Homeground and their solicitors

[D P Dance]

My solicitor has discovered that the ground rent has not been paid on one of my investment properties which I am in the process of selling and that the company, Homeground have referred the matter to their solicitors, J B Leitch .

I telephoned their solicitor they could throw no light on the matter. Despite the fact that they had informed my solicitor that I was in default.

The reason I had not paid. Is that, despite Section 166 of CALRA 2002, no demand was received.

Homeground have recently purchased the ground rent from the head lease holder, a housing association.

 

Both firms have extremely poor ratings on Trust-pilot

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/jbleitch.co.uk

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.homegroundonline.com

 

and, unless you have an account with them, which , I do not, refuse to correspond by telephone or email.

 

I have complained to the SRA and the Housing Association and I have therefore written to them in very assertive term copying to both sets sots of solicitors.

 

My question is,

can I do anything more to give this company a poke in the eye?

 

I have informed them that if their precipitous action causes any delay in the sale I shall be seeking compensation. 

I have complained to the SRA and the Housing Association and am preparing a dossier for Action Fraud.

 

 

[D P Dance]

Update

The ground rent is not unpaid. It is collected monthly by the HA along with the service charge. Either the HA or Homaguard has FUBARed .

What are my chances of getting compensation for my time?

[stu007]

Hi

 

You really need to give use more details to go on to be able to advise you correctly as we need to know exactly what has went on from the start till you coming on here for advice. If you could do this in bullet point.

 

I assume this investment property is Leasehold (can you clarify this)

 

Can you clarify that the Factor/Management for that property at the time was the Housing Association who then either:

 

a) Sold the Factoring/Management side to Homaguard or

 

b) Contracted Homaguard to carry out the Factoring/Management on the Housing Association behalf. (

 

Could you please clarify the above  because if the Housing Association employed Homaguard to do the Factoring/Management on there behalf the Housing Association is then responsible for the actions of Homaguard and the buck stops with the Housing Association as they employed them to carry out this service)

 

Also please do not use abbreviations as what do you mean by FUBARed?

 

 

 

 

[D P Dance]

My OP has largely been overtaken by events.  

 

It s  a leasehpld investment property, the ground rent is paid monthly to the MA along with the service charge, it is up to date  The HA manage the property.  .  AFAIAA,   Homeground  have no involvement in managing my flat whatsoever   Their solicitors know that I have complained to the SRA are are frantically back peddling.

 

It  i s all a total mess and may have been started by my solicitor mistakenly contacting Homeground.  I am awaiting his. explanation.

 

The fact remains that Homeground told my solicitor  that my ground rent was outstanding, it was not, and that they had passed the matter to their solicitors, which apparently they did not..  I am firing off complaints and threats  of litigation like there was no tomorrow. 

 

[stu007]

HI

 

If the Housing Association are the Managing Agent for your property and Homeground are chasing for this supposed Ground Rent then who passed Homeguard your personal detail (your data) to chase this supposed Ground Rent owed that is the main issue that need clarified and the ones you need to chase this up with is your Managing Agent that Housing Association.

 

1. You need to write to the Housing Association (Managing Agent) and ask them specifically for clarification if they passed on your personal details (data) to Homeground to chase arrears of £xxxx for Ground Rent.

 

2. You need to write and ask the Housing Association if as the Managing Agent for your Property have they transferred or contracted that responsibility to Homeground for the Leasehold Properties and on what date and when were the Leaseholders notified of this and for copies of that correspondence.

 

3. You need to send a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Housing Association (Managing Agent) using this simple phrase 'ALL DATA' that covers whatever format they hold your data in whether it be emails, written, recorded calls etc. they then have 30 Calendar days to respond and that time limit only starts when they have acknowledged your request.

 

3. You write to Homeground and ask them for clarification as to who passed on your personal detail to them to chase you for arrears of Ground Rent of £xxxx and on what date.

 

4. You need to send a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Homeground using this simple phrase 'ALL DATA' that covers whatever format they hold your data in whether it be emails, written, recorded calls etc. they then have 30 Calendar days to respond and that time limit only starts when they have acknowledged your request.

 

you may already be aware but this is who Homeground are link: (have a good read of Homeground 'About Us' explains more of what they do)

Home | HomeGround

WWW.HOMEGROUNDONLINE.COM

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HomeGround is the easily accessible link between you and your landlord. We help you navigate your responsibilities as a homeowner.

 

This sound to me as if your Housing Association (Managing Agent) may have and do only say may have either transferred or contracted Homeground to do certain Managing of the Leasehold Properties on the Housing Association behalf and if this is the case then they should have consulted/notified the Leaseholders of this.

 

 

 

[D P Dance]

Thank you,  AN SRA  will be sent to Homeground  .  The MA have assured  that they have not  contracted out collection nt pf the ground rent to Homeground.

 

 

[dx100uk]

SAR not sra

 

dx

 

[stu007]

Hi

 

Please do as I mentioned in post#5

 

As something does not sit right if the Managing Agent (Housing Association) are stating they didn't contract Homeground to collect Ground Rent something smells and the only way to get to the bottom of it is doing as mentioned in post#5

 

Have you have a good read of the link I posted in post#5 about Homeground and what they do?

 

Please keep us updated

[D P Dance]

Thank you stu, all in hand.  I am waiting until the flat gets sold and then, if the action of the HA?Homeground has disadvantaged me, I shall consider my retaliation.  

[stu007]

Hi

 

I can understand you wanting to wait until the Flat gets sold but IMO I would not wait and would start doing what I mentioned in post#5.

bear in mind a Subject Access Request takes 30 Days from them acknowledging your SAR Request so better to action those things now rather than later just in case something does crop up in selling the Flat to do with this.

[D P Dance]

Further update

 

Although I have paid the ground rent to the HA, apparently they have not paid the freeholder, Homeground.  I have formally complained about the HA.

[D P Dance]

Further update.  

 

The buyer has now pulled out due to the delays

[stu007]

Hi

 

Has the Buyer pulled out due due to what you mention in post#11 that the Housing Association has failed to forward your Ground Rent payment to the Freeholder Homeground.

 

Has the Housing Association acknowledged your complaint on this matter?

 

Which Housing Association are you dealing with?

 

 

[D P Dance]

Yes to both.  It is Metropolitan Thames Valley, not highly rated on Trust Pilot.

 

Metropolitan Thames Valley is rated "Poor" with 2.1 / 5 on Trustpilot

UK.TRUSTPILOT.COM

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