Vendor's solicitor not provided accounts in 5 weeks for flat purchase

F37A

penners324 said:

Your solicitor will only accept the accounts in the management pack. So getting direct from the vendor is pointless.

Don't forget your solicitor is also acting for your mortgage company.

Wonder if then i wait 2-3 month for accounts then i do a survey and other legal work. Don't want to take on large costs only to find out few months down the line there some problem revealed via accounts

F37A

eddddy said:

F37A said:

I wonder if vendor can share e-mails of service charges paid recently

I'm not sure what you mean.

• Typically, estimated service charge bills are sent out once or twice a year (depending on what the lease specifies).

• Usually, they are payable immediately - but some freeholders allow them to be paid in monthly installments.

• At the end of the year, a final account is usually sent - which tells you if the estimated charge you paid has turned out to be too low or too high.

Occasionally, an additional service charge bill might be sent out in between - for example, if a major unexpected repair is required (a section 20 consultation might be required).

So you can ask for copies of things like

• The estimated service charge bill(s) for the current year (i.e. just an estimate)
• The year-end service charge accounts for previous years (i.e. the final real numbers)
• Details of any 'additional' service charge bills paid this year (or previous years)
• Details of any 'additional ' service charges that are anticipated

I can ask these questions but assuming i get answers I'm not sure whether its ok to proceed with other due diligence and therefore proceed with incurring costs via survey and other legal work. If the answers don't reflect true situation with accounts (revealed once we actually handed them) then its risky. But never done this before so don't know whether worrying unecessarily. 

Edi81

Management companies are notoriously slow at providing the info. When I sold my leasehold flat their SLA was 28 days to supply the info. Even after exchange on the completion day there was an issue with the apportionment of the service charge I had paid in advance and I needed to prove I had paid in advance. 

TBG01

Let me guess, the estate agent sold it as 'straight forward quick transaction'

housebuyer219

As a current seller of a leasehold flat I can tell you first hand that dealing with MA’s to get info from them is a nightmare. As others said they take an age to reply and complete all the necessary paperwork. I’m sure your seller is just as frustrated but sure it will come through, maybe ask for them to keep chasing (I chase twice a week currently to my MA for an update)

Jonboy_1984

There isnt actually a huge amount to the accounts, for our flat they came to around 5 pages and basically showed from memory:

A budget of expected costs for the service charge period coming up with a commentary on any major increases over previous year (e.g. if inspections are due/redecoration projects, or energy prices have increased) - one/two page

A reconciliation of costs to budget for previous year with a short commentary on any significant variances (e.g. one year the cleaning company went bust and their replacements were VAT registered resulting in an increase) - one/two page

Auditors statement and confirmation of amount in sinking fund - one page.


They then included the demand for the coming year, statutory statement on how to view original paperwork At MA office, statement of account and possibly the annual accounts as filed at companies house.

For me the survey, alterations (and potential lease violations) and whether the property was being kept in good condition would be more important.


That being said a sibling lives in a block that are getting poorly explained financial demands regarding a roof replacement project, and are seeing high service charges as a result.

subjecttocontract

What you are experiencing is entirely normal. The MA require payment upfront, so once paid they have no incentive to act quickly, it's just something they will get around to in due course. A couple of months is usual.

F37A

TBG01 said:

Let me guess, the estate agent sold it as 'straight forward quick transaction'

at no point did they mention that they are changing MA or delays. They like to lock you in don't then. 

F37A

This is still dragging on. I don't know how the MA can get away with saying "i can't give time scales" for how long it takes to change MA and provide accounts. My mortgage offer expires in October. At what point do I pull the plug. 

The fact that the agent doesn't tell you these things to lock a buyer in is quite frankly abusive.

eddddy

F37A said:

This is still dragging on. I don't know how the MA can get away with saying "i can't give time scales" for how long it takes to change MA and provide accounts. My mortgage offer expires in October. At what point do I pull the plug. 

• Unfortunately, the Managing Agent (and freeholder) aren't legally required to supply a management pack and accounts. So they're not required to give timescales either.

• The Managing Agent is (usually) employed by the freeholder - so the freeholder's contract with the Managing Agent will say what notice is required to terminate the contract. The leaseholders can also take over management - but that's another big topic.

• If a new Managing Agent is appointed, they will have to get all the accounts from the old Managing Agent before they can give them to you.  That's likely to cause greater delays, with much more scope for mistakes, losing paperwork, etc, etc.

Have you asked the seller to contact the Managing Agents, so see if they can "hurry them along"?

F37A said:

The fact that the agent doesn't tell you these things to lock a buyer in is quite frankly abusive.

Do you ,mean the Estate Agent? I'm not sure what things you are referring to.


If you mean that the Estate Agent should have told you that the Freeholder/Managing Agent needs to supply a management pack (and it might take some time) - that's a standard part of all leasehold conveyancing. I think that's more something that your solicitor should warn you about.

Unless...  you suspect that the estate agent knew (e.g. from previous experience) that this freeholder was exceptionally slow, compared to other freeholders - then perhaps the estate agent should have warned you about that.