Questions to Management Companies for Share of Freehold flats

[wombatace]

I have viewed a couple of flats where I would have needed to get some answers regarding for example garden maintenance arrangements for the complex, refuse collection, visible repairs to communal areas outstanding ,etc

EAs sometimes don't know (or it's risky to accept their response at face value) and vendors might not be reachable quickly

I know all of this can be discussed at the time of conveyancing (expensive if you have already instructed a solicitor), but is it a no-no to contact management companies directly? Especially when questions are straightforward to answer and they would be deal breakers

I’m in the process of buying a share of freehold flat. You would need to ask those questions via your solicitor. They will receive a share of freehold pack which the seller has to pay for. This should contain all the information and the solicitor will prepare a report for you and raise any further clarifications on your behalf.
The only information I have up front is length of lease and annual service charge.

The solicitors ask

But you should be able to quickly see- is the garden well managed?evidence of cutting bushes. Maintenance sone? Bins tidy?
Is there a clear communal hall?

As even if something is in the lease, then it's weather it's actually enforced that's the issue.

@Karmatime It's a bummer though, isn't it? What if the answers to a couple of questions would have prevented you from making an offer? (e.g. is the repair of X in the communal areas -impacting your flat- scheduled to be carried out this year, etc)

@burnoutbabe if it's something very crucial, can the EA ask the vendor to contact the management agents in order to get a response?

By the time you instruct you solicitors you are already incurring costs

Yes you can ask the vendor

Realistically if it's an emergency (leak etc) it should have been fixed already. Why hasn't vendor had it fixed?

If it's just general wear and tear ask the vendor when last did internal or external work -it's usually a 5/7 year cycle.

I owned a flat like this and I had to get a pack from the MC to go with the sale which stipulated all of this. I think you have to if it is leasehold? The seller should be able to tell you how much a month they pay.

Thanks I will try this

Yes, I believe most MCs charge the vendors for these packs. I was thinking more about questions that might (hopefully) be straightforward to answer

Ask the EA for the vendor and they will get the answers you want if they want to sell. Are you wanting more detailed info eg contingency funds etc? If not then observation is key.

Yes, it's more about issues for which the answer may not be immediately apparent just by looking

for example?

Is there a sinking fund for maintenance and repairs? What do the service charges cover?

What is the name of the management company (so you can check info on Companies House website)

Can you go back to look at the property and while you’re there have a close look at the communal areas and building. Does the garden/bin area look tidy or is the paintwork shabby. Can you spot any obvious issues that could soon be expensive problems to fix.

yes i think we need to know the question.

As really, the management company would need to be asked if the vendor doesn't. Now i am a director so i could ask the Mgt company easily, but most others could not and soon as its obvious that its a "question as going to sell" - then it needs to be in a formal pack and usual caveats put around it about liability etc.

so any reply you get would be very unofficial and could not be relied upon.

and actually companies house info is very poor - you won't know the name of the management co without a lot of legal digging plus the accounts generally show NOTHING - the service one's would show more but they are just for the leaseholders eyes (but the vendor could show you)

The management pack will cover all financial - ground rent, maintenance fees, other costs eg if you want to rent out your property etc. If there isn't one I wouldn't buy.

You could ask the vendor but any answer they give may not be legally binding.

ie “is the roof being repaired soon” “ ah yes it was talked about in the last meeting, I think they are in the process of getting quotes” doesn’t really mean anything. Could happen “soon” could be years off.

What are you asking that would stop you from buying or making an offer? Ultimately things do crop up in conveyancing that holt the sale, that’s the point of it, it’s fact finding.

You could for instance discover that the vendor is one of the directors from Company house data, and see no irregularities with the timing of filing accounts.

You could also ask the vendor if they have someone to do basic tasks such as sweeping up leaves or cutting back bushes or do the leaseholders do this.

Once I saw a cone on a designated parking space (presumably a resident trying to prevent others parking on it while not being used). I would have liked to ask how this was controlled by the MC, for instance.

Or another time I saw some (what appeared to be) substantial repairs being needed at one block of flats within the complex. I would have liked to ask whether those would be covered by all the flats on the estate or only those in that block

True. But it would save everyone time if some of these queries could be resolved earlier without getting solicitors involved

I can see it would be impractical as otherwise the MC would be spending ages answering queries from potential buyers!

In my examples, these were not the issues that prevented me from making an offer, but I was wondering how the process would work if they had

i think with your questions flat life is maybe not for you :)

people can put what they like on their own spaces - yes there is some legal process if someone parks in the wrong space, but nothing much is done quickkly - often people park in the wrong one when most are empty.

And who pays depends on which blocks covered by the management company - my block is 1 big block and 1 little seperate one, we all have to pay even if all the work is done on block i am not in. (the vendor should know which flats are included in the management company remit)

@burnoutbabe LOL! No, I've always lived in flats and it's been fine (admittedly, without parking so I've managed to avoid the parking spaces drama so far) 😉

And who pays depends on which blocks covered by the management company - my block is 1 big block and 1 little seperate one, we all have to pay even if all the work is done on block i am not in. (the vendor should know which flats are included in the management company remit)

Interesting, as I've seen places with different arrangements. But I agree presumably the vendor should be able to provide an answer which would then hopefully be confirmed at the conveyancing stage

Some of this stuff will be answered by the LPE1 pack that your vendor will provide.

You could do some online detective work. However I am a director of our freehold and manangement company and if you apprached me after finding my name from Companies House I would not answer you - we employ a managing agent for that sort of stuff.

However I am a director of our freehold and manangement company and if you apprached me after finding my name from Companies House I would not answer you - we employ a managing agent for that sort of stuff

No, I was thinking whether you could call the MC directly as they sometimes provide their details on signs on the walls (but I can see that this may be for residents needing assistance rather than to be contacted by prospective buyers)

I agree that contacting a director of the freehold company would be questionable in most circumstances

They would not discuss this with you. They would refer you to the booklet.