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Invoice from property management firm
Please could someone help with directing us where to go with this - or whether our thoughts are correct that we should try and fight this?
We purchased a leasehold flat seven years ago and was given a share in a management company. The property developer owned a large number of the other flats in the building and had a significant share in the management company. That company didn't do anything and there were no works or maintenance on the building other than a live-in handyman, who was a family member of the developer and would help with his flats, bills for the electricity etc were paid by the original property developer - no monthly figure or invoice was ever provided to us. The complex was deteriorating and was a constant source of frustration.
To counteract us getting no-where, I took it upon myself to clean the communal areas, the bin areas where I could, and even got my marigolds on to remove some graffiti. When we were concerned that the building wasn't insured, we took out insurance ourselves.
We heard through the grapevine but not formally that the property developer who essentially 'owned' the management company had folded, and a majority of flats in the complex had been reposessed by a bank. Also on the grapevine that the management company went bust.
We were told that a bank had taken over the reposessed properties and had assigned a property development company to work on getting a new management company started. The bank wanted to bring the complex up to scratch to sell some of the reposessed properties.
I emailed the MD of the property development/management firm in 2013 when we found this out, to ask what was going on. He said that what we heard was true, and that they were working on getting a management company in place, which we would have a share in, and that we would be given all the details in the post.
We ourselves continued to maintain our area of the complex until we left in 2014, where we started renting the flat out. We received nothing in the post from the new property developer, and continued to email to ask for updates, when things were going to move ahead and what the state of play was. We had two telephone calls to say nothing had yet been sorted.
Fast forward to 2015, and this property developer who has sent zero paperwork or sent any correspondence to us detailing the situation - has sent a bill on email for £1500 for 'maintenance and ground rent for the past three years - since 2012. The invoice has the name of the new management company, which we can see from companies house was started in Feb 2014.
Needless to say, we're not too pleased - and would have been happy to have paid monthly if given the chance years ago - but were not given any details of what the position was, or what the amount would have been.
We have communicated to the developer that the bill is unreasonable - and in response he has said that they will have to recover the costs from our building society if we don't pay within seven days! Don't get me wrong, i'm glad something is being done, and would be happy to pay a management fee going forward - but monthly.
I feel like sending him an invoice for all the costs incurred to us in maintaining the development ourselves.
Help...
We purchased a leasehold flat seven years ago and was given a share in a management company. The property developer owned a large number of the other flats in the building and had a significant share in the management company. That company didn't do anything and there were no works or maintenance on the building other than a live-in handyman, who was a family member of the developer and would help with his flats, bills for the electricity etc were paid by the original property developer - no monthly figure or invoice was ever provided to us. The complex was deteriorating and was a constant source of frustration.
To counteract us getting no-where, I took it upon myself to clean the communal areas, the bin areas where I could, and even got my marigolds on to remove some graffiti. When we were concerned that the building wasn't insured, we took out insurance ourselves.
We heard through the grapevine but not formally that the property developer who essentially 'owned' the management company had folded, and a majority of flats in the complex had been reposessed by a bank. Also on the grapevine that the management company went bust.
We were told that a bank had taken over the reposessed properties and had assigned a property development company to work on getting a new management company started. The bank wanted to bring the complex up to scratch to sell some of the reposessed properties.
I emailed the MD of the property development/management firm in 2013 when we found this out, to ask what was going on. He said that what we heard was true, and that they were working on getting a management company in place, which we would have a share in, and that we would be given all the details in the post.
We ourselves continued to maintain our area of the complex until we left in 2014, where we started renting the flat out. We received nothing in the post from the new property developer, and continued to email to ask for updates, when things were going to move ahead and what the state of play was. We had two telephone calls to say nothing had yet been sorted.
Fast forward to 2015, and this property developer who has sent zero paperwork or sent any correspondence to us detailing the situation - has sent a bill on email for £1500 for 'maintenance and ground rent for the past three years - since 2012. The invoice has the name of the new management company, which we can see from companies house was started in Feb 2014.
Needless to say, we're not too pleased - and would have been happy to have paid monthly if given the chance years ago - but were not given any details of what the position was, or what the amount would have been.
We have communicated to the developer that the bill is unreasonable - and in response he has said that they will have to recover the costs from our building society if we don't pay within seven days! Don't get me wrong, i'm glad something is being done, and would be happy to pay a management fee going forward - but monthly.
I feel like sending him an invoice for all the costs incurred to us in maintaining the development ourselves.
Help...
