Call: 0333 344 2100   |   Case Studies   |   Client login
Pembroke Property Management

Marshall Court

Marshall Court

The property is a block of 32 flats and is part of a larger development in Anerley Park, near Crystal Palace, London. After acquiring the Right to Manage from a large Landlord we had to wait 3 months before the handover. The property management company that was in place was a nationwide company which manages 100s of blocks.

Our Challenge

Leaseholders were bewildered by the spiralling service charge costs. The leaseholders threatened to take the property management company to the First-tier Tribunal (LVT) to determine whether the costs were reasonable. They had evidence to indicate that the cost of individual services were not reasonable.

The handover was a challenge because the block was one of 2 blocks on a development. We knew we had the rights to take over the estate management which included the car park, bin store and common access-way. This only left the other block. The exiting property management company were reluctant to give up the estate management. Our Legal Services Director, who is a qualified property solicitor, explained the Right to Manage legislation in order for the out-going agent to understand the extent of their loss. Eventually they accepted the point.

To date, the only management information we have received from the outgoing agent was the insurance schedule and a statement of account for all leaseholders. This shows how much each leaseholder has paid/not paid in service charges

Our starting point was as follows;

  • Service charge arrears amounted to just over £15K
  • The previous agent had £5K of debtors and no funds to pay them. There was no money to hand over on the handover date.
  • Half of the units in the block had stopped paying the service charges.
  • There was a small backlog of repairs.
  • The positive thing was that the property is in good condition. It just required some of attention from our maintenance contractors to show the property is more pro-actively maintained.

Pembroke Property Management a property management company that manages blocks of flats throughout London, Kent and Sussex have tremendous success turning around blocks which are going into disrepair due to service charge arrears.

We prepared a budget and had it agreed with the directors of the new Right to Manage company for the block.  The budget highlights were as follows;

  • The service charge estimate for the current year is 28% lower that the previous year.
  • A contribution of £7,000 will be made into the reserve fund. A well managed block has a suitable reserve fund. We encouraged the leaseholders to agree to build up the reserve fund. It is these small things that make your investment stand out from the others.  It is one of the top ten questions asked by flat buyer’s solicitors.
  • An £700 saving made on the fire alarm maintenance contract
  • £1300 was saved on buildings insurance.
  • £1300 savings was made on gardening and cleaning.
  • If there is money left over towards the end of the year then it will be used to invest in LED bulbs to try to reduce the annual electricity bill of £3600.

Begin your search for a new property managing agent with us!

Call or send us an email today. Find out how our 5 star customer service has helped thousands of residents.

Get in touch

Related Case Studies