Running your own flat management company

Somerset

ctm

First negative post here. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. NEVER AGAIN !

It sounds easy - trouble is you're dealing with people. The colour's wrong, the work isn't right, I'm not paying, you've got this I haven't, can we do it next year I'm a bit short right now .............. moan moan, complaun complain.

A couple of people ( or just one ) end up doing all the work with everyone else getting a free ride. And the more you do, the more they demand ....

martinman3

Somerset, I have seen all that too. We also get the husbands/partners of leaseholders doing DIY in the common areas without permission because they seem to believe that it belongs to them :mad: .

Did you sell up or did you watch someone else try to do what you had been doing ?

A lot of our leaseholders sub-let so they don't care about the colour scheme in the hall. Thankfully, our lease allows us to collect charges in advance towards a reserve. By setting the annual charge at a sensible level and only increasing in line with, or less than, inflation the complaints about the cost have stopped as leaseholders now know what the approximate charges will be when they buy their flat. And if they don't pay we can still go ahead with the work.

Nobody, apart from the directors, came to the last AGM so we must be doing it right now.:D

SouthCoast

And another one who has been there and done that!

Was not aware of the implications of the new Companies Act, so thanks.

Shareholder meetings

Private companies will no longer hold an
AGM. 10% of shareholders can demand a
meeting (5% in certain circumstances).
If private company meetings take place they

require a 14 day notice period.

More info:

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/companiesAct/companiesAct.shtml

Nagaho

Thanks Guy;My solicitor thinks it might workout better for us if the company gets struck off? In the absence off "managing agent(s)", would the responseability's not be with the lessors to organise the upkeep of the insurance, maintenance and general communal affairs?thanks again for the links and Ref:

EdInvestor

Nagaho wrote: »

Thanks Guy;My solicitor thinks it might workout better for us if the company gets struck off? In the absence off "managing agent(s)", would the responseability's not be with the lessors to organise the upkeep of the insurance, maintenance and general communal affairs?thanks again for the links and Ref:

Do you not know who owns the freehold of the building ?. That's who has the responsibility for the building. A managing agent is often appronted by the freeholder. The freeholder may be a company jointly owned by the leaseholders. It can also be the developer of the project. In some cases a single leaseholder may also own the freehold. Your conveyancing solicitor will know.

puckisace

I need to prepare a set of accounts for a management company. I need the format of an abreviated set to file at Cos Hse. Does anyone have the name of a companythat has already filed a set that I can obtain to follow the format?

Thanks

IP

Fire_Fox

puckisace wrote: »

I need to prepare a set of accounts for a management company. I need the format of an abreviated set to file at Cos Hse. Does anyone have the name of a companythat has already filed a set that I can obtain to follow the format?

Thanks

IP

You will probably need to get a qualified accountant to sign off the finished article anyway, so you are better off getting the entire thing done professionally and charging to all the leaseholders. Service charges are a minefield of legal requirements and it is not a good move to do an amateur job of the accounts and leave yourself open to allegations of fraud or negligence.

This website is very helpful for all matters leasehold, including self-management:
http://www.lease-advice.org/

Nagaho

Thankyou to everyone who replied to my posts (both on forum and in pm's). Sorry it has taken a bit to reply.
The freehold is owned by the vendor from which we purchased the apartment from. I managed to contact him personally as he wouldnt reply to his solicitors letters telling him he was in breech of contract for not having work carried out that the original managment agent insisted upon to the communal areas in order for them to oversee the running of the 3 apartments in our block.
The original manageging agents have since gone bust.
I contacted compaines house and was told that the management company was gonna be struck off for failure of keeping the annual returns up-to-date and also a fine of £3000 had been issued. I managed to get it sorted by teliing them our situation and that it was no fault of our own.
The fine was waved and we changed directors to myself and the 2 other owners of the apartments in the block (one of which is the original seller and the leaseholder).
I took on the seceratary position myself and have found it to be very time consuming, as the above posts state "keeping everyone happy and sorting out squabbles".
Up shot is we still need work done to the communal areas to bring it up to a satisfactory condition i.e walk ways and fire escapes. However noone wants to spend the money on the work that needs done.
I own the ground floor flat so the fire escape is off no concern to me, I have spent money on some of the walk ways (mainly to rear garden which I have fenced off for myself).
At least I am in a position to sell now if I have too, as we have still got the original mangamnet company in place, which I own a share in, and hold a directorship for.
My profit margin has dropped due to the timescale which went into researching and sorting this out and the change in property market.
I have learnt a lot in the process of this and it has been an expensive lesson in buying communal property. One which I can’t see myself doing again with the sheer effort involved.

Nagaho

continued..
Accoording to the contract of purchase, in the absense of a manageing agent the communal grounds reverts back to the leaseholder/vendor and is there responsibility to upkeep. I have offered to share a 3rd of the costs to oversee the work and have had numerous meetings with the directors of the comapny, but still its oustanding. As is the block insurance (currently we have individual insuarance in place for each apartment), which is not adequate, as any damage to my own property can be covered, but if the source of the fault is belonging to other apartment I can't have it fixed.

Wings

I own a leaseholder of a flat, the same within a block of three other leasehold flats, each leaseholder being a Director of a Limited Company. We employ a Management Company that manages the accounts, maintenance of the communal and exterior area of the block.

Some of the leaseholders inherited a Management Company that basically did their own thing, without seeking prior approval from the leaseholders/Directors of the Company.

A Management Company can only be as good as the involvement, co-operation of the leaseholders, if leaseholders do not get actively involved, then works, remedial repairs either do not carried out, or false accounting/works with inflated bills can be introduced into the accounts.

For a Management Company to work efficiently and affectively there must be a full involvement by ALL leaseholders, there is lots of information on Management Companies (lots bad) via Google, although this link might help the OP, including the Tribunal service for handling disputes etc.


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