Featured Articles

Two new building surveyors have been appointed at Finnegan Property Services to help meet the growing demand for the firm’s expanding portfolio of services.   Nicholas Oltarzewski and Michael Sherlock together have almost 20 years’ experience in residential and commercial building surveying, as well as project management and property development.   After graduating from Liverpool John Moores University, Nicholas worked with building surveying companies in Liverpool, Reigate and London before joining Finne

QUESTION I live in a block of 28 retirement flats which are all owner occupied and of course leasehold. In addition we are all shareholders in the Housing Association which owns the building and land on a leasehold basis and whose sole business is the ownership of this building. We appoint a Managing Agent (also a housing association) to manage the building. I assume, even under our own unusual ownership structure, that section 20 applies even though the Landlord (us collectively) is giving us (individua

QUESTION My flat has been damaged by water pouring through my ceilings from the flat above. This happened on 5 separate occasions in the last 6 months and both my kitchen and bathroom are now badly water damaged and in need of redecoration and damp treatment. The water damage even short circuited the bathroom light fitting and it has not worked for 4 months now.  On each occasion that water poured into my flat, I informed the tenants straight away – showed them the damage and also emailed their landlord

QUESTION We've recently gone RTM with a property management company, which I chose and agreed a pricing strategy last October for a fixed overall charge for Service charges - being  £1500 (+vat) divided by six leaseholders. Before signing up, one of our colleague directors expressed concern that the property management company apparently have a past reputation for lumping on extra charges which had not been agreed with leaseholders. It rang alarm bells when our Chair received an email from the property m

QUESTION I have owned a leasehold flat since February 2010 but only this year have become aware that it is a RMC. In all those years we have had no AGM meetings and at the start of this year the Management Company (our Management Agent) that we had since I purchased the flat was taken over by another Management Company (who became our Management Agent). I have found that the directors of the Management Agent are also the directors of the Limited Company that has become the RMC's Company Secretary. Is this

QUESTION In June 2015 and as freeholder of the property in question, I received a letter from a mortgage lendor asking for confirmation that any notice of transfer should come to me and also asking what my fee would be. When I explored further it transpired that a flat which was jointly owned by two individuals was to be remortgaged and placed in the name of just one of the individuals. There were already several breaches of covenant in existence – such as arrears of ground rent, denial of access for insp

The hugely successful Property Management Summit hosted by Brethertons solicitors is getting a revamp. Following consultation with you, the industry stakeholders, this crucial event gets a new name, a new venue and moves to a new date in the calendar. And that’s not all. Property Management Unwrapped will this year be held on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 June and where better to host a conference dedicated to property than at the iconic, Grade 1 listed, Royal Holloway in Egham? After a day attending talks an

Barrister Nick Davies, a dynamic global speaker whose clients have included members of the royal household, will be the keynote speaker at the ALEP spring conference. Nick’s presentation, entitled ‘Negotiation: the art of letting them have your way’, will explain the difference between ‘positional bargaining’ and negotiation. Ellodie Gibbons, a barrister at Tanfield Chambers, will present an update on the most recent cases, while Knight Frank’s Vanda Kelsey will talk on ‘Back to Basis’ and the ‘Value of C

Over 80 per cent of londoners living in apartments do so because it suits their current lifestyle, according to new research on apartment living. Research commissioned by FirstPort shows the decision to live in apartments reflects benefits such as proximity to work and social amenities. Other notable advantages were fewer worries about maintenance and looking after the property allowing residents more flexibility in their lifestyles. The research covered apartment residents who both own and rent their acc

QUESTION Who actually owns the sinking fund, and is it a taxable income? I thought landlords were trustees of the fund NOT owners? Our landlord insist he owns it and pays tax on it? ANSWER The area surrounding the ownership and control of a service charge fund is quite a detailed one, I have provided a response that should give you the answers generally to the questions, but further clarification should be sought as outlined. The sinking fund is a service charge and although it is normally administrated

Every stop and turn there is an announcement or commentary about the market. All the while there is the serious business of the leaseholder and their homes. LEASE holds stakeholder meetings every 6 months and at the last one in December there was discussion after a comment that a leasehold property is not ownership. Of course this is nonsense. Even rental is ownership, it gives you a right to your home. There is a debate about leasehold being good or bad and I genuinely believe that misses the point. Leas

Winter. And no time for surveyors to plant roses. We have been planning the year ahead whilst making a little time to reflect on last year’s experiences. Surveying is fundamentally about people. And human behaviour is one factor it’s often hardest to predict. For example, any surveyor in the residential sector can tell you scaffolding is unpopular with residents: it’s unsightly, often involves noise, and of course it doesn’t come cheap, so it can be a hard sell even when it’s absolutely essential to a pro