… that’s on top of a £26,950 fall in value after 11 years of ownership A family whose parents owned a one bedroom flat at Anchor’s 59-unit Cherry Trees site in Redcar, Cleveland, have been hit with a double whammy common in retirement leasehold. First, the flat for over-55s was bought for £79,950 in 2004 […]
Law Commission: Don’t ignore £318 ‘information packs’ that leaseholders have to pay
January 1, 2016 By
As well as exit fees, monopolising estate agency with exorbitant charges, sellers of retirement property also have to pay for ‘information packs’ to the property manager and the freeholder. Here, Alan Eadie, a long-standing supporter of Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation who is a leaseholder at Homepine House in Folkestone, tells the Law Commission to […]
Second Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation patron knighted: Arise Sir Ed Davey!
December 31, 2015 By
Warm congratulations to Ed Davey, the former LibDem MP and Energy Secretary – and patron of LKP – who was knighted today in the New Year honours. In spite of his cabinet commitments, Ed has been a huge help to LKP / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation and to all leaseholders. It was Ed who […]
Exit fees and retirement estate agency: You now have 29 days to act
December 31, 2015 By
In the second of our articles on the Law Commissions work on exit/transfer fees, we turn to their survey of some of retirement company web sites. Again the picture is very mixed in terms of how clear each company is in providing information about the fees that leaseholders face. As well as “exit” fees the […]
Exit fees: You have less than 30 days to provide your input
December 30, 2015 By
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation has published a number of articles about the Law Commission’s work on “exit”/transfer fees, and which sort of charges should be allowed going forward. The end of the public consultation is January 29. One of the problems faced by the project is that while those working in the retirement sector […]
From Tokyo, a victory against E&M and Peverel at Maltings Court
December 30, 2015 By
A leaseholder of a property at Maltings Court, Stratford-upon-Avon, has settled an action over wrongly demanded ground rent and his court costs … corresponding with E&M and Peverel / FirstPort from Tokyo. In spring 2011, Geoffrey Powell, and a number of other leaseholders at the 21-flat Maltings Court, received ground rent demands dating back to 2005 […]
Boughton Hall’s £950,000 freehold for sale and it pays out 22% a year …
December 22, 2015 By
(… unless Law Commission’s exit fee report ends this income stream) It is not often that you are made an offer that it would be simply madness to refuse, and it is a great shame for the elderly at Boughton Hall in Chester that it has come so late in their lives. The 80 residents […]
Come on, Shelter! Don’t demand more housing without addressing leasehold’s many, many defects …
December 18, 2015 By
For some years, LKP has been pleading with the homeless and housing charity Shelter to do more to support the problems faced by leaseholders. For example, the arbitrary loss of home and destitution faced by lease forfeiture should surely be a concern? Forfeiture means total loss of the asset, offering a cash windfall to landlords, […]
‘Our flat at McCarthy & Stone’s Buckingham Court has fallen in value £60,000 in 14 years’
December 10, 2015 By
(… and what does the Elderly Accommodation Counsel / HousingCare.org actually DO, apart from advertise these properties for sale?) By Ian Robinson If you require an example of how bad the resale value of the properties are in the retirement market you need look no further than the McCarthy and Stone built Buckingham Court. We […]
From movie stars to rock gods: the amazing Village People of Shenley Wood …
December 7, 2015 By
Hats off to the residents of the Shenley Wood Retirement Village for their brilliant 2016 calender. Residents have dressed up as rock gods and pop divas to produce a calendar for the Christmas season. For their 2015 calender the residents, aged 64 to 93, produced cover versions based on calendar, based on famous films. The […]
Packed Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation meeting at Westminster for leasehold reform
December 4, 2015 By
Two veteran MPs from rival parties demanded reform to residential leasehold at a packed Westminster meeting yesterday attended by 75 prominent figures in the sector. Sir Peter Bottomley (Conservative, Worthing West) and Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour, Poplar and Limehouse) jointly hosted the session having both urged amendment to the Housing Bill. The meeting was attended by […]
Kelston Gardens: should we buy?
November 30, 2015 By
A Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation reader has been in touch asking for information about Kelston Gardens, in Weston-super-Mare, where she is trying to buy a freehold bungalow but is now getting cold feet. She says: “There are lots of leasehold areas including strips of pathways outside the gardens. We cannot get to the bottom […]
