What is Estate Management?...and What Service does Affinity Provide?
Block Manager?
Estate Manager?
Freeholder v Leaseholder - Who is responsible for what?
The services of a property management company explained...
It is commonly known that when you buy a freehold property, you own the building and the land on which it stands and houses are sold as freehold properties.
However when you buy a leasehold property, you own the property itself but not the land, and only for a set period of time as stated in the lease. At the end of that period of time, ownership will revert to the landowner, unless you extend the lease. Virtually all flats and maisonettes are sold leasehold and it is standard practice for residential long leaseholders to pay a service charge, either to the freeholder (often referred to as the Landlord in the Lease) or to a management company, to cover maintenance of the building and communal areas.
It is however becoming increasingly common for the owners of freehold houses to be required to pay similar charges, where there are jointly used areas on the estate.
Residential Long Leaseholders
When you buy a lease within a larger building, typically a block of flats, the communal parts of the building and the external areas are usually owned by the landlord, who is responsible for the overall management and maintenance of that building. Some landlords will choose to maintain, repair, insure, clean and manage the property themselves but often they appoint a managing agent to do so on their behalf. Affinity carry out these agent duties.
Freeholders may also charge Leaseholders a ground rent.
As the overall management of the block can impact on the property’s value, and on the individual’s enjoyment of their home, leaseholders are advised to take an interest in how the building is being managed, both at the stage at which they purchase the property and on an ongoing basis. Affinity will often seek out the views and opinions of leaseholders where practical.
Management companies must be transparent and Affinity pride ourselves on being exactly that. We have legal and accounting obligations, and are subject to external scrutiny. We are accountable to the landlord not to the leaseholder, however as leaseholders are responsible for paying the service charge we undertake good practice to take their wishes into account.
Information about how the service charge is calculated and what services will be provided will be set out in the lease.
Freeholder Property Owners
It is becoming more and more common, particularly for New Build properties, that Freehold property owners may also be required to pay a service charge and/or ground rent. This covers costs incurred on the common areas of the estate, for example upkeep of gardens and landscaping, private roads (unadopted by the local authority), drainage and bin storage areas.
These payment obligations will ordinarily be set out in the deed of transfer when the property is first sold by the developer, or as part of the contract to purchase.
As with leaseholds, the developer will often appoint a management company such as ourselves to carry out the required maintenance and management responsibilities.
Here at Affinity we believe that to successfully management a development you need to be local enough to be 'hands-on' delivering both a pro-active and re-active service. With Health & Safety being in the forefront of our minds, we look to provide a service that nurtures our homeowners and gives them peace of mind for the safety of their surroundings.
If you believe your development would benefit from a local, hands-on approach, utilising local contractors and implementing cost saving measures whilst still achieving the standards of clean, safe and peaceful living, then please do not hesitate to contact us!! We have many references and examples of where we have helped local developments move from a large national property management agency to Affinity (your local professionals) and have reaped the benefits we are able to offer!
01908 639098
info@affinity-lettings.co.uk
