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What is the better option – freehold acquisition or lease extension? In principle, freehold acquisition makes sense since it gives more control of the property to the flat owners than lease extension alone and may add more value. But the practicalities of a ‘collective’ enfranchisement can quickly bring flat owners and project managers down to earth. Often, when you ask flat owners who would like to join the board of the nominee purchaser company, you can hear a pin drop! Then there is the issue of partic

As we are all aware, this has been the worst recession recorded in this country since records began and in general it has been a hard year for the majority of people. Some industries have felt it harder than others and that seems to be the case in the cleaning industry with some specialist services frozen, the frequency of cleaning services changed and contracts lost as blocks do not have the resources to pay for any contract cleaning. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous companies are doing well from kno

1. READ THE LEASE Service charges must be demanded in accordance with the Lease.2. INCORRECT DEMANDS • Identify the correct name of the Freeholder/Management company • Identify the Landlord with an address for service • Identify the correct Lessee and address (Problems arise when the owner doesn’t live there and has speci¯cally requested demands be sent elsewhere). • If in Wales, serve the Statement of Rights of Obligations in Welsh and English3. AVOID DISPUTES “Communicate with Lessees”. The Le

QUESTIONI have attached two photo’s of theexterior walls of our apartment blocks. The Blocks were completed about 6 years ago and as you can see are getting a little dirty. Most of this is caused by the coping stones not overhanging the wall sufficiently. We had the walls steamed cleaned last year but this was not terribly satisfactory. Is there a material that can be applied to the walls, so the dirt just runs off ? Or do we need to seal the concrete coping stones? Terry Willgrass ANSWER The problem you

QUESTIONI own one flat in a three-block development of 30 flats, each owner holding one share in the management company, neither of the two directors living on the premises and only one, the son, being a shareholder. The directors have proposed imminent major and costly roof repairs relying on the “experience” of one of the directors, the father and a 5 year old survey. I contend that it would be appropriate to obtain an up to date surveyor’s report to confirm that the substantial proposed works are neces

BUILDING REINSTATEMENT VALUATIONS (BRV’s) are often overlooked by property owners, who may wrongly assume that building costs rise or fall in line with inflation. This is not so and a more accurate method of establishing the true cost of rebuilding is to have the property reassessed periodically. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) states that building reinstatement value is an ‘Assessment of Building Reinstatement Cost for Insurance purposes’. The assessment is typically carried out by a

New rules potentially affecting 60,000 existing Residents Management Companies (RMCos) have come into force. Annual General Meetings (AGM’s) and the Company Secretary are abolished and there are provisions for written resolutions, email and website communications. The deadline to file annual accounts has changed too. All newly formed RMCos from the 1st October 2009 will have model default Articles (the ‘Rules’ of the company) unless otherwise decided. Elements of the simplified Articles can be adopted by

Despite a recent RICS survey showing interest rates down and rents up tenants are still facing financial pressures, leading to increased rental arrears. The National Landlords Association (NLA)have launched NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance offering a way for landlords to minimise the risk from loss of rent. Should problems arise during the tenancy, the cover also provides legal expenses and a dedicated 24-hour advisory service. Also, Barbon Insurance Group, which includes leading flat insurer Deacon Insuranc

1. Don’t rush into picking the ¯rst property you see; make sure you’ve done your homework. 2. Always insist on a written tenancy agreement. This will clearly state when the rent money is due, how much deposit you have paid, how long the tenancy is for and how you can go about terminating the agreement. A written agreement provides clarity for both parties as well as highlighting the ‘dos and don’ts’.  3. If you provide a deposit it must be protected in an official government authorised tenancy deposit

Edward Davey, MP, Liberal Democrat, Kingston and Surbiton asks: has something gone wrong in the retirement leasehold sector? Over ten years ago, my grandmother bought a leasehold flat in a block built for retired people. She was very happy there, as she had less to worry about, help on hand and actually felt far more independent than before. My brother and I looked after her financial affairs and there was never any real problems with either of the firms who managed the block whilst she was a resident. So

They catch your eye as soon as you enter your block, even more so the dirty marks that seem never to go away! The weekly cleaning of the block addresses the norm, but over time the floors start to look dirty. Door mats, are a vital and a very easy way to collect a lot of dirt that otherwise gets onto carpets and hard floors, yet still many blocks don’t have entrance door mats, and therefore the floors suffer. Alternatively just as bad are entrance mats that are worn out, and therefore again they don’t c

Recent press reports of the UK rat population exceeding the human population are likely to be gross over-estimates. More reliable estimates centre on the figure of about 25 million. The 60 million figure, comes from a estimate made at the turn of the last century (1900) which related rat numbers to cultivated acreage. At that time there were 20 million acres in cultivation and an estimate was made of one rat per acre. The human population around 1900 was about 20 million as well which lead to the rough