Can we sell our house if the management company won't respond to our solicitors to obtain a pack?

tricky773

Hi, we've recently accepted an offer on our house which is freehold. Our solicitors have been trying in vain to get a management pack from the Management company Balinor. They have not responded to numerous emails from our solicitors and will not answer their phone. Since we moved here 12 years ago there has been a small service charge for around £130 a year to the management company to keep the park mowed and tidy, which we have paid every year. 

It would appear this is the only reason our sale has not progressed as our buyers have not been able to get a management pack. Is there any way to sell a house without one? 

Thanks for any suggestions anyone may have.

jlfrs01

Management companies are notorious for being slow, but if your instructions are recent, it will most likely take at least 2-3 months+ to get to the exchange and completion stage which is plenty time for them to respond, usually demanding a fee of several hindred Pounds for producing the pack.
Can you sell without one? I doubt it - I should think your buyer's Solicitor will demand it is provided for their perusal along with a schedule.
I had exactly the same issue as you when selling a flat a couple of years back. In the end I took matters into my own hands and used a combination of calling them directly myself and sending messages to the MD on LinkedIn, the Social Media Busines Platform. In your case, that's this woman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-perry-21a57314/?originalSubdomain=uk

user1977

In theory yes, if your buyers (and any mortgage lenders) are happy to take on the risk of any surprises which would be in the management pack.

Mstty

In practice it will create too many questions and stress for the majority of buyers and they will move onto another property 

tricky773

jlfrs01 said:

Management companies are notorious for being slow, but if your instructions are recent, it will most likely take at least 2-3 months+ to get to the exchange and completion stage which is plenty time for them to respond, usually demanding a fee of several hindred Pounds for producing the pack.
Can you sell without one? I doubt it - I should think your buyer's Solicitor will demand it is provided for their perusal along with a schedule.
I had exactly the same issue as you when selling a flat a couple of years back. In the end I took matters into my own hands and used a combination of calling them directly myself and sending messages to the MD on LinkedIn, the Social Media Busines Platform. 

Thanks, yes i've attempted to call Balinor but no one ever picks up so I'll try linkedin. Sadly they took the service charges for the past 18 months but haven't done any work on our development. It appears they are not a particularly reputable company as I've found a number of complaints online from other developments they have managed. As our sale involved no chain our solicitors were confident they could complete within 6 weeks but as Balinor are unwilling to provide a "pack" we're stuck in limbo. 

GixerKate

In short yes you can providing the buyer is willing to take on the risk.  A friend of mine was buying a house on the estate where I live, it all came grinding to a halt as the developer / management company would not produce the management pack.  In the end my friend instructed the solicitor to continue without the pack and forced it through.

I'm not sure if this would be doable if a mortgage is involved though.