Issues with high fees from SIMARC

[LMT1969]

Hi,

 

I'm currently in the process of developing the loft of my 3 bed semi-detached house into a bedroom. The dimensions are 17ft by 17ft. I sent the plans to SIMARC and now they are requesting a fee of £360 to view the plans and confirm if I can go ahead or not. The plans have no measurements on and are not complicated by any means.

 

Can anyone help with this and please advise what action to take next...they are a complete nightmare to deal with???

 

LMT1969:sad:

[citizenB]

I will flag your thread for site team assistance.

[citizenB]

Have moved your thread to the correct forum and site team are aware that you require some assistance.

[Steve__M]

The plans have no measurements on and are not complicated by any means.

 

I think that if the plans have no measurements on and are not complicated by any means, then your request will be turned down, surely!

 

Developments, particularly when adding a third storey, need to comply with a number of building regulations - design of the stair well, fire protection, electricity regulations, checking the status of the roof, checking the strength of the existing joists, checking the amount of insulation being installed, checking the roof height, checking against planning regulations...

[LMT1969]

I have no issues with regard to the works complying with building regs etc, the firm who will be carrying out the work are specialists in loft conversions, its the fees Simarc are asking to view the plans?

 

Is £360 reasonable to view plans for a basic loft conversion?

[LMT1969]

Hi

 

I pay ground rent to Simarc which is set at £7 per year. I will be converting the loft space into a bedroom which will be completed by a specialist company who deal with such matters. I was told by the builders that getting approval for the plans should be straight forward but Simarc are demanding £360 to view the plans and approve if they wish.

 

This seems excessive, any ideas on what action I could take?

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

You started a thread about this yesterday. I'll put this post with your others and leave a short term redirect on this forum.

 

My best, HB

[Steve__M]

I don't believe any company would rely on a contractor being a specialist loft converter. They have to look at the plans in detail presumably because it is their investment that is potentially harmed.

 

I have viewed a lot of houses with disastrous conversions - resulting in tiny bedrooms, inadequate heating, silly stair cases, not meeting fire regs. etc.

 

I also know the risks from my own experience: an attic room in my house (which was an original feature of the Victorian property) would cost me at least £2000 to bring up to spec with modern building standards.

 

What I would be asking is what are SIMACs parameters for looking at the paperwork and is your paperwork adequate to their needs (you said it had no measurements on it)?

 

And is this the only fee they will charge, or is this an initial fee and will there be more fees later?

 

Sorry not to be more positive - this is only my 2p worth with little knowledge of leasehold housing. But if I were leasing a house and someone wanted to put in a loft conversion, I'd be over the plans with a fine tooth comb, and I would also insist on inspecting the work.

[andydd]

What does the lease say about this ?

 

Most would say not to make alteration full stop or maybe not to without permission.

 

This isnt the usual leasehold stuff I deal with (which are service charges) but fees for permission to do something are quite common, its usuallly fees to sublet.

 

At the top of my head £360 doesnt seem too excessive, at the end of the day as a long-leaseholder you are just renting the building, it still does actually belong to the freeholder and he therefore would want to inspect very carefully any changes you propose to make and perhaps view plans, consult his own surbveyor, etc.

 

If you believe the amount is excessive you can apply to an LVT to ask them to determine if it is a reasonable amount, this might be worth doing if it were thousands but I think they may well decide that £360 is a reasonable cost, dont forget many professionals do charge fees of several hundred per hour.

 

It may be worth looking at LVT decisions here > http://www.lease-advice.org/lvtdecisions/tables.asp?table=2 and try searching to try and find similar cases. The Lease site can also be contacted for free advice.

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

Andy

[andydd]

Ok.. I had a quick search of Lease myself for loft conversions.

 

The first one was rather old..2005. > http://www.lease-advice.org/decisions/8587pdf/2001-3000/2058.pdf But as you can see from the first paragraph, the tribunal concluded that reasonable fees would be:-

 

DECISION

We determined that the following administration charges would be

payable by the Applicant to the Respondents for the latter's consideration

of their application for consent to the proposed loft conversion:-

a)

Surveyor's costs not to exceed £1,000 plus VAT and any

disbursements properly incurred; and

b)

Legal costs not to exceed £500 plus VAT and any disbursements

properly incurred; and

c)

The Respondents' administration costs of £250 plus VAT

 

Therefore if you are only asked to pay £360 in full that appears quite cheap !

 

Andy

[LMT1969]

Getting no where with this thread...

 

Does anybody know anything about buying the leasehold - is there a formula...how much ground rent you pay - how long the lease is, or do they just pluck a figure out of the air and empty your pockets of all your money?

 

Ground rent is £7 per year and the lease has about 900 years left!

[andydd]

Bit insulted that you think you are "getting nowhere", I believe I have posted some good advice!

 

That advice is that you are free to challange the cost at an LVT but from the examples I have seen, most freeholders would charge far more than £360 and that an LVT would be very likely to conclude that is a fair fee.

 

Anyway Ill ignore your comment and answer your further question.

 

You cant just buy the freehold, the freeholder IF he decides to sell must offer it to all the leaseholders first (I assume you are not the only one).

 

You CAN force the sale via an RTM or RTE, RTM = Right to manage, this means that your RTM company runs and managages the building and fees/costs but you dont 'own' the freehold (building/land), RTE is the same but you own the freehold.

 

RTM can be done if you follow the proper process and get more than 50% of leaseholders to agree, you then form a RTM company and jointly run/manage the building, you have to form a proper ltd compan with directors, etc

 

RTE is the same but there is a cost to purchase the freehold.

 

As for the cost of the freehold, this can be very confusing and is calculated using various figures, percentages, ground rent, years left, etc . Heres a calculator > http://www.freeholdcalculator.com/home.php but als its not easy to calculate and you really need to consult a professional who deals with such matters.

 

The main problem is that its not actually possible to just decide to 'buy' it, you can approach the FH and make an offer but can be a compliacted legal process.

 

Andy

[Steve__M]

You cant just buy the freehold, the freeholder IF he decides to sell must offer it to all the leaseholders first (I assume you are not the only one).

 

 

 

Andy,

 

The OP says he lives in a semi-detached house.

 

Would your above quote apply if it turns out the house is independent of other properties?

[andydd]

True, thanks for pointing that out. Freehold houses are rarer or homes that have a certain covenant that required permission and my above post wouldnt apply.

 

There had been a long running similar case in my local area, Southend where they were asked for huge sums for even the simplest modifications, small ramp outside for a wheelchair is one example. I note the local paper has a story that says the owners havnt bought the freehold but have effectively changed the covenant that requires permission to modify to be sought.

 

I admit though the world of individual freehold houses or houses that require permission to modify are outside my scope of knowledge.