Greenbelt (company) management fee on new build

dunky_c

Hi all,

After a little advice /incite, interested in buying a house and in all the documentation there is information regarding an annual management fee to a company called Greenbelt for maintanence of communal area and underground surface water attenuation tank. This fee is £120.52 plus vat annually - but it also says that when Greenbelt take over the management(as currently still building) they will calculate the costs.

We are worried that this price could sky rocket, I havent seen anyone state this having done a quick online search and most peoples charges do seem to be around this price. Although there are a few people that are not happy with greenbelts actual management. Anyone any pointers/experience/advice on this ?

Many thanks in advance

Claire :beer:

steve_jones

My old apartment was on a estate that required a payment to Greenbelt, they do very little for the price everyone has to chip in, they even sub contracted out the maintenance of the parks so don!!!8217;t expect to see a Greenbelt van turn up, if you want to contact them by phone then good luck. I!!!8217;d rate them 3/10 for the service they provided.

One thing I can assure you is there prices will go up, started off paying £88 a year, the last bill was £107, that!!!8217;s almost a £20 increase in 5 years I was there.

stator

It's very important to get the exact details of the setup. Who owns the freehold? What covenants are in place? What rights do you have?
Unless the owners of the freeholds of the houses (ie you and your neighbours) have the right to appoint and replace the estate management company, then I wouldn't buy a property in this situation.

buggy_boy

sounds like a bit of a con, people in adjacent estates will have the communal areas (By which I am guessing parks etc) maintenance paid for by the local council out of council tax... You would have to pay the same council tax but then also have to pay again for the maintenance of the communal areas...

I would never buy a new house as you always pay a premium and the quality of new houses in my experience is not as good. I would want in writing how much I would be paying and a limit of how much they could increase the charge... Sounds like another leasehold rents exponentially increasing scandal all over again.

steve_jones

buggy_boy wrote: »

sounds like a bit of a con, people in adjacent estates will have the communal areas (By which I am guessing parks etc) maintenance paid for by the local council out of council tax... You would have to pay the same council tax but then also have to pay again for the maintenance of the communal areas...

I would never buy a new house as you always pay a premium and the quality of new houses in my experience is not as good. I would want in writing how much I would be paying and a limit of how much they could increase the charge... Sounds like another leasehold rents exponentially increasing scandal all over again.

Said it perfect. Also may I add that the park where I use to live was decent as it was new so attracted kids from other estates who's families didn't pay this fee.

Sparx

OP see this Facebook group for an eye opener on Greenbelt: https://www.facebook.com/groups/474331

Greenbelt are a joke of a company, they do very little and charge a lot of £££. You are basically paying them to maintain their own land, on top of your normal council tax bill which typically would cover public spaces. It's not even like you get exclusive/private access to this land either.

There is currently 1-2 landmark cases ongoing in England (and Scotland I believe) I'm hoping they prevail so I can be done paying them myself.

dunky_c

Thanks for your help guys - i'll be honest not what I was wanting to hear - contacted greenbelt and they won't give me any info as not the home owner and the site developers just advised that a pdf they have sent me is all the info they have.
I don't know how I would find out if the homeowners have the right to appoint their own company (its not one of them where the owners are in a little company that looks after the estate)
It states that annual increases are linked to common inflationary index

Thanks

dunky_c

Sparx wrote: »

OP see this Facebook group for an eye opener on Greenbelt: https://www.facebook.com/groups/474331

link isn't working sorry

steve_jones

dunky_c wrote: »

Thanks for your help guys - i'll be honest not what I was wanting to hear - contacted greenbelt and they won't give me any info as not the home owner and the site developers just advised that a pdf they have sent me is all the info they have.
I don't know how I would find out if the homeowners have the right to appoint their own company (its not one of them where the owners are in a little company that looks after the estate)
It states that annual increases are linked to common inflationary index

Thanks

Most of the time no, Greenbelt own the land and you pay a fee for the privilege of THEM to maintain THEIR own land, you can 't appoint your own company as an estate if they are not providing a decent service (which they wont) They will be quick in sending out debt repayment letters if you don't pay and the price will rise each year. When you come to sell you will also require their management pack in most cases, £350 sound fair?

This is just a huge scam, please avoid buying any property that has anything to do with Greenbelt.