Matthew Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Long time off the forum again after my move to Oz. I was selling my flat that I lived in and 2 weeks before I left the sale fell through. Whilst in Australia I got an email from my mum (now my secretary :-)) with a 1,000 pounds bill for excess maintenance and a total overspend for the building of 10,000 in the year, the budget was only 10,000, so the cost was double. (And I had already paid 340 pounds excess that year, so a total of 1,340 per year for me) I was a bit perplexed as I was not aware of any work going on. When I looked at the detail I can see that they have renovated the hallway for all of the other floors, my property is basement and has a seperate entrance shared by another flat. There are 10 flats and the freeholder owns the 8 upstairs. He sold the 2 basement flats off 1.5 years ago to me and a landlord, after doing them up. He seems to be doing up the upper flats now and getting us to pay a share of their hallway costs which we have no access to....it just seems so immoral. The main thing is that I would have liked to have been involved in any spending as they seem to pay way too much, I would have got Polish Tom to quote at a quarter of the price. Where do I stand with this, can they just spend what they want on the building without letting me know? Surely that can't be right? I feel like when I signed the lease, all I have really done is signed a contract that any money I earn goes straight to them. They also had a net put up to stop pigeons frequenting the courtyard area. This cost 3,400 pounds and the company said it would take a team all week to blast the area to get rid of the pigeon poo off the walls and off the fire escape stairwell. They put the net up in about 2 half days, and said they could not get any water supply so could not blast the area. I thought the management company would have got at least 2K of the money off the original price, but it seems they paid the full amount. Not only this I had to paint the whole courtyard (paint over poo....lovely) as it was so unsightly and I was trying to sell it. The estate agent has told me the purchasers cooments and the reason that he pulled out was due to the astronomical costs for the last year and it no longer made financial sense if he was going to be billed an extra 1.3K per annum. What is worse that I'm sure their calulations are wrong and that my share should only be 650 pounds not 1,000. I had to pay 200 pounds for the managing agents to provide that information, and I really feel like I may as well have just pulled my p*nts down around my ankles and tell them to help themselves. I feel I must have a case against the managing agents if my calculations are correct, as they cost me a sale. The fact that the sale fell through and some other bad luck, now mean that I am living on about 100 pounds per week, and will be forced to ask family for money for a flight home in a few months if things don't improve. So really looking for some guidance before sending them a letter. Thanks in advance, Ciao for now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Yo Matty Boy, howz life down under mate ?? Nightmare .....you need to purchase a rectal chastity belt like asap cos yu are getting well and truly rogered by the sound of it ........ Iwould request a breakdown of all costs ...copies of invoices etc ...... If invoice was £3400 for pigeon works and works not completed ..then i would refuse to pay it ...why should you pay for works not done ??? go thru your lease with a fiine toothcombe and find out EXACTLY what they can and cant charge for .....proceedure for obtaining a competitive quote etc (like 3 quotes for eg ) LL or MA is taking the pxxx ..........prob got his own guys doing it ..or getting a cash back hander (yep it really goes on ...like all day everyday) wouldn't surprise me if he as organised things so that you "2" are paying for everything ... Legal advice when you haveall this info will prob not go amiss..? So how long you staying down there ?? The Rodent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH1 Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Hello there! £3400 to put a net up to prevent pigeons pooing is literally taking the p*** You could build a new courtyard in that amount! Aren't managing agents supposed to get your approval prior to going ahead with works you may or may not agree with. Sound to me they are creating all sorts of costs to get their own works done without having to pay for it. I'd write to them after checking your T&C and say you were not informed of works or costs before they went ahead with it and therefore cannot agree to being charged for works you have not agreed to. Good Luck! How's life in Oz? (Is it Perth u are at? seems markets are slow there too) Ciao! CH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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