£11k Service charges on leasehold flat.

milliejo

suggest you and the other flat owners get a couple of quotes yourselves to see what they come out at so you can see if the landlord is trying it on

chilihead

Thanks DannyBoy. I agree that comparing a quote almost 10 years old is not straightforward - particularly as building regulations change throughout the years, but that quote was for a complete re-roofing - as are the current quotes. In 2002 the chartered surveyor prepared full specs. We were not informed why the work was not carried out at the time when the roofing reserve was short by only £20k.

Yes - also agree about the skimming, but any ideas how can we prove it?? Independent accountants?

Thanks milliejo. I initially thought that could be an option, but having just read through the lease it states the roof is only accessible by authorised persons - and authorisation is granted by the property management company and the freeholder......... ffffffffffff

Other half has today spoken to a chartered surveyor at his work who has offered to review the quotes if/when we receive them.

DannyboyMidlands

Sorry, all I know is that management companies are a nightmare. I've always avoided flats for just that reason. The only solution appears to be for the leaseholders to take over the management but even that is a complete ball ache.

somethingcorporate

If you look at the annual accounts you may see that the charge from the management company is a % of the total expenditure in the year (ours is 10%). They have absolutely no incentive to keep the prices down!

There was a massive outcry in ours a few years back when just because they organised a handful of quotes for some refurb work they added £5k to their fees. Absolutely rediculous! Fortunately they have been much more reasonable recently on their fees.

patman99

I.d still get some individual quotes. Contractors can easily gain access via ladders on the outside and via loft hatches on the inside.

chilihead

Hi somethingcorporate. I can't see their charges broken down as a percentage - will need to sit down and work that out. There hasnt been much variation in service charges over the years, though. They charged £2,820 for management fees last year, £4,312 in 2009, £4,583 each year between 1997-2008. No explanation as to why the decrease.

The property management company is run by a RICS registered chartered surveyor. The CS will get 8% of the TCV of the major works plus VAT, and the Prop/man/co will get 1.5% of the TCV plus VAT. Yes - they have absolutely no incentive to keep the prices of the quotes down. They actually said to us last night "it's unfortunate if you can't afford to pay and have to sell"..............

somethingcorporate

Wow, that sounds incredibly inappropriate! Who is going to buy knowing they are going to have to stump up £11k immediately to pay for a new roof?

Could they be trying to cash in on some distressed sales?

Ulfar

What did the quotes you got come in at ?

Without knowing how many roofs and the situation of the development it is hard to say whether the quotes already obtained are reasonable.

chilihead

Oh - that was the least of their inappropriate-ness. They also said it "was up to us to prioritise our spending as you have an investment in your property". Sure - I agree with that, but a bit of notice to allow us to budget and prioritise our spending to find 11 grand would have really been appreciated.

I was furiously taking notes last night - glad I did as I was so angry my mind blanked as soon as I left the building.

I think any service charge arrears will need to be settled at the time any flat is sold, so that the new owner has a clean slate. It did cross my mind last night that if the freeholder already owns 4 flats, could he be looking at buying some more at a knock down rate if people are forced to sell in a hurry? This is purely speculation on my part, though. The fact is the management company have known for 16 years that the roof needed replacing, and have now decided to slap all the owners with an £11k charge due to under-estimation and previous inaction on their part.

Apart from lease-advice.org, is there any other support/back up/help for leaseholders?

geoffky

jesus..reminds me why i promised never to get into leasehold props..