There
has been an important development regarding the
renting of property on the Sycamores which
residents and their families should be aware of.
A
little background information on the subject -
it would appear that during the past 20 years or
perhaps even longer, renting an empty property
on the estate by owners has never been
encouraged even though it is actually allowed
under the lease (see below), in fact as far as
can be ascertained renting does not appear to
have ever happened – that is until recently.
Clause 5.7 of the Header Lease reads:
It’s
understandable that this could be a very
attractive solution for owners who having
properties standing empty while waiting for a
sale, eg., they could possibly cover the
continued services charges, and should the
property be empty for a considerable time,
enable them to recoup some of the costs relating
to the Sinking Fund which currently stands at
5%. There is a downside of course, however it
is not necessary to point them out here as folks
will have their own ideas of the pitfalls.
It’s
interesting to note that the sudden change by
the director and committee towards renting has
happened since the new managing agent took over
the running of the estate. It may be useful to
point out that HMP’s expertise actually lies in
rented accommodation – perhaps they have spotted
a potential opportunity to expand their
portfolio and have had some influence with
regard to this change,
Something to ponder!