Grassed area new build estate

onefurlongout

Hi,

We are considering a new purchase and have been told that all 30 residents in the estate will have to pay £154 a year for the up keep of the main grassed area in the centre of the estate.

Is this normal, do I have to pay ? I'd definitely want to see the contract before signing not sure what over £4.5k a year will get us

moneyistooshorttomention

Who owns this grassed area then?

Does the developer own it? Will they be transferring ownership of it to all the new residents there and just managing the upkeep?

I'll admit the thought would be crossing my mind of wondering if that meant I owned one-thirtieth of this bit of land and if I could divide off my little bit and use it as I wish. Don't know how big this bit of land is?? (ie maybe one-thirtieth would only amount to a couple of feet worth or so...).

If the residents do actually own this bit of land, then maybe they could use it as they see fit (eg set it up as a communal allotment or a mini "nature reserve" which they voluntarily share keeping in order).

onefurlongout

It's a decent sized piece of land. I'm not massively against the payment but far too many questions about ownership. I think the developer will retain ownership and then have a landscape company manager it

It could be a good space for residents to hold events but I'm also concerned it could be abused by outsiders

ihatemyhouse

if you want to know who owns it, phone up developers and say you tripped on it and want to sue, and need the owners name, you will soon find out who owns it

moneyistooshorttomention

Re the "abuse by outsiders", then maybe this land could be fenced round with a locked gate to it and all residents have a key? That way, the residents have it as a communal facility and its safe from vandalism and the like.

Where I came from, there were certainly roads with fair-size residents only "parks" there fenced around.

On the other hand, where I came from it was necessary to have some sort of barrier erected around some communal land (some Council bits of land I can think of for instance) in order to stop parking there (how shall I phrase it in these politically correct times? - of people looking for a place to park up and live). These bits of land often had things like huge heavy boulders put around the perimeter to stop vehicles/dwelling places (PC phrasing) being parked there. In one case, trees were planted in a row across where they might try and gain access.

onefurlongout

It's currently the developers building site for cement etc

I would hope that the area is fully fenced off

the_insider

You might find more houses appear on it in the next couple of years!

moneyistooshorttomention

the_insider wrote: »

You might find more houses appear on it in the next couple of years!

In that case, it would help to see if you can get hold of something in writing to protect the residents interests in perpetuity (eg a clause forbidding future building there).

I wouldn't have thought the developer would be trying to have it both ways...ie you all keep that area nice for him whilst he landbanks it and then he grabs it anyway...but you never know.

The other thought is that, with him currently using that bit of land for concrete-mixing etc type purposes right now...then just how fit will it be to be used for grass/etc type purposes once that is finished. Is he planning to ensure its nice decent "growing" type soil on it and no rubbish buried underneath said soil. (I'm not forgetting a recent thread where someone, possibly a developer, seemed to think there was nothing wrong in leaving a load of building rubbish down in gardens of newly-built houses for the owners to find just a few inches underneath their soil when they came to use those gardens as gardens:eek:). That developer may well be planning on doing a "makeshift clear-up" by leaving all his rubbish underneath your nice (apparently) bit of amenity ground and needs to be watched to prevent or deal with this as appropriate.

RDG

As with most new build estates that land will be transferred to a management company once the development is finished. The developer can tell you who this will be as it is likely to have been arranged.

The £154 will also cover any other areas which will not be adopted by the local authority. Talk to the developer about it as they will know all the details.

The open space will have been included due to planning rules so it is extremely unlikely that it will be built on in future. Unless of course planning rules change significantly.

paddedjohn

If you sign up to this, what's to stop the management company increasing the cost year on year?

Conrad

I cannot imagine focusing on £12.84 pm when considering which house to buy. Is it a deal breaker? Maybe consider another house, but lets hope the leccy, insurance or the drive to work doesn't add an extra £12.84 pm.