
I'll dig out the copy of my title deeds over the weekend and examine them in detail.
The cruix of the first problem is these two empty properties. This is the reason why our maintenance got stopped in the first place - due to them not paying factors fees.
If we had to jump ship to another factor, the problem would still exist unless three of us + the landlord with the family got on board. However I'd be very annoyed at 4 of us paying for work when there should be 6 on board - ie, the two absentee landlords get work on the building done at no cost to them.
Factors can't do anything about absentee landlords - which !!!!es me off cos i pay a management fee. Council ain't interested because the properties are managed by a property services company. Police aren't interested because it's not a criminal matter. What else can we do? Just sit back and let at least one property rot away? I do not accept that.
I suppose this is one reason why i really detest all these buy to let landlords. Not tarring them all with the same brush, but obviously some are just in it for the money and don't give a damm about the property they 'own'. :mad:
Second problem re: common insurance. Had a telephone conversation today with factors. I HAVE to ensure i have insurance over the common areas. My insurers say i can't do this! Banging my head off a brick wall here now. I need to get advice on this one.
The problem isn't specifically with the factors although they aren't exactly being helpful.
Going to speak to other neighbours as technically this same insurance problem exists in other blocks.
Absentee Landlords...... Really annoy me and are starting to make my life a misery.
Good thing is my new building insurance policy comes with free legal advice for dealing with issues which affect my property. Do i have any comeback with my own legal action against the absentee landlord if i could find their details out?0 -
Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »I am not a lawyer. Some of this may have changed by the recent property reform legislation.
Under Scottish law a neighbour is entitled to make emergency essential repairs to a property and to recoup the cost of doing so from the owner. So you can block up the vulnerable front door, either get a joiner in to board it up or use a security door contractor - a lot of local councils use SiteX
Your individual house insurance should cover your share of common area insured risks, but if there's a problem remebdial work won't be done until someone pays for the uninsured 2/6ths.
But it might be worth the four sensible owners getting together and obtaining legal advice as a group with a view to taking action against the other two owners.
Thank you - interesting advice.0 -
So over a year since below, one of the empty properties is still empty, untouched and another one has a tenant.
So current in the block of six:
Flat 1 - Absentee Landlord - Empty Property For 5+ Years
Flat 2 - Private Landlord - Sublet to a young lad
Flat 3 - Owner Occupier (me)
Flat 4 - Owner Occupier, who doesn't care
Flat 5 - Private Landlord - sublet to a couple
Flat 6 - Owner Occupier
In the last month i have been told couple in Flat 5 is moving out as they have had enough, and the couple in Flat 6 have sold to an investor / private landlord moved out.
So the original problem of the block decaying due to these private landlords not paying factor fees is just about to get worse, because of the six properties, four are now owned by 'private landlords'
I have a meeting with the factors next week, to find out what on earth has been happening with them recouping costs on the long term empty property and establish what other owners are not up to date with factoring fees. Factors were quick enough to hand deliver a letter to my address about non payment of a £19 management fee which never arrived by post. But 2 years since my formal complaint and being told legal action was being taken, still nothing.
What can i do? The rest of the blocks in the street have a least one tenant from the factoring agent, so their blocks are kept maintained. Ours is slowly deteriorating to the point I'm embarrassed to bring in visitors. I am not paying for repairs 100% when it should be shared six ways. Title deeds clearly stay that all tenants must be 1/6th of any common repairs.
Where do i stand if the factors are not chasing these debtors up? I made it clear last time that the value of my property is reduced due to the problems and i am not happy.
Owner Occupier Couple who have just moved out - just sold to a quick sale / investor place to get out. What they made on their property would easily cover the payoff of my mortgage and i'm close to doing it myself - just to get out before the building deteriorates any more.
Does anyone have any advice i can add to my ammunition for Tuesday's meeting with the factors? I'm considering local MP, newspapers - Would legal action against my factors be an option, based on the fact they are not undertaking their role of upholding the title deeds? My home insurance which i was forced to take out after they cancelled the common insurance has home owner protection and legal cover. I'm wondering if this would assist?0 -
Have you got any further with this? Did you ever take legal advice with the other owners?Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
-
Nowhere. To proceed we needed a meeting with all the owners. Flat 6 sold their flat via a quick sale mob to get out - so now have four of the owners being landlords who aren't interested :-(
So i gave up. Put my flat up for sale a few weeks back :-(0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.4K Spending & Discounts
- 245.4K Work, Benefits & Business
- 601.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.6K Life & Family
- 259.3K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards