Service Charges on new build developments

davidmcn

eidand wrote: »

this is incorrect, please do a bit of reading on the subject

No, it is correct, please reread what I said. It is not a fee for the services you use. It just goes into the pot for whatever the council decides to spend money on (and most of that pot comes via central government funding anyway). Those services include adopted roads. It doesn't mean the council has to adopt the road you live on.

In any event, everybody does use adopted roads, even if they don't happen to live on one.

eidand

davidmcn wrote: »

No, it is correct, please reread what I said. It is not a fee for the services you use. It just goes into the pot for whatever the council decides to spend money on (and most of that pot comes via central government funding anyway). Those services include adopted roads. It doesn't mean the council has to adopt the road you live on.

In any event, everybody does use adopted roads, even if they don't happen to live on one.

Most of that stuff is irrelevant to my point.

My point is that you pay the full council tax, in addition to maintenance fees. Do you not see the problem here? You are forking out more for the same thing, plus the additional responsibility

alanr2020

davidw123 said:

My wife and i bought a new build from Barratts in August 2019. We picked a new build because despite people suggesting they are over-inflated on price, other 4 bed houses in the area were pretty much within the same region and we got a right bargain (so whilst this thread is on service charges, make sure you bargain BEFORE reserving and exchanging) if your at this point. (We got 10K towards our deposit, free flooring throughout, 1.6K cashback for appliances).

Our broker was quite surprised we were able to get this as the maximum they are able to discount is 5% before banks get uneasy.

Our area like many has a few council houses that are for "affordable housing" and a POS green space which we all have to pay for to a managing company. The roads, the drains etc have all been adopted by the council. This is currently £125.00 a year.

Its important to note though you do not pay this charge UNTIL the entire site is completed, and as residents we have complete control over who we choose to manage this as a company. So if prices go up too much we will just vote to get rid. Our system is that we all form part of a LTD company and have have nominated residents to directly control this process and keep ontop of costs.

I have found on a new build site, everyone is in the same boat and gets on, is friendly and chats, and so don't think this would ever become an issue. I have lived in three different places across 8 years and very rarely spoke to a neighbour... the new build estate is a huge improvement.

:beer:

David, you say that the charges are not due until the entire estate is finished. Is this something specific to ypur contract or is there some sort of regulation governing this?

nik_k

alanr2020 said:

David, you say that the charges are not due until the entire estate is finished. Is this something specific to ypur contract or is there some sort of regulation governing this?

I can only speak for our development, but for everyone who has completed, we've paid the first year (pro-rata 1 Jan to 31 Dec) then nothing after that.  No-one has actually mentioned when everyone will have to start paying properly, but it may be once the whole development has been completed I reckon

Nymbus

Viki2410 said:

We are in the process of exchanging on our New Build in Buckshaw Village - Chorley - and our yearly service charge is £150. When you think that all the councils will do is empty the bins, I personally think it is worth it. Plus we have seen how clean and well kept the area is by the management company, so to us £12.50 a month is worth it. I personally think we should pay less council tax but that will never happen

Our breakdown of costs is as follows:

Ground maintenance - £105.00
PL Insurance - £1.50
Management Fees - £26.44
Audit & Accountancy Costs - £2.20
Company Secretary - £0.78
Sundries - £2.17
Minor Repairs - £1.80
Electric Replaires/lights/Bulbs - £1.50
Electricity - Common parts - £1.50
Health & Safety Inspection - £0.42
Tree Reserve/Replanting - £2.00
Reserve Fund - £4.69

I would never ever buy a house on an estate with a management fee! 

We pulled out of a mew build in January and I am now checking all houses we are interested in viewing that have been built in the last 20 years with the estate agents to confirm if there is a fee or not. If there is then we won’t view them.  

davidmcn

Nymbus said:

Viki2410 said:

We are in the process of exchanging on our New Build in Buckshaw Village - Chorley - and our yearly service charge is £150. When you think that all the councils will do is empty the bins, I personally think it is worth it. Plus we have seen how clean and well kept the area is by the management company, so to us £12.50 a month is worth it. I personally think we should pay less council tax but that will never happen

Our breakdown of costs is as follows:

Ground maintenance - £105.00
PL Insurance - £1.50
Management Fees - £26.44
Audit & Accountancy Costs - £2.20
Company Secretary - £0.78
Sundries - £2.17
Minor Repairs - £1.80
Electric Replaires/lights/Bulbs - £1.50
Electricity - Common parts - £1.50
Health & Safety Inspection - £0.42
Tree Reserve/Replanting - £2.00
Reserve Fund - £4.69

I would never ever buy a house on an estate with a management fee! 

We pulled out of a mew build in January and I am now checking all houses we are interested in viewing that have been built in the last 20 years with the estate agents to confirm if there is a fee or not. If there is then we won’t view them.  

Even if it's only £150 a year? If you're interested in new-ish houses then you're ruling out a large chunk of the market.

eidand

it might be 150 / year now, but those fees are unregulated and can easily climb to much bigger figures

Irishpearce26

I think i remember seeing a post similar to this which the residents lobbied for the council to adopt the roads and they did. Cant remember the thread name but possibly something to research.

Nymbus

Viki2410 said:

We are in the process of exchanging on our New Build in Buckshaw Village - Chorley - and our yearly service charge is £150. When you think that all the councils will do is empty the bins, I personally think it is worth it. Plus we have seen how clean and well kept the area is by the management company, so to us £12.50 a month is worth it. I personally think we should pay less council tax but that will never happen

Our breakdown of costs is as follows:

Ground maintenance - £105.00
PL Insurance - £1.50
Management Fees - £26.44
Audit & Accountancy Costs - £2.20
Company Secretary - £0.78
Sundries - £2.17
Minor Repairs - £1.80
Electric Replaires/lights/Bulbs - £1.50
Electricity - Common parts - £1.50
Health & Safety Inspection - £0.42
Tree Reserve/Replanting - £2.00
Reserve Fund - £4.69

We have looked at new builds and then rejected the idea specifically because of the management fee and not to mention the difficulty some people have in selling on the properties due to mortgage lenders reducing the amount or refusing to lend. The reason lenders do this is because usually the fees are uncapped and they can therefore not ascertain affordability accurately. 

I currently live near open public spaces which are maintained by the council. 

Why on earth should I pay for indemnity insurance or accountancy etc? I already pay council tax! No we are looking at houses without this fleecehold issue. 

Nymbus

buel said:

Wow! We are looking at a new build that has a maintenance charge and I’m paranoid about it!!

We rejected the idea. Why would anyone buy a freehold house and pay an additional fee? To my mind it’s unacceptable.