Estate managment company

spencer787

Hi all,
My wife and I bought our house 3 years ago on an ex mod estate run by a management company to which we all(64 Houses) pay £120 a year.
This is supposed to be for the up keep of the estate, grass cutting, roads,streetlights etc.
I went online and found the estate management company has in excess of £35000, 2 years ago.
Occasionally the grass is cut (badly) and that is about it.We have street lights out, the roads are crumbling and is generally untidy.
We have sent the company letters requesting their plans on spending the large sum of money and they said they would resurface the roads 2 years ago, but nothing so far has happened.
There is a clause in the paperwork that says if we owe more than 2 years worth of payments then they would "take action".
We have purposely kept just outside that limit .I think that whatever the large sum of money they have now should be spent on the upkeep of the estate.
I would like to know from any of you wise:D people , where do we stand on paying this company for services not rendered.I have no problem paying for the services provided the estate is maintained.
We have asked questions numerous times but have mostly got the brush off.
There is an agm on wednesday but from my neighbours it is a farce, questions get asked with promises to get answers to them but nothing.
Both directors of the company live 2 and 5 doors away but are as quiet as church mice and dont discuss anything to do with the managment of the estate.
The £120 a year is mentioned in our house deeds and we are nominal shareholders (£1)

So any ideas how we stand ?

Spencer

bod1467

Can the management company be sacked, and residents take up the relevant activities themselves (or engage another management company)?

NeilCr

Do you, all of you, own the freehold?

If you do ( and it sounds like you may do) then you can (as a group) be looking at the sort of things that bod1467 is suggesting.

spencer787

The service charge is mentioned on the deeds so I dont know weather it obliges us to pay or not.We are the freeholders.
When the MOD released the properties, a single buyer bought the whole estate as far as I can see from the deeds. However other ex mod estates in the area that have their own management company are clean and tidy and have noticeboards with information to the moon and back where as we get an annual invoice for the £120 and an invite to the agm.
It is very difficult to find any information out about this subject we even contacted the solicitors that handled our conveyancing but they have been slow to reply and not that helpful.
I have been told by various neighbors that several people are annoyed by this situation but trying to get anyone to do anything is like drawing teeth.

NeilCr

Okay. If you are the freeholders of the estate (not just your property) then, in effect, the management company are employed by you. So, you (and I mean the collective you) can instruct them what to do.

Go to the AGM - get the other unhappy neighbours along with you and act together. Without knowing the full background it is difficult to be precise but you could become directors, have a vote on getting the work done etc etc.

I am still not clear, to be honest, if you do own the freehold. You mention one person buying the estate, then directors, then a shareholding. It would be well worth clarifying with your solicitor if you do have a share of the freehold. For example, in our case, the original freeholders passed the freehold on to the residents when all the properties have been sold

As to the service charge, personally I wouldn't recommend withholding. But I would say that as I am a director of an estate and know the problems and costs of recovery!. I'd not want to comment on the legal situation but I am aware that, as directors, we have quite stringent powers if we want to use them. However, on our estate, some residents held back a proportion of the service charge which they felt was commensurate with work not done.

With respect to the £35,000 it is possible that quite a bit may be there as contingency. I know that we have what looks like a healthy balance but a fair chunk is earmarked for repairs, redec etc.

If you don't own the freehold it is a different issue. But, my initial views on going en mass to the AGM may still work

Good luck

agrinnall

I would suggest that you ask the board guide (Chickabiddybex) to move the thread to the Housing board where this subject comes up frequently - although thee answers may not be any different to the ones you've had already.