UPDATE June 8: McCarthy and Stone has no ongoing relationships with Lloyds Bank It is a fantasy figure which Housing Minister Mark Prisk has already consigned to the bin: 10 Manchester sized cities over the next 20 years is required to house the ageing population. This nonsense comes from McCarthy and Stone, which is in […]
Archives for May 2013
We need ten new Manchesters to house elderly, says McCarthy and Stone. Fine, so long as you don’t build them
May 31, 2013 By
Poisoned chalice of a retirement leasehold inheritance
May 31, 2013 By
The inheritance of a retirement leasehold flat has proved a mixed blessing for one Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation reader: who now faces demands for £10,000 in unpaid service charges to Peverel with the dreaded F-word – forfeiture – also being mentioned. In March last year retired academic Michael Welch, 64, inherited his father’s one-bedroom […]
AgeUK to wind down retirement leasehold service
May 31, 2013 By
AgeUK is winding up its small department that looks into retirement leasehold affairs headed by Mark Spall. It is a bitter blow to retirement leaseholders, 300-350 of whom contacted the department last year seeking advice. Many leaseholders have been assisted by Spall and his team, and his mediation efforts have won back significant sums of […]
Fairhold holds secret ballot over in-house manager at ‘bullying’ retirement complex
May 29, 2013 By
Residents at a retirement development in Cheshire are in the midst of carrying out a second – secret – ballot over whether they wish to have a live-in house manager re-appointed. The vote has been insisted upon by freehold-owner Fairhold, part of the Tchenguiz Family Trust, even though the residents at Metcalfe Court, in Romiley, […]
Leasehold Advisory Service annual conference 2013 … where, this time, leaseholders are invited
May 24, 2013 By
What a difference a year makes. In 2012 LEASE, the Leasehold Advisory Service, held its “annual conference” in a Mayfair hotel charging £310 a head and the event was a blatant trade show for the vested interests in the leasehold sector. Leaseholders themselves – apart from an emotional gatecrasher, read here – were entirely absent. Yesterday, the […]
Peverel response to £70,000 fire safety overhaul at Homepine House
May 20, 2013 By
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation received the following email from a reader (name withheld), and Peverel’s explanation. It appears the site requires re-wiring: My mother has recently bought retirement flat in Homepine House, Folkestone. The managing agents, Peverel, have just sent out a Notice to All Residents setting out their intention to install fire alarms […]
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation campaigner seeks house manager’s job description
May 18, 2013 By
A “well known” Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation campaigner is seeking a house manager’s job description, presumably a Peverel one. Could anyone provide us with one? Absolute discretion guaranteed. sok@leaseholdknowledge.com
Tchenguiz / Peverel meltdown left my bungalow behind a ransom strip
May 17, 2013 By
It was not only thousands of retirement leasehold owners who were tossed in the swell after the Tchenguiz were arrested in March 2011 and Peverel went into administration: a small-scale builder was as well. Des Clark, a self-employed builder in Rochester, Kent, thought building a couple of freehold retirement bungalows on a site with access […]
Help! Is a second satellite dish one dish too many?
May 16, 2013 By
Can anyone assist this Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation reader? We are aware that satellite dishes can be a fraught subject – possibly even an income stream for the freeholder – but don’t have details. All assistance would be gratefully received. “I live in a block of 34 leasehold retirement apartments. By our own request […]
Is Peverel quietly up for sale again?
May 15, 2013 By
It’s a question worth asking, as its current owners venture capitalists Electra and Chamonix will get shot of it at the propitious moment. In February 2012 they bought Peverel, which had been part of the Tchenguiz empire from 2007 until it went into administration in March 2011. The deal involved a £62 million transaction supported […]
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation / LKP visitors hit 29,000 in April
May 14, 2013 By
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation / LKP websites hit fractionally under 29,000 visitors last month – the highest readership ever recorded by the sites. April 16 also saw the Leasehold Knowledge Partnerhip being named in the House of Commons by Sir Peter Bottomley. He also named and praised Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation’s Sebastian O’Kelly […]
The epic £67,000 victory at Oakland Court
May 14, 2013 By
The Oakland Court case demonstrates what pensioner leasehold residents can achieve if they can get organised, involve their MP (very important for free legal representation) … and have a bit of luck. Here John Fenwick, 65, who had worked in a legal practice, head the litigation to have returned £137,000 of notional rent paid for […]
