Specialist Property Asset Management Limited

Homer House, 8 Homer Road,

Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3QQ

Tel: 0121 725 3620

www.specialistpm.com

 mm  2023

Addressee

Dear Mr xxxxxx & Mrs xxxxxxx

Albany Wood Management Company Ltd

Specialist Property Asset Management Limited have been appointed to manage the communal areas of Albany Wood.

We manage many housing developments for a variety of nationally known developers, investors and, also residents' management companies ranging in geographical area from Derbyshire, the Midlands, down to Wiltshire, London and around the Home Counties.

Welcome Pack

A welcome pack is enclosed with this letter detailing how we work, what you can expect from us and full contact details. This pack does contain important information and broadly reflects what is in your legal documentation. If you do have any queries that the information provided does not answer, the contact details for the asset management team and areas of responsibility are in the pack and we are always happy to help.

Handover to Management

When you purchased your property an apportionment of service charge was sent to us by the solicitors who acted for you to be applied to your account. You will need to check your completion statement to confirm the amount. This sum will 'sit' on your account and will not be used until the service charge starts incurring expenditure. Until the development is handed over to our management, the developer will be paying all of the running costs incurred in the management of the communal areas of the development.

When we are aware that we are likely to have handover, we will write to you and give you as much advance notice as possible.

Payment Details

Some homeowners like to budget and know what their monthly expenditure is going to be. Although your service charges will be due in accordance with your legal documentation which is normally twice per annum. Please contact our service charge team for more information - their contact details are in the pack.

Payment Details

When you receive an invoice from Specialist Property Asset Management, the bank account details to pay in to are:

Sort Code:

16-31-26

Account Number:

10832212

Account Name:

Specialist Property Asset Management Client Account

Bank:

Royal Bank of Scotland

I hope that the above information and the enclosed pack is useful but please do contact us if you have any queries.

Yours sincerely,

.......signed.....

Karen Mcintyre

Property Manager

E: propertymanagement@specialistpm.com

Management

Information

Freehold Properties

Updated 17/01/2023

---------------------------------

Introduction

75 years of property management experience has been harnessed to provide a managing agent service to our clients and their customers. At the heart of this business is a genuine desire to 'get it right' and serve our customers to the best of our ability.

We manage developments throughout England and our team of tried and tested industry professionals with a strong customer service focus manage many different types of developments from ultra-modern city blocks with concierge support to historical building conversions.

Our team are based in Solihull in the West Midlands, and cover Property Management, Finance and Administration. You will never be asked to call a call centre for help with a query. Our key to offering a consistent service is not to overload our property managers so they rarely leave us and the current team have been working together for several years.

The following is information which you may already be aware of and should answer the majority of your questions. Please keep it somewhere so that if necessary you can refer to it in the future. It is not exhaustive but broadly reflects what is in our legal transfer documentation... if there is any further information you need you are welcome to contact us.

What do residents want from their managing agent?

Expertise - Managing developments of freehold properties with communal areas is nothing like any other other type of property management. The legislation to be complied with on a day to day basis is significant and inexperienced property management can cause incalculable damage to a development. Our expertise covers all aspects of property management and also the legal aspect of residential management.

Accurate Systems - homeowners want clear, concise and accurate reporting and accounting. A robust approach to credit control is essential to the running of the development and its finances. It might not be universally popular, but it is a cornerstone of property management. Everyone living on the development has a vested interest their development looking nice because it enhances their own property value.

Flexibility - in property management priorities change quickly - we have to be responsive to changing situations. It is a question of being sensible and understanding our homeowners priorities - and reacting to them in a reasonable timescale.

Achievable sensible budgets - formulating a budget which is not going to be achieved at the end of the financial year is pointless. If this happens and there is a shortfall at the end of the financial year we will have to raise a supplementary bill. We must allow for inflation, we must allow for any unexpected incidents and we have to plan for the future. If there is play equipment on your development, this will eventually have to be replaced, road surfaces which have not been adopted by the local Council will have to eventually be replaced etc.

