Outrageous charges when buying a Leasehold flat - anyone else?

elwi.slo

Hi everyone!
I am the first time buyer. The flat I found was built in 2014 and the current owner is in fact the first owner of this property so she did not have to pay anything that comes up for me to pay at the moment. I heard about the most common fees that need to be paid upon completion to the Landlord/Management company and I know about:
- Deed of covenant
- Notice fee - assignment
- Notice fee - charge etc...
When we first received an email from E&M company who are representing the landlord, my conveyancer added some of the above to my statement (all in pounds) : notice fee - assignment (125), notice fee - charge (125), issue deed of convenant (170), certificate of compliance (205). That was a lot already but it completely threw me off when I found out that the Managing agent (Pinnacle properties) have another set of fees and turns out I have to pay (again): deed of convenant fee (145), notice fee - assignment (108), notice fee - charge (108) and issue deed of convenant (108) along with approx. approportionment of service charge (around 134).
I just find this ridiculous that landlord and managment company have separate fees even though they both look after the same block ! Is it normal? These fees are totaling to about 900 pounds on top of my current costs and even though I have money to budget for these I cannot believe this should be the case ! fair enough one lot of fees, but two ?! I am going to speak to my conveyancer next week but obviously she's already added these fees to my bill so I am sure she will tell me they need to be paid and there is nothing we can do.
It makes me feel physically sick that buying a leasehold flat can be so expensive !
Can someone share their personal experience? Did you have to pay separate fees for the same things (deed of convenant etc.) to a landlord and managment company ? Is there any way of disputing them or literally do anything about them?
Would appreciate your thoughts... At this stage I am really close to pull out for this reason but if with every next flat in leasehold I find I will come across these fees, then I will perhaps have a better understanding that it is quite normal practice...
Thanks in advance !

csgohan4

Leasehold flats I avoid like the plague, too many charges and problems with them

elwi.slo

Let's say I have no choice as within the price range I can afford, there are no houses. I am the first time buyer and I am buying on my own so my choices are kind of limited. I'd rather have a house but that would mean living in the shared house for the next 2-3 years and after 5 years I've had enough and I really need to get out.

Hoploz

Some of those items have the same title, so I'm wondering whether you need to order the items from both sources - you only need the information once after all.

csgohan4

don't buy for the sake of buying, no shame in renting, If you buy at the wrong time, it will come back to haunt you.


Short leases, money to pay for extension of the lease, service charges e.t.c it's never ending, not to mention if you have a noisy neighbour your stuffed. At least in a house you can get a semi D or detached.

scriv

I would cut your losses now and pull out now... your battles with these companies will only continue as will exorbitant charges for permissions and covenants etc.

Extortionate leasehold issues and practices are being addressed in Parliament at the moment and I would recommend you do a lot of research into what has been thrown up.

Have a look at the National Leasehold Campaign and the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership for info.

financegeek

from the dealings i've had with E&M I'd never purchase a property when they're in charge of the management. They charge a fortune and their customer service is zilch. Also watch out for other companies associated with them as there seem to be a number of different companies that are all interlinked

If you can only afford a leasehold property it's not the end of the world, but i'd definitely google the management company before you go ahead and buy!

scriv

I agree 150% with financegeek.

elwi.slo

Thanks but I believe the Management company in this case is Pinnacle Properties, E&M only represent (or are?) the landlord. I!!!8217;ve queried all the charges I was quoted so far as it seems excessive. I!!!8217;ve reached out both to my solicitor and mentioned it to the estate agent so she can check with the current owner what documents they had to sign when bought this flat. I am ready to pull out but I do know flats from this block sold last year and 2 years ago and I don!!!8217;t believe people would have bought them if they had to have paid over 3k in fees and for solicitor bill.

Can you say something more re E&M? Any specific unpleasant experiences? Any unfair charges ?

Thanks

financegeek

I have to deal with E&M in a professional capacity occasionally and it's never been a smooth process. Requests are generally lost, timescales for responses are never met and they're generally charging a massive fee for the privilege (all in my opinion of course)

I also have met a number of people whose properties are managed by them (or one of the associated companies) and i can't remember anyone ever having anything positive to say.

a quick google will also bring up a raft of unsatisfied customers, so it's a common viewpoint!

also remember that if you're having these doubts now about fees, if you come to sell your buyer is most likely going to be put off as well, so may limit your market. I for one would never purchase a property with any link to E&M.

elwi.slo

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have checked both E&M and Pinnacle properties reviews and neither of them looks promising...
I haven!!!8217;t stopped fighting though. Maybe I!!!8217;m being naive but if some people bought some of these flats already, chances are the fees were not that off putting so perhaps the problem lays with my overly cautious and diligent solicitor ?
I have emailed her to double check if I definitely need to pay all these fees as I cannot believe it. I!!!8217;d like to believe this was just an admin error.
I even involved the estate agent and asked her to ask the vendor if she had to sign all these documents with all 3 parties involved .
Lastly, I do consider pulling out and this is quite serious thought - I have even called the estate agent to book a viewing of another flat. That one isn!!!8217;t that new and according to the estate agent the owner has recently extended the lease. Also, there are only 4 flats in this block and it!!!8217;s at least 15 years old. Fingers crossed this could be a good swap !
I love the fact I could do all that research online, no idea how people were dealing with their issues of this kind 15 years ago !