The controversial FirstPort Retirement managing agent has been admitted into the Association of Residential Managing Agents FirstPort, formerly Peverel, was responsible for systematically cheating pensioners in retirement sites which resulted in an Office of Fair Trading ruling of bid rigging in December 2014. The scandal involved its subsidiary Cirrus competing for expensive electronic door entry […]
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 […]
Ex-Labour minister Sally Keeble to keep property managers honest
July 28, 2016 By
– looking forward to working to improve standards for leaseholders & practice in the sector — Sally Keeble (@Sally_Keeble) July 29, 2016 Former New Labour minister Sally Keeble is to be the new ARMA regulator, after former housing minister Rt Hon Keith Hill, also a minister in the Blair governments, quits in November. Sally Keeble […]
ARMA regulator’s sanctions against FirstPort ‘did not address seriousness of what took place’
June 28, 2016 By
The admonition delivered to FirstPort for attempting to sell off house managers’ flats has not satisfied complainant Alex Ellison. “I am, of course, pleased that you upheld my complaint and that you have imposed disciplinary sanctions on FirstPort,” she has written to the ARMA regulator Keith Hill. “… However, disciplinary sanctions alone do not seem to adequately […]
ARMA rules against FirstPort Retirement …
June 22, 2016 By
Humiliating criticism for the trouble property manager, but the path is now clear for it to apply for membership of the trade body The regulator of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) has admonished on two counts Peverel / FirstPort Retirement, which was applying to join the organisation. But the decision means the controversial […]
Regulator to rule on whether scandal-hit Peverel / FirstPort Retirement is fit to be a member of ARMA
March 3, 2016 By
FirstPort Retirement, formerly Peverel, should not be admitted to ARMA because it has an unaccounted-for portfolio of house managers’ flats and has a track record of misleading residents when trying to sell them. These were the arguments put on Monday to Keith Hill, a former New Labour housing minister, who is the regulator of ARMA […]
BBC told Charity Commission should stop dawdling over recognition of Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation
June 8, 2015 By
In a wide ranging BBC 5 Live Investigates programme on leasehold scandals – which can be heard here – Sir Peter Bottomley said the Charity Commission should recognise LKP’s application without further delays. He told interviewer Adrian Goldberg on May 24 (for which LKP reproduces the transcript below): “The Charity Commission need to register Leasehold […]
Michelle Banks quits property managers’ trade body ARMA
April 24, 2015 By
Michelle Banks, the ARMA chief executive, is to step down in July. The announcement to ARMA members comes from ARMA chairman Martin Perry. “ … sadly I have to announce that Michelle Banks will not be joining us in this next phase [of ARMA-Q] having taken the decision to join her husband in retirement. “Michelle […]
Stop keep asking who our members are, ARMA tells pensioner
March 17, 2015 By
Michael Hollands, an indefatigable letter-writer on retirement leasehold issues, has been told to stop writing to ARMA for to find out who are the current members of the trade body. The ARMA membership has been in a state of confusion since the January 1, the supposed deadline for application through the more rigorous ARMA-Q membership […]
20% of ARMA members ‘walk out over new ethical scheme’
March 3, 2015 By
… and if ARMA’s Twitter feed is to be believed, two-thirds of the membership has dropped out At least of a fifth of the membership of ARMA has ditched the trade association that on January 1 brought in more rigorous membership criteria. This is the figure reported by ARMA insiders, although many think the […]
Metcalfe Court overcomes 11th-hour frustrations to break free of Tchenguiz and Peverel
February 24, 2015 By
The long-running saga for right to manage at Metcalfe Court, in Romiley in Cheshire, has at last come to an end and the pensioner residents are now rid of the Tchenguiz-appointed Peverel / FirstPort management. On February 20, the management of the site passed to family-run Macclesfield firm Jones Associates, which is accredited to the […]
Re-energised LEASE annual conference 2015
February 10, 2015 By
A re-energised and confident Leasehold Advisory Service held its LEASE annual conference 2015 in central London last Wednesday. It was a gathering of some of the brightest – perhaps most socially engaged – of the players in the professional leasehold world: lawyers, surveyors, property tribunal judges, property managers. For the third time – and it […]