Track record - our staff have a track record of working with small, medium and large residential apartment blocks and housing developments either with housing developers, freeholders or residents management companies, residential lettings, estate management, large institutional investor landlords, housing associations and owner/occupiers. Each sector of homeowner has their own distinct needs and requirements.

Transparency - we will always do our best to deliver transparent budgets and easy to understand year end accounts.

Service charge accounts

Within six months of the end of the financial year specified in your transfer, we will have a statement of income and expenditure prepared by an independent accountant showing the actual costs of running the development compared to the service charge income.

We will always distribute the service charge accounts with a clear explanation for any variances to the budget.

At the end of the Financial Year, if there is an excess of expenditure over income, then an additional invoice may be raised (please see previous note). If there is a credit, then the individual owners will receive a credit to their account. There is no cash alternative.

Some transfers allow the development to accrue excess income over expenditure and not credit the individual leaseholders and the excess funds are transferred to the reserve fund for future large expenditure.

This will be specified in your transfer.

If you believe that you are going to sell your property before the end of the Financial Year or the period in which the service charge has been invoiced for, then this sum is still liable for payment. Your solicitors will then apportion the service charges at the point of sale.

If you receive a demand that shows a sum which is due before your purchase, then your solicitor should have apportioned this at the time of the purchase. Please address your queries to your solicitor.

Future provision (reserve or sinking fund)

It is essential on developments that a reserve fund is set up to cover the costs of long term repair and maintenance such as replacement of play equipment (if one is on your development), road resurfacing on areas which have not been adopted by the local Council etc. These costs can be high, so we have to accumulate the funds in advance. This protects your asset and avoids the very real possibility that at some point in the future that the homeowners living in the properties are charged unexpected expenses.

You will receive a statement of the balance of your development's reserve fund (including any interest accrued on the account) when you receive your annual service charge accounts. Contributions to the reserve fund are not refundable should you sell your property.

Please note that if the costs of any major repairs or replacement exceeds the sum in the reserve fund the additional costs are payable by the existing homeowners.

Payments of service charges can be made as follows:-

Direct to the development Bank Account via telephone or internet banking.

Our client account bank details are as follows:

Bank

Sort Code

Account

Number

RBS

16 31 26

10832212

Account Name

Specialist Property Asset Management Client Account

Please ensure that your account reference, address or name are on the payment. If we cannot allocate your payment because there are no details on the receipt then we cannot allocate it to your account and your account may show as being in arrears.

By debit card: Please call our Accounts team on 0121 725 3620

By credit card: Please call our Accounts team on 0121 725 3620

We are sorry but we are unable to accept cash or American Express and we are not able to accept a cheque drawn on an account other than that belonging to the homeowner. This is due to Money Laundering legislation.

Please let us know if you require a receipt.

Via the Development Portal

Arrears of service charges

If homeowners do not pay their service charges, then this means that there will not be enough money to deliver the services to the development and eventually the appearance of the development will deteriorate.

We do not have access to any overdraft facilities and if the funds are not available then works cannot take place. We therefore must have a credit control process in place. This protects everyone resident on the development.

If you have not settled the balance by seven days after the due date on the invoice., then we will write to you asking you to pay by return but one of the methods available to you. We are not legally obliged to send this letter, but we do understand that sometimes payment is forgotten. If you have arranged to pay by standing order in advance, then you should not receive this letter. If you do, then please let our Service Charge team know and we will investigate further.

If we do not hear from you or receive payment in full within a further seven days then we will write to you again, and there will be an administration charge of £50 plus VAT applied to your account.

At this point, if you telephone us to discuss the matter and you are having real difficulty in paying then we may, without prejudice to our client's position, be able to agree a temporary payment plan.

If, after a further seven days payment has not been received or we have not heard from you, then we will send you what is known as a final 'letter before action'. This is the last letter we will send to you before preparing the file to be sent to our client's solicitors for further action. We have to carry out extra work before the file is sent to our clients' solicitors and if we have to send one of these letters to you then there will be an administration charge of £100 plus VAT applied to your account.

