Out of interest there is a new building site with 2/3/4 and 5 bed houses for sale in Bexhill. Big glossy brochures on the inter net. £20,000 help to buy from building firm. lookes really great.
UNTIL ON READS THE CONDITIONS !!!
Resident Management Companies typically manage common
parts of a development. The individual property owners
will fund these costs by making periodic contributions into
a pooled fund by way of a service charge paid on account.
These funds are collected and administered by Gateway, the
appointed managing agent, and held in a client account on
behalf of the Management Company.
So you get locked into paying an unknown fee which could increase year by year for ever more.
If this is not a criminal offence demanding money for ever more then it should be made so. This is now standard proceedure with all new houses on an estate I undestand
My initial thought was that these houses were leasehold, but then agree, wasn’t this practice outlawed. If freehold, then I would have thought no service charge was payable. It was the thought of having to fork out for new windows and doors, and other costs, (ok, each resident was liable for paying 5%) that made me decide to give up my shared ownership flat. (Not that it has happened yet, according to my friend still living there).
My sister recently moved to a new freehold property on a private estate in West Sussex has a yearly fee payable for landscaping & ,roads/pavements within the estate.
I am leasehold however I am responsible for the cost of replacing & repairs to windows and exterior doors at my apartment, on top of my maintenance fee
What the OP is referring to is a management fee. Many private estates have these, the problems arise when the management is run by a company. A friend lives on an estate like this but the costs are kept to a minimum because the management is run by a committee of property owners.
On a large new estate near here, where you are only part owner with the builder. My daughter was enquiring when she was between houses and decided not to buy there. You can’t actually sell the house before you have found somebody to take on your part of the ownership contract, or something like that. I’ll ask her for more details next time she wants something… Er, I mean next time I see her…
Sounds like a typical Strata Title where a management company is employed to look after the property held in common. For example if you own a flat in a housing block who pays for the lift or the grounds to be maintained? Or the external walls painted?
My son Ben has to pay this “management fee” on his house. Makes one think if buying a new house is worth it. Mine was built in the mid 1980’s so no hidden ripoff charges
My eldest has the ground floor apartment , there is joint freehold property shared ownership with others in it.
If everyone buying new refused the purchase contract or to take over the contrtact this practise would soon die out
I can see some benefits of a maintenance charge for looking after common ground on housing estates. It is possible that some people buying houses will not respect the common ground and keep it tidy. Not pick up dog poo or rubbish. Perhaps children will possibly spoil it one way or another. If there is no management for the common ground, who will look after it, cut the grass, look after bushes and trees?
The drawback is that no indication is given as to how much the charge might be or what a buyer gets for the money. Nor is there any indication of how it might be related to the cost of living or the price of a house. A good solicitor should find out these factors so that a buyer is aware before proceeding.
Er, I mean next time I see her… 