Last Minute Landlord / Management Group Fees

RedCannon94

Morning all.

Currently working through the last few enquires before completing in September. 

Our solicitor has confirmed last minute that the landlord, superior landlord and management group between them are requesting over £1300 worth of fees for the following.

- Notice fees
- Deed of covenant
- Certificate of compliance

Our solicitor agrees that these fees are wild and is disputing them.

Should we hold firm on this? Additional bit of context which is we've been stung previously with some undisclosed fees in relation to the leasehold which we've had to cover. If push somes to shove, should we be pushing the vendor to pay / contribute to this?

Thanks

eddddy

RedCannon94 said:

- Notice fees
- Deed of covenant
- Certificate of compliance

Presumably these are fees that the lease requires you to pay.

In which case, you can pay them under protest, and challenge them at a tribunal later.

RedCannon94 said:

Additional bit of context which is we've been stung previously with some undisclosed fees in relation to the leasehold which we've had to cover. 

What type of fees? 

RedCannon94 said:

If push somes to shove, should we be pushing the vendor to pay / contribute to this?

The lease probably says it's you who should pay them - but I guess you could try.

The outcome probably depends on who is more desperate - are you more desperate to buy, or is the seller more desperate to sell?  Also, asking the sellers to pay could also cause bad feeling, and maybe cause  a loss of goodwill.


Perhaps the best solution in the future would be if estate agents stated the following in their property details:

Ground rent: £x
Current Annual Service Charge: £y
Estimated leasehold fees for buyer: £1300

JM68

Is this your landlord and managing agent that is charging fees for the sale of your flat?  It's not clear as you suggest the vendor should be paying some of the fees, and the vendor is of course the seller in a property transaction.

If it is your landlord and agent then you may have a problem.  Although such fees are supposed to be 'reasonable' the reality is that they can effectively charge what they like in fees and if you don't pay then they have no obligation to do the work or respond to any queries, which may well mean the sale will fall through.

Jonboy_1984

Assuming these are the freeholders solicitors costs then it is up to you as the buyer to pay them, as it’s moving the lease to your name/benefit on their records/systems and associated legal work. 

Your seller will have paid the equivalent when they purchased the property.

peb

No point. If you want the property you'll have to pay.  It's horrendous but very common 

Tiglet2

There are fees a seller must pay - obtaining one or even two management packs or supplying an LPE1.
There are fees a buyer must pay - notice fees, a Deed of Variation and a Certificate of Compliance

Your solicitor doesn't think these are reasonable fees and he's querying it.  

When you sell in the future, you will need to pay for the management packs and your buyer will have to pay the buyer's fees.  All of this should be set out in the management pack/LPE1.  

Is the managing agent a big well-known company?