Unfortunately, by the time that we are at this point of credit control we will not be in a position to negotiate any payment plan and only full settlement of the account and the administration charges will prevent further action.

If your file has been sent to our client solicitors please note that from this point we are not able to discuss the account and all communication must be with our client solicitors.

Once the file reaches our client solicitors then they may add their own fee for dealing with the file and court fees may also be charged.

Your mortgage lender may also be approached at this point for payment as the payment of service charges in accordance with your legal documentation. It may be a condition of your lenders conditions that you pay service charge.

Please do not leave it until you receive a final letter before action to contact us.

Landscape Maintenance

Generally the landscape maintenance management of any open space will have been specified on a housing development by the local council. Each development is different in terms of its requirements and we do have to abide by the original planning conditions imposed on the developer. It may be that some areas which look unsightly have been deliberately specified by the local council that they must be maintained like that. These areas include meadows, ecological mitigation areas, what are known as 'critter piles'.

Landscape maintenance visits will be placed on the development portal noticeboard. Below is a general landscape maintenance specification.

1. Lawns to be cut fortnightly from MARCH to NOVEMBER (inc) each visit and cuttings collected and removed from site.
2. Lawn edges to be trimmed fortnightly from MARCH to NOVEMBER (inc), cuttings to be collected and removed from site.
3. Meadow areas will be cut three times per year to encourage wildflower growth.
4. Hedges to be trimmed only outside of the breeding season if necessary.
5. Car parks to have all surfaces including gutters broom swept. All debris and weeds to be removed from site on each visit.
6. Drain gully covers to be lifted and surface debris removed once in APRIL and once in OCTOBER.
7. Fallen leaves and litter to be collected from all areas and removed from site on each visit.
8. Shrub beds and borders to be kept cultivated, turned over, and weed free, with any associated deadheading throughout the year, as required.
9. Rose and shrub pruning and shaping to be undertaken annually during the year as appropriate.
   Please note that the landscape maintenance contractor will not maintain any finger beds between car parking spaces if there is a vehicle parked which impedes access.
10. Trim back all plant growth overhanging paths/drives/accessways/car park spaces,
11. Spray Algaecidal moss & weed killer / treatment to all hard surfaces, twice a year. Once during April and once during August. Weeds will not be hand pulled.

Pumping Station

On most modern housing developments there may be a water pumping station which takes waste water from the individual properties to the mains sewer. If a pumping station breaks down it is usually because items have been put down sinks or toilets which should not be disposed of in this way. You may have seen the recent press reports of large fatbergs' in public sewers and although these are extreme examples of the issue, they do cause a very real threat to the water supply at any housing development.

Please do not put the following down sinks or toilets:-

Wet Wipes

Kitchen Roll

Cooking Fat/Oil

Nappies

Tampons

Condoms

All of these items bind together and form a solid mass which then blocks the pumping mechanism and causes the pump to fail. Engineers then have to be called out to clear the pump out and re-set it and this can take some time and it is an expensive process for the service charge and inconvenience for all residents.

The way that the legal documentation is formed is that any cost to the service charge for the removal of any blockages is divided up amongst all properties and any cost for this work can be significant.

Confidentiality

We are committed to protecting your right to confidentiality and privacy. This summary tells you how we hold your information.

We will keep your personal information sensitively and ensure that we comply with the General Data Protection Regulations where they apply.

We will follow these guidelines when handling your personal information:-

Storing personal information in secure filing cabinets Ensuring computer records are kept

securely

Only working with companies who will keep your information confidential

Destroying confidential information before discarding eg debit card payment slips

Carrying out conversations about private, confidential or contentious issues in private

We will not share your personal information unless:-

The law says we must, for example, the police, HM Revenue & Customs. You give us permission in writing to do so.

We can only discuss the account with the account holder/property owner and we may ask security questions to verify your identity. This is for your protection.

If you change your name we will require a copy of either your marriage certificate or deed poll.

