Management company charges when selling

littlesparkles

I'm selling a leasehold flat. The residents all have a share of the freehold and choose to employ a management company for the day to day running. The buyer's solicitor has asked queries of the management company through my solicitor. The management company wants a fee of £50 for answering these. Who should pay? Seller or buyer? I would like to know what is the norm. I have already provided a leasehold info form, the lease, 3 years accounts etc. And could have answered the questions myself!

Richard_Webster

£50 is dirt cheap - some managing agents charge £300 or more! Seller pays.

Buyer's solicitors want answers from the landlord or his representative because the seller will not have all the information requested e.g. up to date copy of insurance schedule for the building or details of proposed furue works. They will also want to know that the seller has not been in breach of his lease and is up to date with ground rent and service charge.

littlesparkles

I do actually have all of the info and have provided it seeing as there is no landlord as the residents own the freehold and decisions are made by the residents' committee, which I am on. Until very recently there was no management company at all. Just another fee to pay then! Thanks for the reply - much appreciated.

fallenwiccan

Just wait for what the management company are going to say to the new owner. We had to pay £200 to change the name on the leasehold with them from the previous owner to us, then pay the entire years maintenance fee in one go because we moved in during the year (in March). That was a lovely £700+ bill to be hit with a week after moving in.

Fire_Fox

littlesparkles wrote: »

I do actually have all of the info and have provided it seeing as there is no landlord as the residents own the freehold and decisions are made by the residents' committee, which I am on. Until very recently there was no management company at all. Just another fee to pay then! Thanks for the reply - much appreciated.

As the seller you can't independently assure the other side's solicitor there are no major works planned, that there is no ongoing dispute or debts attached to the property. The solicitor will always go to the management company/ managing agent/ freeholder/ board of residents.

fallenwiccan wrote: »

Just wait for what the management company are going to say to the new owner. We had to pay £200 to change the name on the leasehold with them from the previous owner to us, then pay the entire years maintenance fee in one go because we moved in during the year (in March). That was a lovely £700+ bill to be hit with a week after moving in.

Is it permitted in the long lease to charge the entire year in advance or do you have provision for paying by quarterly installments?

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

bigg2001

Lucky you! We've just had a bill for £216 from our management company to supply info to our buyers - one of a very long list of additional money requested to sell our house!!

littlesparkles

Okay so £50 (plus VAT) seems reasonable compared to others! Thank you all for the advice and responses.

Richard_Webster

Okay so £50 (plus VAT) seems reasonable compared to others! Thank you all for the advice and responses.

Yes, if there is a managing agent doing the work for the residents company then this seems quite fair.

Even if there is no company and it is a group of individuals running things themselves - if I was acting for a buyer I would want to make sure that at least some of the other co-freeholders had signed a letter giving the information, even the seller himself had co-ordinated its provision.

fallenwiccan

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Is it permitted in the long lease to charge the entire year in advance or do you have provision for paying by quarterly installments?

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

We were told if you're there at the 1st of Jan you can pay by monthly direct debit. If you move into it after you have to pay that year up front.