Will much change with the take-over from the usual service – service, that is, to the freeholders who employ FirstPort? And what – sacrebleau – is going on with the leaseholders at St David’s Square, on the Isle of Dogs, who are litigating in January? FirstPort, the biggest residential property manager in the UK, has […]
Pensioners face £150,000 fire safety bill at Cestrian Court, but McCarthy and Stone isn’t reponsible (nor is FirstPort)
March 3, 2021 By
Pensioners at Cestrian Court in Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, are looking at bills for £150,000 to put right historic build defects even though the site was only built by McCarthy and Stone in 2008. The building appears to have fire compartmentation defects in the loft. These were also cited as defects at Gibson Court, in Hinchley […]
Our ground rents are fair, says McCarthy and Stone (even though they go up to £600 and are for no service whatsoever)
August 2, 2017 By
DCLG Consultation Paper On Leasehold And Ground Rents – Statement – McCarthy & Stone See our response to the DCLG consultation paper on Leasehold and Ground Rents It is a fair bet that McCarthy and Stone will be making a strong submission to the DCLG into the leasehold houses and ground rent scandals firmly urging […]
FirstPort’s estate agency Retirement Homesearch sees rise in homes for sale
August 2, 2017 By
UK Retirement Property Market, Q1 2017 | FirstPort FirstPort, the UK’s leading retirement property specialist releases its latest 2017 quarterly review of the UK market and beyond. Retirement Homesearch, the estate agency of FirstPort, claims it is seeing a very small rise on last year for new instructions and current stock levels. Nick Freeth, Managing […]
FirstPort blamed over leak at Homemead House
January 6, 2017 By
FirstPort is being blamed for a burst water pipe in the communal lounge of Homemead House in Romsey. The Southern Daily Echo has taken up the story and the local MP Caroline Nokes has demanded that FirstPort “compensate for the residents affected as a matter of urgency”. The water burst flooded six ground floor flats […]
99% of FirstPort’s 3,800 service charge accounts are up to date
October 28, 2016 By
LKP / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation has not been backward in criticising Peverel / FirstPort over the years. However, it is reasonable and fair that the company’s achievement in getting on top of the service charge accounts is recognised. Here FirstPort CEO Nigel Howell (below right) explains that more than 99% of its service charge […]
Guardian reports Warner Court breaking free from FirstPort and Tchenguiz
October 15, 2016 By
The Guardian newspaper today reports the right to manage struggle at Warner Court in Camberley, Surrey, and its efforts to break free of the Tchenguiz / FirstPort management. There has been a cascade of retirement right to manage applications this summer. Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation reports the issues of Warner Court here Many retirement […]
Downy Court seeks sale of house manager’s flat as residents vote on live-out service
August 5, 2016 By
Residents at Downy Court in Poole are voting to end their live-in house manager service at the end of the month as a way of cutting service charges.
The flat is one of hundreds owned by FirstPort that was granted a lease in 2009, when Vincent Tchenguiz, who owns the freehold, also owned Peverel, which became FirstPort last year.
The residents have already received £6,200 in LED lighting and FirstPort will put £5,000 into the contingency fund.
A two-bedroom flat at Downy Court is offered for sale at £118,000, so if the residents vote to end the in-house manager’s service they will also be making an extremely generous gift to FirstPort.
Warner Court, in Berkshire, breaks free of Tchenguiz and FirstPort with right to manage
August 5, 2016 By
Another day, another retirement site – Warner Court – decides to break free of the Vincent Tchenguiz organisation and FirstPort to appoint its own management through right to manage. The RTM at Warner Court, in Sandhurst, Berkshire, takes over on September 15, which means another retirement site will almost certainly slip from FirstPort’s grasp. The […]
Brexit hits retirement housing sales
August 4, 2016 By
Just about every marketing department in the country has come up with Brexit “research” to grab headlines, and FirstPort’s Retirement Homesearch estate agency has joined in. It says that in the second quarter of 2016, new buyer registrations for retirement properties slipped by more than 20% from the first quarter to 4,744. This figure is […]
No porkies at Sandbanks, but is ending the in-house manager going to save money?
July 30, 2016 By
UPDATED August 1 2016. 20:17 Residents at Sandbanks at Hoylake, in the Wirral, are pondering the issue of whether to continue to have an in-house manager. It is a later McCarthy and Stone retirement site, completed in 2008 and one of the last freeholds to be sold off to Vincent Tchenguiz’s interests, in this case, Fairhold […]
Warner Court sky-high sublet costs when a relative goes into care
July 30, 2016 By
This is a recent inquiry to Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation from Warner Court, in Sandhurst, Berkshire: “My mother-in-law owns a flat and may have to go into a care home. “We were considering renting out the property but have been told by E & M [the Tchenguiz interests based in the British Virgin islands], […]
