Coppen Estates. . . .Sheffield

[Jeffrey Shaw]

1 hour ago, FilJay* said:

Apologies, I meant JeffREy Shaw.  I have family in Sheffield who are

also my Attorneys and they will try to visit Coppen on my behalf. 

Our RTMC chairman now has an account number and sort code for 

Coppen and I will be happy to pay my Ground Rent by standing order but 

only if we can speak to or meet someone from Coppen Estates! 

Don't hold your breath on that one.

4 hours ago, Twitcher said:

 I would buy what you want Insurance can be shopped around for this is like going back a step to when mortgage providers insisted you had theirs. 

See my post #388. She can use her s.164 rights to escape at least the insurance covenant.

[topflat29]

Owners of leasehold houses can  insure their property  at a broker of their choice   by  serving  a   S164  notice every year to inform the freeholder.   

 

This  avoids having to  insure their  property through an insurer,   chosen   by the freeholder.

 

https://www.lease-advice.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/2018/04/uksi_20043097_en.pdf

[FilJay*]

16 hours ago, FilJay* said:

Apologies, I meant Jeffrey Shaw.  I have family in Sheffield who are

also my Attorneys and they will try to visit Coppen on my behalf. 

Our RTMC chairman now has an account number and sort code for 

Coppen and I will be happy to pay my Ground Rent by standing order but 

only if we can speak to or meet someone from Coppen Estates! 

The £5_00 I paid for my receipt is of course trivial but as

I understand the law ,if I don't ask Coppen to send it I 

will be "condoning " their actions. If my son is able to obtain it

when he calls it will be problem solved and we can get back to normal service. 

( have been here for 12 years )

 

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by FilJay*

[MTay]

It seems Coppen Estates is very inconsistent with how or if they respond to each household they deal with.

 

I purchased a leasehold house in 2017. I was made aware of the £45 charge, which we were told was a waiver if we did not go with Royal Sun Alliance as our insurer.

 

The house we bought wasn't liveable and required building work to be done before we moved in. For this reason RSA said they couldn't provide a quote, and the person I spoke to said they were sending a note there and then to Coppen Estates to notify them they could not quote for us. I also emailed Coppen Estates to say this, and wrote a letter with proof of other building insurance along with s.164 Notice. Reason I did this is one of our neighbours mentioned they had done it and had the £45 waiver removed. 

 

Coppen didn't get back to me, only time I heard from them again that year was when they approved our building works and took our payment of around £500 for that. 

 

Since then, every year, they have sent an invoice with a new £45 waiver along with our £5.50 ground rent. Every year, I show him proof of our insurance, quoting my original letter to him in 2017. I have copies of all the letters I sent Coppen, and now emails as they moved to that after Covid. I did seek advice from the solicitor that helped me with the purchase, and she suggested I write to Coppen, and give them 60 days to respond; and they did not respond.  I know they have received these letters because I hand delivered them to the address, and the cheques for ground rent included with each letter were cashed in. 

 

I haven't paid any of the £45 waivers, so it's now around £300. And Coppen are still yet to respond to any of my emails and letters. They don't chase me for the £45, but just simply add it to the next invoice. I'm finding it very immoral that they don't even bother to respond to my letters or email to explain why the charges are still there. 

 

I'm now at the stage that I will be seeking legal advice, because I can't let it get to a point where I may have to pay £1000+ in waiver charges just to be able to sell my house in the future. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by MTay

[geared]

I believe the S.164 notice needs to be served annually, so have you done this?  and kept a copy?  If so ignore the running total they are trying to keep, and just pay your £5.50 ground rent as before.

 

You should look to purchase the freehold reversion, prices vary but generally speaking you should be looking at £1500-£2000, that gets them off your back for good, and won't foul up any future sale of the property.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

3 hours ago, geared said:

I believe the S.164 notice needs to be served annually, so have you done this?  and kept a copy?  If so ignore the running total they are trying to keep, and just pay your £5.50 ground rent as before.

 

You should look to purchase the freehold reversion, prices vary but generally speaking you should be looking at £1500-£2000, that gets them off your back for good, and won't foul up any future sale of the property.

Yes. As regards s.164 Notices, beware that Coppen will reject any that's not entirely accurate in all respects.

Generally, get proper paid-for advice rather than tangling with Coppen unaided.

[FilJay*]

On 05/07/2022 at 14:01, FilJay* said:

Many thanks for your input, I have made our RTMC  aware of the comments/ advice from Jim Shaw and yourself. I should get an invoice from Coppen towards the end of December when my next ground rent is due to be paid. If I do get my receipt in the interim I will acknowledge it here on the Forum. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glad to report that my receipt from Coppen Estates has been delivered 

today. Problem solved.!!!

 

[Twitcher]

So... had the usual Invoice with the threat at the bottom

 

NO PERSONAL VISITORS WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT

 

And this year the request of an email and PHONE number highlighted, they obviously don't want to waste paper and postage cost any longer. I am not giving them the pleasure, if you can't pay by bank transfer without a fee they can stuff! I mean who pays by cheque these days?

 

So it also states on there...

Our approval is required in writing for any extensions, porches, garages, KITCHENS....

Is this right? Do I need their approval to install a new kitchen? in MY house?

 

There is no due by date on the invoice but the ground rent is charged 25 March, 25 September plus the usual rip off fee of £45 for the insurance approval, the likes of which they have never even looked at, they like to be paid upfront for their rent.

 

How much do you think they would charge to buy this lease after 2 years, not been in the property that long yet though.

 

My friend lost a sale due to these highwaymen....

[Jeffrey Shaw]

On 22/02/2023 at 10:47, Twitcher said:

How much do you think they would charge to buy this lease after 2 years, not been in the property that long yet though.

Read the thread.

If you've already bought the lease, you presumably mean 'buy the freehold reversion'.

Coppen will not sell it until you've owned for at least two years- and, then, only if you use the statutory procedures.

Don't waste time and effort in asking for anything sooner!

[Ghost922]

Hello, has anyone paid their annual fees recently? I've paid but unable to email for confirmation as their mailbox is full. Typical 🙄