Estate Management Packs - Why Do we Need One?

user1977

Listlad said:

user1977 said:

Listlad said:

Tiglet2 said:

Listlad said:

We are in our 4th week of waiting. Paid £312 to HML / Beehive for the full management pack for our house. So we can send it to our buyer’s solicitor as part of the conveyancing process.  They made a mistake and applied the money to a property in a different part of the country with a similar address. 

Why do we need one? We already know the yearly charges, are up to date with those charges and we know what they are for and have paperwork to demonstrate that. 

It is holding up a chain of house purchases. The only part of the conveyancing process to be resolved. 

You will, of course, have knowledge of the charges and have paperwork evidence to prove it.  However, your buyer's solicitor is acting for the buyer in a legal capacity.  While the management pack from the managing agent/freeholder may duplicate some of the paperwork you already have, there will be other documents (asbestos report and fire assessment, together with any Section 20 notices for example) that you may not have or may not disclose.  Unfortunately the buyer's solicitor will not rely on evidence supplied by you, the seller.  They require to have it confirmed by the Managing Agent, which covers themselves and the buyer should the need arise.  Any information supplied by you (with respect) cannot be relied upon.

However if the information is simply information supplied by the estate management company themselves, that they have sent out to us and all of the other house owners across the estate.

And if you were buying, would you trust your vendor to be giving the full story about upcoming / outstanding costs? Or would you want it confirmed from the horse's mouth?

Of course but if the information can be gathered from documentation sent to every household on site…..which I have and can show the buyer’s solicitor….

But how would they know that you haven't "forgotten" to give them info about e.g. a major forthcoming cost?

Edi81

HML are awful. I completed today and we couldn’t get them to confirm that i had paid My 6 months service charge in September despite my solicitor asking multiple times. Thankfully I could provide evidence of my payment from my bank account to enable completion to go through which was enough for my buyers solicitor.  

Now that I’m a freehold I’m glad I won’t need to go through that again!

subjecttocontract

Generally you have to pay up front when requesting the management pack. So, as they have already been paid there is no incentive to provide anything quickly. Slow to very, very slow is normal business with every management pack that I've ever requested.

Listlad

user1977 said:

Listlad said:

user1977 said:

Listlad said:

Tiglet2 said:

Listlad said:

We are in our 4th week of waiting. Paid £312 to HML / Beehive for the full management pack for our house. So we can send it to our buyer’s solicitor as part of the conveyancing process.  They made a mistake and applied the money to a property in a different part of the country with a similar address. 

Why do we need one? We already know the yearly charges, are up to date with those charges and we know what they are for and have paperwork to demonstrate that. 

It is holding up a chain of house purchases. The only part of the conveyancing process to be resolved. 

You will, of course, have knowledge of the charges and have paperwork evidence to prove it.  However, your buyer's solicitor is acting for the buyer in a legal capacity.  While the management pack from the managing agent/freeholder may duplicate some of the paperwork you already have, there will be other documents (asbestos report and fire assessment, together with any Section 20 notices for example) that you may not have or may not disclose.  Unfortunately the buyer's solicitor will not rely on evidence supplied by you, the seller.  They require to have it confirmed by the Managing Agent, which covers themselves and the buyer should the need arise.  Any information supplied by you (with respect) cannot be relied upon.

However if the information is simply information supplied by the estate management company themselves, that they have sent out to us and all of the other house owners across the estate.

And if you were buying, would you trust your vendor to be giving the full story about upcoming / outstanding costs? Or would you want it confirmed from the horse's mouth?

Of course but if the information can be gathered from documentation sent to every household on site…..which I have and can show the buyer’s solicitor….

But how would they know that you haven't "forgotten" to give them info about e.g. a major forthcoming cost?

Like what? All they do is maintain bits of grass and a bit of fencing. The houses are privately owned on their own plots. 

Listlad

subjecttocontract said:

Generally you have to pay up front when requesting the management pack. So, as they have already been paid there is no incentive to provide anything quickly. Slow to very, very slow is normal business with every management pack that I've ever requested.

The system needs to be reformed and streamlined. House owners are losing a lot of money when chains collapse owing to sluggishness in the system. Perhaps after 40 or more years we can learn something from the Scottish conveyancing system….

user1977

Listlad said:

user1977 said:

Listlad said:

user1977 said:

Listlad said:

Tiglet2 said:

Listlad said:

We are in our 4th week of waiting. Paid £312 to HML / Beehive for the full management pack for our house. So we can send it to our buyer’s solicitor as part of the conveyancing process.  They made a mistake and applied the money to a property in a different part of the country with a similar address. 

Why do we need one? We already know the yearly charges, are up to date with those charges and we know what they are for and have paperwork to demonstrate that. 

It is holding up a chain of house purchases. The only part of the conveyancing process to be resolved. 

You will, of course, have knowledge of the charges and have paperwork evidence to prove it.  However, your buyer's solicitor is acting for the buyer in a legal capacity.  While the management pack from the managing agent/freeholder may duplicate some of the paperwork you already have, there will be other documents (asbestos report and fire assessment, together with any Section 20 notices for example) that you may not have or may not disclose.  Unfortunately the buyer's solicitor will not rely on evidence supplied by you, the seller.  They require to have it confirmed by the Managing Agent, which covers themselves and the buyer should the need arise.  Any information supplied by you (with respect) cannot be relied upon.

However if the information is simply information supplied by the estate management company themselves, that they have sent out to us and all of the other house owners across the estate.

And if you were buying, would you trust your vendor to be giving the full story about upcoming / outstanding costs? Or would you want it confirmed from the horse's mouth?

Of course but if the information can be gathered from documentation sent to every household on site…..which I have and can show the buyer’s solicitor….

But how would they know that you haven't "forgotten" to give them info about e.g. a major forthcoming cost?

Like what? 

I don't know. The point is neither do your buyers. Yes, the risk might vary depending on the type of development, but I don't think it's realistic to expect the conveyancing system to include some sort of nuanced judgement call about whether just to accept the vendors' word for it. Plus consider whether you'd want to buy into a development where the managing agents are so useless that they can't even deal with this sort of basic admin task.

Listlad said:

subjecttocontract said:

Generally you have to pay up front when requesting the management pack. So, as they have already been paid there is no incentive to provide anything quickly. Slow to very, very slow is normal business with every management pack that I've ever requested.

The system needs to be reformed and streamlined. House owners are losing a lot of money when chains collapse owing to sluggishness in the system. Perhaps after 40 or more years we can learn something from the Scottish conveyancing system….

Yes, though note there's nothing different in Scotland in principle about this point. Though I don't think there are as many delays with managing agents - perhaps because everything else in Scotland moves that bit faster, so they'd have fingers pointed at them if they were becoming the sole cause of hold-ups. Plus in Scotland, the owners have more rights to hire and fire the agents, which gives them a bit more incentive to do their job properly.