Nice flat, run-down common areas. Avoid?

demim00nde

Hello. Recently I’ve been to view two flats in a sought-after area. The flats themselves were nice - and expensive - but the common entrance and hallway were in both cases pretty run-down. An online search showed that, In both places, the leaseholders manage the building through Right to Manage, via a property management company. I passed on both properties, but they went pretty fast.

Am I right to worry about poorly-kept common areas being an alarm bell that potentially more important aspects of upkeep aren’t being monitored and addressed in good time, meaning surprise bills are more likely?  Even if it’s right to be concerned about this - they may well prefer to focus on important aspects of the building without worrying about cosmetics - is this what one is likely to see in most shared buildings anyway?

TripleH

The state can depend on how proactive people are. Our old flat's internal areas were neat and tidy because there were people who were keen to have them so.

The next stairwell along in the block was less so.

It might also mean that a lot of the flats could be rental, where the owners are less enthusiastic.

MovingForwards

Agree with @TripleH

To give you my experience, I purchased my flat nearly 2 years ago, in Scotland so things are a little different to E&W. The communal areas need freshening up and some love. 

I've moved in and settled in, while saving up money and getting to know most of my neighbours. During that time I've been working on my garden and had free run across most of the others, in swap for beer as a thank you for doing it. That in turn has made things manageable and a couple of the neighbours are now tending to their own and I'm borrowing another.

Conversations have been held about the building and slowly that will get tidied up, painted etc.

It took me moving in to sway the balance to owner occupied and less rentals; people see someone cares and the domino effect starts. 

eddddy

demim00nde said:

In both places, the leaseholders manage the building through Right to Manage, via a property management company. 

It's really down to the mindset (and the dynamics) of the people involved in the RTM. It's the same with "Shared Freehold".

Looking at these 2 options:

1. Some people prefer to spend less - and put up with scruffy common areas
2. Some people prefer smart common areas - and are happy to spend lots of money to achieve it

So it may be any of the following

• The majority of leaseholders prefer option 1
• The directors of the RTM company prefer option 1
• There's a 'bully' who prefers option 1 and they bully everyone else into accepting option 1
• Or something else (see below)

If you buy a flat, maybe you might be able to change the dynamics - you might tip the majority over to option 2, you might be able to become a director of the RTM co, you might stand up to a bully (or you might bully people into agreeing to option 2).



FWIW, here's an example of a different reason for scruffy common areas:

I know of a RTM block where 2 leaseholders have huge service charge arrears, so there isn't enough money to maintain the common parts properly.

A brutal freeholder would have taken legal action against the leaseholders, and maybe forfeited their leases (i.e. repossessed their flats) and sold them to recover the service charge arrears.

But the RTM directors don't want to do something that nasty to their neighbours, who might be in financial difficulties. So the common areas remain scruffy. (But maybe those 2 leaseholders are 'taking the mickey', and would miraculously find the money, if legal action was started. Who knows?)

nick1234

I currently own a flat and have this issue, the residents are older people with lower standards so just do the very bare minimum in terms of cosmetic upgrades, the RTM director is also useless along with the management company.  

For me the flat is a short term purchase so i didnt mind so much and it was much cheaper than a newer build with high service charges, so i can put up with it.  If you intend to stay there 5 years+, i would not personally buy it. 

propertyhunter

Agree with thoughts that renters care less - and as a result the communal areas suffer. This was my experience. However, it can come down to the people even living on the same floor as you. My corridor had people who were clean and tidy, so the corridor was clutter-free. You'd go upstairs one level and see shoes outside, a bike, children's toys, scuff marks where the children played, etc. A bit of a gamble. I was lucky. 

bouicca21

The other scenario is that those involved in the RTM company are just too busy/lazy to get things moving.

canaldumidi

Best advice is to knock on doors and guage the response.

If all the occupants are tenants, that tells you something. If they are rude/refuse to speak, that tells you something. If they are friendly, explain how the RTM is operated(or not!) that tells you something. If they tell you about the other occupants, that tells you something.

There are so many possible reasons for what you describe that all you can do is gather information and then make a decision.

jonnnyash

Don't buy a flat is my advice.

TripleH

People's attitudes are key.

We lived in a rental apartment building in a city centre. When we moved in my wife would open the door and let our cats have the freedom to roam the corridors.

We got problem neighbours next door and everyone started leaving the floor.

Some floors and corridor sections became more troublesome than others as time went on.

Ramouth

You could tidy up a bit yourself if you are able.  Obviously you can’t start recarpeting but you can clear away rubbish, RTS post for people who no longer live there, vacuum the landing outside your flat and clean scuff marks off walls with a magic eraser. It’s amazing what a difference a bit of TLC can make. It wouldn’t be fair as you would be doing all the work that everybody is benefitting from but if a tidy communal area makes you happy it may well be worth it.