Persimmon Greenbelt Management Charges on Freehold properties

muckles

I pulled out of the purchase of a Redrow house a couple of years ago when my solicitor pointed out that Greenbelt could do as follows:
-increase their charges at will
-leave me with no right of challenge if they failed to do the work on the estate
-have an unending monopoly over the provision of estate management on my estate
-charge me for the certificate of compliance regarding estate fees if I sold my property.
-charge my buyers solicitors similarly and with no limit set on such fees
-halt my sale of the property if I failed to pay all their charges
Also Greenbelt did not provide for, (in my title deeds ) any provision for succession. This would have caused me serious problems selling if Greenbelt ceased trading for any reason.
I had a huge emotional investment in the property and did not discover the above until we received the final title documents shortly before exchange. Thereafter the many questions my solicitor raised went unanswered for a time as the vendors' head solicitor was 'on holiday'.

gagahouse

muckles wrote: »

I pulled out of the purchase of a Redrow house a couple of years ago when my solicitor pointed out that Greenbelt could do as follows:
-increase their charges at will
-leave me with no right of challenge if they failed to do the work on the estate
-have an unending monopoly over the provision of estate management on my estate
-charge me for the certificate of compliance regarding estate fees if I sold my property.
-charge my buyers solicitors similarly and with no limit set on such fees
-halt my sale of the property if I failed to pay all their charges
Also Greenbelt did not provide for, (in my title deeds ) any provision for succession. This would have caused me serious problems selling if Greenbelt ceased trading for any reason.
I had a huge emotional investment in the property and did not discover the above until we received the final title documents shortly before exchange. Thereafter the many questions my solicitor raised went unanswered for a time as the vendors' head solicitor was 'on holiday'.

Had a similar experience myself when looking at a 5 year new build with a monopoly management agent. What was even worse than your situation is that you would be forced to become a director of the management company, face all its liabilities but have absolutely no say over the running , management and charges of the 'company' you supposedly 'own' nor any share of the profit.Furthermore, you had to enter into a Deed of Covenant with the management company on your property, effectively collaterising their receivables with your asset.

They could borrow a load of money and do a bunk and the howeowners would be left with the liability secured on their house!

Needless to say I told the agent and vendor you'd have to be mentally deficient or completely ignorant to enter into such an asymmetrical relationship with all the downside and none of the upside.

mailmannz

Its interesting that they make the residents directors of their estate.


I would check this very carefully for the simple reason that you could, as a residential director, appoint different agents to run the estate if you saw fit.


We had this exact issue on a new build estate we brought on a few years ago. The estate agents were pants, not delivering any services and charging through the nose for everything with the final straw being some houses on the estate getting several thousand pound service charge demands while others got refunds because they screwed up the finances!


In the end the residents took over and appointed new estate agents who have been awesome since taking over! The estate is clear and tidy and looks cared for and people are actually getting a service AND their charges have come down!


And therein lies another issue service charges only ever go in one direction AND they are never ending! You pay your council taxes so why aren't they maintaining the green areas in these new estates!!!