An inheritance that comes with … £10,000 in unpaid service charges and a possible forfeiture action
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 flat at Risingholme Court, Heathfield, in East Sussex.
It had belonged to his father Frederick, who bought it priced at £164,000 at the height of the boom on a shared equity scheme with McCarthy and Stone, which owns 30 per cent.
It was apparently a bargain price, with the original price supposedly £245,000 (which could, of course, have been a fantasy figure dreamed up by a salesman).
The flat at the 47-flat site has been on the market for more than a year and its price has been reduced from £185,00 to £155,000.
It is now with McCarthy and Stone’s re-sale service at £165,000, having been back on the market at an optimistic £187,000.
There are five one-bedroom flats for sale according to www.housingcare.org, ranging in price from £149,500 to £179,000.
Although the flat has been empty all this time, the service charge bills have been stacking up and now exceed £10,000.
Furthermore, an external refurbishment is on the cards requiring a further £23,000 from residents.
“I am on a fixed income and I just cannot afford to pay these charges,” says Mr Welch.
He has contacted Peverel, which has suggested a £1,000 a month repayment proposal. But that is more than Mr Welch can pay.
If he does not pay, Peverel has indicated that it will ask freeholder Fairhold to commence forfeiture proceedings.
It is likely that McCarthy and Stone would step in to prevent this asset being forfeited – to protect its 30 per cent – but the conditions attached to such an arrangement might prove onerous.
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation has advised Mr Welch to borrow the money from any respectable lender and a rate of interest of his choosing and make every effort to sell the flat.
“This was not my problem and I have never lived there,” says the frustrated academic. “I do not want to have anything to do with this.”
Ehem … to which a simple solution would be to give the flat to the freeholder, Fairchild (prop: Mr Tchenguiz), who will doubtless be grateful.
Mr Welch’s vexation is understandable. Retirement leasehold is a poisoned chalice legacy and no other residential property class has fallen in value to the same degree.
It is why Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation says do not buy this product.
Or, if you really have to, make sure you buy a re-sale property, not a new one, in a block that is self-managing, ideally owns the freehold, and it harmonious.
Otherwise, you might find yourself buying a headache … and passing one on.
If Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation readers have advice, please comment on this article
Related posts:
Heirs of empty retirement leasehold flat now face doubled council taxes … on top of plummeting re-sale value, on-going service charges and an exit fee if it ever does sell
Brilliant exposé of retirement leasehold on Channel Four Dispatches
Contact Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation before buying a leasehold retirement flat, says Daily Mail
Family ‘horrified’ at £30,000 price difference between new and resale Churchill Retirement flats
How ironic that Peverel Retirement have just held an open day at Woodland Mews, also in Heathfield, E Sussex. I bet none of the salesmen mentioned Risingholme Court?
I always say to the owners here, consider the service charge costs, don’t just accept everything that’s thrown at you by the Management. If your’re not bothered, think of your relatives who will one day be left to pick up the tab until the flat is sold. It seems, until apathy is banned, these words will always go in one ear and out the other.
Anna.
Why can’t the Management take the service charge arrears once the flat is sold, instead of continually pursuing the relatives? There would probably be interest incurred, but if a relative cannot pay, this seems a reasonable alternative. Is it ‘only’ Mcarthy & Stone/Peverel that have this ‘want it now’ attitude.
A Quotation ….
It is the same with all things. What starts out being sincere usually ends up being deceitful. What was simple in the beginning acquired monstrous proportions in the end.
Chuang Tzu
(3rd century BC)
A saying ….
“How do you get someone to trust you? You talk to them. How do you get them to keep trusting you? You keep talking to them. What happens if you stop talking to them? They stop trusting you, mainly because they assume you’ve got nothing good to say any more.”