Persimmon Greenbelt Management Charges on Freehold properties

aMuseMe

Morning all - just wondered if anyone here had any experience of having purchased a Persimmon freehold property, only to have to pay an annual management charge to a company called Greenbelt.

We were given a heads up on the AMC which was supposed to only increase according to RPI - however the contracts seem to indicate that this might be only part of the charge, not all of it...
Can anyone can clarify whether this is a leasehold by stealth from a legal perspective?

Have any of you experienced Greenbelt land management (for the communal spaces), and if so, what are the costs like? We know that the current management costs are being covered by Persimmon at £135+VAT per year at present and whilst they're still building - but after that, we can't seem to get a straight answer , so any experience would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

benevs

Good question! I don't have the answer, but i'm currently buying a persimmon new build with estate management fees, so would like to know the answer to this.

On the estate i'm buying on they have set up a separate limited company which all the residents are directors of

aMuseMe

benevs wrote: »

Good question! I don't have the answer, but i'm currently buying a persimmon new build with estate management fees, so would like to know the answer to this.

On the estate i'm buying on they have set up a separate limited company which all the residents are directors of

That sounds a little more reassuring than our situation - at least you'll have some control over the work (and who does it/costs, etc.) - be interesting to see how they've dealt with this elsewhere too. Good luck with your house purchase

tim9966

We have Greenbelt on my Persimmon estate. I've only been here a few months but it's also £135 a year, and as far as I can see should only go up by inflation each year, so should be about £140 next year. I think the price is set on 1st October.


It seems to have been sub contracted out to a local garden company, but they have been out cutting grass and planting shrubs. There are at least 2 of their vans out today that I can see.

alex_163163

I can't say for certain but from everything I've read, the management company could put up the charges despite the RPI. Put it this way, if a company have spent more than what they originally budgeted for worthy year, they aren't going to lose money so likely that prices would be increased for the following year.

I was looking at a persimmon leasehold house earlier this year who used this company - I did some internet trawling and the reviews/ articles I found weren't very positive.

It's not ao much leasehold by stealth, but charging fees and having an external company do the maintainence is the only way the would have got planning permission to build, as councils don't want to adopt the open spaces and pay to maintain them themselves.

aMuseMe

Thanks Alex and Tim - we rather suspected that if there is an excess spend (let's say a collapsed drain/road resurface) which wasn't budgeted for, the costs would be passed on to the freeholders or leaseholders and that any 'cap' dissolves the following year when the costs are then recalculated (as you suggested Tim).

I understand that part of the estate has been adopted under Section 38 of the Highways Act (the road we're on), but the other private roads/drains/sewers etc. are covered by the 'service charge' - I'm waiting to hear back from Persimmon for clarity on exactly what we would be liable for and what sort of cost might be reasonably expected, but not heard a word from them as yet... The uncertainty is making us very twitchy about the purchase, especially as we only plan to be there for two years or so.

Has anyone had any experience with Greenbelt specifically? I think we would be less twitchy if the management company was a local one, but these guys are based in Scotland.

aMuseMe

Thank you

I was wondering how they coped with emergency issues (other than grounds maintenance) - have the roads on your estate been adopted under Section 38? Or are they all covered by the Greenbelt contract?

tim9966

As far as I know nothing has yet been adopted.


The only thing the council do is empty our household bins. All verges and park land is covered by Greenbelts sub contractors.


We haven't had any emergency issues yet. I'll also wait for see if the grit / salt the roads in the winter.

aMuseMe

Thanks again Tim - we're under the impression that around half of the roads are adopted (including the one we're on), and although the fee (same as yours) will stay the same whilst Persimmon are still there - after that it's a bit of a lottery...

We're 80/20 on pulling out at the moment as we're only planning to have the house for just over two years, and thinking of the potential resale issues if the price of the AMC increases rapidly...

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you in the winter!

Isha_s

Hi all,

I had asked the sales.person of persimmons whether the service charge includes salting the roads in the winter.

the sales person said no.

Have others any experiences or issues in dealing with persimmons?

any other information on how their houses are once you start living in it?

Any increase in service charges?
if yes how much was the increase and over how mamy years?
Is there any work carried out by the management company ehich gets the service charges?

I am looking for their new built freehold
but don't want to have any surprise charges once I have bought a house with them

Any information is welcome it will help me making a decision.

Thank you all for your help.

Isha

tim9966

So far it's been ok. I haven't been asked for the £135 for this year yet, but reading through my paperwork I'm not sure if I will need to pay it this year as the site hasn't been fully finished.


When it snowed back in December a JCB did come up and cleared all the roads, which I assume was just one of the workman doing it, but the roads haven't been salted.