Information we hold

We keep both manual and computer files on your property that includes the name on the transfer, the address whether at the development or an away address (if provided). This information helps us to deliver the services you need and carry out our job as the agent.

Please note that it is your responsibility to let us know if you change your address or if you intend to sub-let your property. This notification must be in writing.

Service delivery standards

We are committed to providing high standards of property management to all of our residents and clients alike.

Everyone's views are important to us as they will help shape our future service delivery on a development. We set out below what residents can expect from us when we deliver the services on behalf of the landlord of your development.

Communication with us

We will:-

Answer all telephone calls to our offices between the hours of 0900am and 1700pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)

Reply to any voicemail messages within three working days of receipt

Answer e-mails and letters within ten working days of receipt unless the matter is unusually complex. Please note that e-mails are not prioritised over posted correspondence.

Our obligations to you:

We will manage your development in accordance with the lease/transfer documentation, the law and good management practice.

You can expect:-

Regular and documented visits from an allocated Property Manager to your development.

Communal maintenance will be dealt with by only approved and insured contractors who have signed up to our Contractor Policy and have the necessary insurances and trades qualifications The issue of a budget for your development one month prior to the start of the financial year with a full explanation for the figures

The issue of independently certified service charge accounts within six months of the financial year end. If this is not possible then we will write and tell you why.

That the money you pay for your service charges will be held in a separate, ring-fenced account in accordance with the law and will only be used for the benefit of your development.

That we will always have the appropriate professional indemnity and fiduciary insurance cover in place.

Development portal

You do have access to a development information and payment portal specific to where you live. If you sublet your property your tenants will not have access to the portal as it will contain your service charge account

information.

On the portal you can pay your service charges online, view your statement of account, raise maintenance requests and there is a development specific noticeboard which gives regular updates on any repair issues that have arisen and general information regarding the development.

The portal is set so that your service charge payments can only be paid in accordance in full in advance as per your transfer documentation.

So that you can use this portal, we will need to have your e-mail address on file. If you could e-mail portal@specialistpm.com with the subject heading 'Portal Access' and your property address you will be sent an e-mail with a link to set up your account. If you have any problem accessing the portal please let us know and we will do what we can to help.

Play Area & Public Open Space

If there is a play area on the development then this is maintained and the costs recovered from the service charge.

In the early stages of any housing development, we do have to budget for the maintenance of the play equipment even if it is not installed. This is because the legal documentation tells us to. If there is no money spent in respect of this cost heading then this will be reflected in the year end accounts.

The play equipment and surrounding area is inspected regularly and its condition is documented. An annual ROSPA inspection also takes place. However, if you note any items which need repair, please let us know.

Although the play equipment is on a residential development we cannot prevent people from outside the development using the play equipment area.

Please do not leave children unsupervised whilst they are using the play equipment.

All play equipment is used at users own risk.

Please be considerate of any properties close to the play area in terms of noise.

No dogs are to be taken on to the play area.

Please ensure that any dogs are kept on a lead and not allowed to run free.

There may not be a dog waste disposal bin on the development. If you have any dog waste, please clear this up, take it home with you and dispose of it. Please do not leave 'poo bags' on any part of the development. If these have to be cleared up then it will be at a cost to the service charge.

Please take any litter home with you

On many new housing developments it will have been a condition of the original planning consent that the Public Open Space is open to and can be used by any person even if they do not live on the development.

There is nothing we can do to prevent non-residents entering the development and making use of the public open space or play equipment if it is in place.

Contact us

Service Charge

Areas of Responsibility:

E-mail:

Issuing invoices, credit control, financial control Servicecharge@specialistpm.com

Property Managers

Areas of Responsibility:

E-mail:

developments, management of maintenance requests

propertymanagement@specialistpm.com

Portal Management

E-mail:

Management of homeowner portal

portal@specialistpm.com

Main Telephone Number

0121 725 3620

Maintenance Press option 2 for Service Charge Team

Development Property Managers, day to day Management of

Press option 1 for Property Management Team or to report