leasehold flat service/maintenance charges

want2bmortgage3

i have looked at a couple of flats today, they are both in old houses converted to flats. i liked them both, but was surprised at the high maintenance charges.

the flats are around £140k and 1 bedroom, the maintenance charge is £100 a month, plus a further £83 a month (which will reduce) to build up a maintenance fund. so to start with its £183 a month and will come down to no less than £100 a month.

this sounds a lot to me, what do others here think? the place i'm selling is a maisonette and only has a yearly ground rent charge of £35.

camptownraces

Old houses converted into flats can have quite unexpected and costly maintenance issues. I have owned a conversion of a Victorian house, and the £100 per month x 2 seems quite reasonable to me.

Have you had a full structural survey done yet?

Please tell us how old the place is, how recently it was converted, and whether there a flat roofed rear addition?

hanwellmike

The service charge should be based on annual expenditure so you should ask to see 3 years worth of accounts to see what has been spent and why. The £83 for the fund seems high to me. There should be some justification for this figure eg what is currently in the fund and what is the purpose of the fund (future roof repairs ?). Is there a known problem with the roof ? If the arithmetic adds up then at least you know what it's all for. But if they are expected expensive repairs in the near future then you should factor this in to your offer for the property.

propertyman

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

i have looked at a couple of flats today, they are both in old houses converted to flats. i liked them both, but was surprised at the high maintenance charges.

the flats are around £140k and 1 bedroom, the maintenance charge is £100 a month, plus a further £83 a month (which will reduce) to build up a maintenance fund. so to start with its £183 a month and will come down to no less than £100 a month.

this sounds a lot to me, what do others here think? the place i'm selling is a maisonette and only has a yearly ground rent charge of £35.

Here is a guide for reading on the pda on the train on living in flats.
http://www.lease-advice.org/documents/Living_in_Leasehold_Flats.pdf

It is hard to compare as each building is unique. As long as money is spent sensibly then a higher fund is much better than staggering from surprise to crisis,and the falling values and saleability with them.

As said older buildings and smaller ones are harder to maintain and relatively more expensive, especially on admin where a common parts fire and H & S risk assessment can cost the same in a block of four old flats as 20 newer purpose built. I there is residents ManCo or they own the freehold, there is a lot of paperwork and admin with that.

They are very different to a maisonette where I guess you insured and did most repairs external cleaning gardening etc, paid for the external lighting for access, a situation very unlikely in a conversion where much is done communally.

propertyman

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

i have looked at a couple of flats today, they are both in old houses converted to flats. i liked them both, but was surprised at the high maintenance charges.

the flats are around £140k and 1 bedroom, the maintenance charge is £100 a month, plus a further £83 a month (which will reduce) to build up a maintenance fund. so to start with its £183 a month and will come down to no less than £100 a month.

this sounds a lot to me, what do others here think? the place i'm selling is a maisonette and only has a yearly ground rent charge of £35.

Here is a guide for reading on the pda on the train on living in flats.
http://www.lease-advice.org/documents/Living_in_Leasehold_Flats.pdf

It is hard to compare as each building is unique. As long as money is spent sensibly then a higher fund is much better than staggering from surprise to crisis,and the falling values and saleability with them.

As said older buildings and smaller ones are harder to maintain and relatively more expensive, especially on admin where a common parts fire and H & S risk assessment can cost the same in a block of four old flats as 20 newer purpose built. If there is a residents ManCo or they own the freehold, there is a lot of paperwork and admin with that.

They are very different to a maisonette where I quess you insured and did most repairs external cleaning gardening etc, paid for the external lighting for access, a situation very unlikely in a conversion where much is done communally.

la_farfallina

So much to think about when buying a leasehold flat, and another very helpful thread.

Thank you all.

Farf x