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Management Company Charges

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  • 22-08-2019 3:04pm
    #1
    California Dreamer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,516 ✭✭✭


    Sold apartment - ok
    Asked property management company what outstanding fees were - ok
    Everything paid. Sale closed.

    2 months later, property management company get in touch to say more money is owed.

    So do I pay it quickly or drag it out or just tell them no, figures were sought after and paid and now you say I owe more?


Comments

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    #2
    Samuel T. Cogley
    Registered Users Posts: 10,684 ✭✭✭✭Samuel T. Cogley


    I'd be telling them to take a hike.


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    #3
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,084 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    Is the money owed and how much are we talking about?


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    #4
    California Dreamer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,516 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Dav010 wrote: »
    Is the money owed and how much are we talking about?

    They sent me a statement at closing and the balance of anything owed was paid.

    Sale was closed and now they are looking for about €800


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    #5
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,084 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    California Dreamer wrote: »
    They sent me a statement at closing and the balance of anything owed was paid.

    Sale was closed and now they are looking for about €800

    Do you owe it? In other words, was it a simple mistake and you do actually owe it, or are you disputing that you owe it?


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    #6
    California Dreamer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,516 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Dav010 wrote: »
    Do you owe it? In other words, was it a simple mistake and you do actually owe it, or are you disputing that you owe it?

    Well firstly I am disputing that I owe it. I am more annoyed that I asked for everything at closing, was given a statement. Solicitor paid all fees and now they come back and say they made a mistake you owe us more. So I am annoyed!


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    #7
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,084 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    California Dreamer wrote: »
    Well firstly I am disputing that I owe it. I am more annoyed that I asked for everything at closing, was given a statement. Solicitor paid all fees and now they come back and say they made a mistake you owe us more. So I am annoyed!

    The AGM that decides MC fees is usually early in the year and the invoices are sent out, so every unit owner knows how much they are. If you pay all up front, you get reimbursed on a pro rata baes after closing, if you pay by instalments, then you pay up to the day of closing.

    It should be very simple for you to calculate and dispute the amount, you will owe only up to the date of completion, anything after that is owed by the new owner. €800 is a lot, either they did their calculations wrong, or you knew when you got the closing statement that they had made a mistake.

    Sorry, just to clarify, are you disputing the amount or that you owe it at all?


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    #8
    California Dreamer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,516 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Dav010 wrote: »
    The AGM that decides MC fees is usually early in the year and the invoices are sent out, so every unit owner knows how much they are. If you pay all up front, you get reimbursed on a pro rata baes after closing, if you pay by instalments, then you pay up to the day of closing.

    It should be very simple for you to calculate and dispute the amount, you will owe only up to the date of completion, anything after that is owed by the new owner. €800 is a lot, either they did their calculations wrong, or you knew when you got the closing statement that they had made a mistake.

    Sorry, just to clarify, are you disputing the amount or that you owe it at all?

    Do you work for a PMC because it seems that no matter how many times I say it you still want me to 'clarify it' :confused:

    There is also no need to patronize me on the workings of fees and how they are paid. I know all this. I have had a rental properties for the best part of 20 years.


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    #9
    Baby01032012
    Registered Users Posts: 1,622 ✭✭✭Baby01032012


    If you no longer own the apartment you no longer have a liability for service charges owed on the apartment. Legally. Morally that’s a different question.


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    #10
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,084 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    Baby01032012 wrote: »
    If you no longer own the apartment you no longer have a liability for service charges owed on the apartment. Legally. Morally that’s a different question.

    There is no legal responsibility for charges incurred after the sale, but there is on those connected to the property while in the ops ownership. This is be set out in the contract when buying the property.

    Op, no offence meant.

    To answer your question, MCs are the property owners, yes I was a board director for 10 years. MC fees are the most contentious issue, unfortunately it does happen that owners can’t or won’t pay, and unfortunately conflict does arise sometimes when owners dispute what they owe at time of sale. The calculation of fees outstanding was not meant as a slight on you, it was meant as a simple illustration that you could refute what they are saying you owe. If you show them the calculation, they cannot argue that you owe any outstanding monies and they will stop bothering you.

    However, it is a double edged sword, they can equally apply the calculation to show you that you do actually owe money and that their response to your request for a closing balance was a simple mistake, money is actually owed.

    I’m sorry if that annoyed you, the logic was meant to aid you and stop the MC from claiming unpaid fees. I also wanted to find out if your certainty that you don’t owe anything is based solely on a possibly mistaken closing balance from the MC, or whether you are actually fully paid up, the fact that you ask in your op if you should pay it, drag it out or refuse is hardly indicative of someone who is certain they owe nothing.


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    #11
    Sunrise_Sunset
    Registered Users Posts: 1,211 ✭✭✭Sunrise_Sunset


    I am in the process of selling. We pay our MC fees on a monthly basis. Our solicitor will pay up until year end on our behalf and the the new buyer will reimburse.
    If they were to come back to me in a couple of months looking for more money, I don't think I'd pay it. It's their mistake that they are sending out a different statement after the sale has closed.

    We have also just paid our solicitor an "apportionment of service charge" for the MC fees until year end for the new property we are buying. There's no way I'd pay double fees as such, for both properties.


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    #12
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    Is there an error in their basis for asking for money if the unit is no longer yours? Is it simply that the invoice just needs to be sent to the new owners?

    What is the period the management fees are to cover... is it before, or after the sale took place?

    So, did you get a closing amount pro-rata based on a sale in January, and it actually closed in June... and it's covering that time period

    Or, is the time period from sale closed time to now, in which it's the new owners problem


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    #13
    The_Fitz
    Registered Users Posts: 330 ✭✭The_Fitz


    You can work out yourself whether you owe it or not.

    Do you?

    Whether you decide to pay what you owe is another matter.


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    #14
    Caranica
    Registered Users Posts: 10,032 ✭✭✭✭Caranica


    Is the alleged debt re fees or charges for documents related to the sale of the unit?


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