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The Grand Master of residential property in the UK, Vincent Tchenguiz, talks to Nicolas Shulman about his Consensus Business Group, the environmental challenges in the industry and life at the top of the property ladder. After completing his schooling in Tehran in 1973, Vincent attended Business Administration course at Boston University before obtaining a BSc Honours in Economics and a BSc in Commerce at McGill University, Montreal, in 1978.  Vincent also has a Masters Degree in Business Administration

County Estate Management (CEM), the specialist residential managing agent, is on track to represent the UK in the European Business Awards for the Environment.  CEM has just been notified that it is among the major winners in the Green Apple Environment Awards – one of the few accredited feeder schemes into the international campaign.  The company has won the award in recognition of its environmental commitment and best practice for Green Vision, CEM’s environmental audit tool for residential estates. Pa

It is more than five years since the Government passed the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 to give leaseholders important new rights. But perhaps the most useful rights are still not implemented. John Mills reports. At long last we have some progress from the government as new rights mean leaseholders have the right to a regular annual statement of account for service charges and a right to require the landlord to keep a separate bank account in trust for each scheme. On July 26th a consultatio

The Association of Residential Managing Agents executive secretary speaks out on the role of his organisation, the new legislation and some of the challenges affecting him in the role.   Tell us a little about your background and how you came to your role at ARMA? After I graduated as a Chartered Accountant in 1970, I carried out various assignments in Europe and North Africa for two years. When I returned to the UK, I became MD of a national building maintenance company that I expanded into insura

A constant theme and one that cannot be overstressed is communication. This is vital in all areas of life but when dealing with the public it takes on a whole new dimension. It is not just what is said but how it is said as well. I returned some items to House of Fraser with the receipt but the labels had been removed. The shop assistant managed to leave me feeling as though I was in the wrong, and proceeded to tell me all the reasons why. Whereas the message could have been delivered in a positive w

News on the Block and Brethertons LLP Solicitors have joined forces to provide a series of web based seminars (webinars). The topics for these webinars are the 'New Service Charge Rules', 'Right to Manage' and 'Enfranchisement in a nutshell'. Click here to download the pdf with more information on the webinar and details of how to get involved

[image1]Your home is your most valuable asset so how can you be sure, when it comes to getting it decorated, that it’s in the hands of professionals? To raise awareness of the professionalism of members of the Painting and Decorating Association, the PDA has a leaflet to highlight the value of selecting a member of the trade, entitled ‘In The Hands Of The Professionals.’ Guidance in the leaflet includes: • Be as clear as you can about what you want. A full and frank discussion before the work commences

Chainbow's Chairman and Chief Executive discusses the latest goings on in the world of property management... Just when you think all the scams and mischief that you can find have been found, something else from nowhere pops up! I feel quite naive now, because I suppose in the search for more money and ensuring as much as possible is extorted from people, it was logical that mortgagees would profiteer out of buildings insurance with flats. A little history lesson at this point. In 1998 the Council of Mort

Frustrated that the freeholder isn’t doing his job properly? Mary-Anne Bowring, creator of www.leaseholdersupport.co.uk explains how to apply for a Court Appointed Manager Is your Freeholder failing to keep the block in repair, charging you too much for too little, only interested in his ground rent and insurance commission? Typically there are three profiles of block that fall into this scenario, blocks where: • too many flats are owned by investors who show little real interest in the fabric and exte

Most leaseholders are aware they have the right to manage their block of flats but according to a recent survey the majority of leaseholders admitted they don’t know how to and were unaware of the benefits. Mary-Anne Bowring, creator of www.leaseholdersupport.co.uk takes us through each step to claim your right to self manage. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 provide the owners of leasehold properties with the right to manage their own property. It is no longer necessary to prove the freehol

The Right to Manage (RTM) is a powerful tool for leaseholders. It gives leaseholders the right to take over the management of their building including repairs, maintenance, services and the levying of service charges without any requirement to prove default by the Landlord or payment of compensation. A building is eligible if it contains two or more flats and at least two thirds of the flats are on long leases, but if there is a commercial element this must not exceed 25% of the floor area. The partic

Latest analysis is indicating that developers are responding to the need for more family homes, with the number of houses being built in the UK as compared to apartments increasing by 2% during the past 12 months.   The past four months have also seen the average plot size increasing, reversing the trend of the last year, with a 0.5% increase in plot size since March 2007. The analysis comes from Wolsey Securities whose finance is behind over 2,300 homes across the country, across 130 developments from Pe