Scotland - GHA Factoring for owners

BigAunty

Would appreciated hearing your experiences of having GHA factoring your tenements.

I am planning to view a tenement in the West End that doesn't seem to have addressed basic chimney, roofing and guttering repairs despite GHA having a fairly swift target for work of this type. Obviously, I hope to find out whether it is the owners or GHA that are resisting addressing the issues.

This is the third home report I've received in a row for factored tenement flats with pretty identical issues regarding damaged roofs, leaking guttering, chimney issues and water ingress into the top of the close. Suspect there is a culture of stinginess by the owners, particularly by those who don't live below the roof.

Full info here.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=66179119&postcount=64

beecher2

Can't comment on GHA as a factor - only had Yorkhill HA as a factor and they had a full scale maintenance problem which would've dealt those issues before they became a problem.

I have a private factor and have complained to them in the past about the lack of maintenance - nothing's done until there's a leak and I keep asking why we can't do a roof survey to get all problems dealt with at once. Scaffolding is the biggest cost and I don't understand why everything can't be maintained while it is up. I suspect that they assume that the other owners wouldn't want to shell out, and to be fair that's probably true.

I do think most tenements will receive a level 2 for roof etc - not necessarily something to put you off, but I would avoid top floor flats at all costs.

Your solicitor will ask GHA for details of any works which have been planned. Don't think they'll give historic details though. Don't know how useful it'd be find to find out past costs anyway.

http://www.your-place.net/content/mediaassets/doc/Common%20Repairs.pdf should be useful

Your title deeds tell you how costs are shared between the
homeowners in your block. We always write to you and your
neighbours for permission to carry out a repair if the cost is
over the limits shown below.
Type of property Consent limit

Four in a block £ 200 (ex vat)
Tenements £2,000 (ex vat)
Flats associated with shops £2,000 (ex vat)
Multi storey or deck access £2,000 and £5,000
(ex vat) (varies)
We will not ask for permission in emergencies or where
health and safety is an issue.

BigAunty

beecher2 wrote: »

I do think most tenements will receive a level 2 for roof etc - not necessarily something to put you off, but I would avoid top floor flats at all costs.

I sold a top floor tenement years ago that didn't have that extent of level 2 defects, though I was able to provide evidence of a recent roof repair.

I viewed 2 top floor tenement flats in the same block a few weeks back. One of them had an interior of the kind you'd expect from squatters.....The other ticked all my boxes.

However, there was a leaking downpipe and guttering that had made the outside wall black with damp, a puddle on the top close between each of their main doors coming from the glass light well, plants sprouting from the gutter and traces of damp detected in the properties themselves, plus a shabby close that needed some plastering and painting.

I just thought, crikey, how do these two owners expect to shift their flats with that degree of stinginess and apathy towards basic common repairs.?They've been on the market for months and now I know why. For a few thousand pounds that they clearly didn't want to pay towards fixing these issues, they might lose a good 10-20k on the offers made. These flats will end up going to a much lower Fixed Price just because the owners weren't motivated to attend to quite basic maintenance.

BigAunty

beecher2 wrote: »

Your solicitor will ask GHA for details of any works which have been planned. Don't think they'll give historic details though. Don't know how useful it'd be find to find out past costs anyway.

Well, it would be helpful to know what the owner paid for a roof repair 2 years ago, just to get an insight into what each of the 6 flats paid for that type of quite regular repair.

From memory, when we last sold our tenement flat, we were happy to give copies of all our factoring invoices to our solicitor to pass onto our buyers. We gave them every appliance manual and every invoice from every repair and decoration that we made in the flat.

The property questionnaire filled in by this owner is pants - they have ticked that it's not a listed building when the survey says it is, for example. The last property I bought had a couple who didn't have a single document for any aspect of the property despite installing the windows, boiler, fire place, perhaps having damp/timber treatment and so forth. I'm starting to think I am too candid and organised in comparison.

beecher2

Maybe ask when you view then - I think most people would assume viewers wouldn't be interested in historic bills. I would just give details of management fees as, touch wood, the chimney won't need to be rebuilt again so not much point in telling viewers about it.

Would you like me to check how much our roof repairs have been over the last few years? It is a private factor, but I'd assume the roofers would charge the same throughout the city. Scaffolding's the major cost.

BigAunty

Thanks. That's kind of your to verify your roof repair costs but I think only building specific ones for the property I am viewing would be helpful.

scottishblondie

The main issue with GHA is that there is no means of getting competitively priced work done. All work is carried out by firms that are on their "approved contractor" list - which consists of only 1 firm, City Building (Glasgow) LLP. In short, while they generally get work done in a reasonable time scale (assuming the get the owners to agree) you will be paying over the odds for it.

If there is essential maintenance that is going undone, then I would surmise that GHA are presenting the owners with a ridiculous quote from City Building, and the owners are resisting agreeing to it.

BigAunty

scottishblondie wrote: »

If there is essential maintenance that is going undone, then I would surmise that GHA are presenting the owners with a ridiculous quote from City Building, and the owners are resisting agreeing to it.

Thanks. Your post was very informative.

My solicitor isn't calling me back and I'll have to see if the owner is present during the viewing to see if I can get them to be candid about the reason behind the abysmal state of their building in an affluent part of Glasgow.

I once was involved in a self-factored close and swore never again due to the laziness and stinginess of other owners and the way many companies would not provide quotes to self-factored closes due to owner disputes and issues with getting paid.

I therefore am aware of the reputation of some Factors but don't subscribe to the 'all Factors are evil rip-off' brigades.

You only have to look at the slum housing in Govanhill to understand what happens when owners won't lift a finger or pay a penny - the whole area got decimated with entire streets becoming squalid.