Cannot find any review of property management agent

gilesm89

I am on the verge of putting an offer on a leasehold (99 year) (period conversion of 5 flats).

I am a bit twitchy when it comes to the idea of leasehold property but I just haven’t found any share of freehold properties that I really like.

The management agency (who apparently also own the building) is metropolitan.org.uk
They seem to be a big company by looking at their website; they have large new developments etc. However, I cannot find any word about them online (good or bad). This seems strange to me but maybe this is normal?

The service charge is reasonable (£157 per year) and there isn’t a ground rent charge.

Would there be a way to dig a bit deeper to find out more about if the company is reputable or not? So many horror stories with leaseholds that I just feel like I want to do my homework on who manages/owns the freehold before committing.

gilesm89

Sorry the first sentence doesn’t make sense - it is one flat in the building that I am looking at.

HampshireH

They arent a management agency, they are a housing trust providing affordable housing.

They are the freeholder. They manage their own stock. So your charges would be standard service charges for which you will receive an annual statement and breakdown.

As for service. They are quite a big organisation providing a number of services. I expect the service will vary depending on area, staffing, etc (all the normal variables).

You will find reviews of housing associations hard to come by but you will always find negative comments on facebook groups etc or their main page.

HampshireH

They are responsive on twitter on tweets and replies. This may give you some idea but again will mostly be negative. We all know social media doesn't tend to be used to sing peoples praises.

eddddy

gilesm89 wrote: »

The management agency (who apparently also own the building) is metropolitan.org.uk

Just to double check - that's the website for Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd. There are other freehold owners with similar names, like Metropolitan Properties Co Ltd.


A few of their assured tenants (but not leaseholders) seem to have complaints...
https://www.reviewcentre.com/property_websites/metropolitan_housing_association_-_wwwmetropolitanorguk-reviews_3381687

(But on the basis that they manage over 38,000 homes - that's a fairly small percentage.)

Plus a recent court case they lost:
https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2018/05/heavy-handed-inaccurate-threats-of-legal-action-metropolitan-ht-harass-their-tenants/