If you’ve kept yourself up to date by reading the various posts on this website you’ll already be aware that the directors of Little Meadows (Cranleigh) Management Company Ltd (“LMC”) have become increasingly unhappy with our contracted managing agents, DJC Management Ltd, now renamed FirstPort Property Services No.10 Ltd (“FirstPort”).
Owners at Little Meadow who are also Members of LMC will have recently received through their letterboxes a circular letter. For the twenty-seven Aster Housing Association properties the housing association is the Member of LMC so we have also made sure that they are fully aware of what we’re doing.
Our initial plan for the way forward:
In addition to our Termination Notice for their management contract, effective early January 2024, FirstPort have just been formally advised of the immediate termination of their authority to invoice and collect charges and fees, so if you receive any communications from them please advise the directors straight away using the email address contact@littlemeadowcranleigh.co.uk or via the contact form on this website.
After a rather lengthy application process, LMC finally has its own bank account and in a few weeks’ time we will be issuing to Members a copy of the budget we have drawn up for the forthcoming financial year, together with an invoice for the first half-year 2023-24 service charges which will be payable directly to our new account (details will be provided on the invoice). This means that FirstPort will have no access to this money which will be completely under LMC’s control.
We have also asked Members to provide us with a contact email address and to confirm that the balance on their service charge account is what FirstPort says it is – excluding any unauthorised fees that may have been charged. Members have been asked to respond to these questions by email directly to contact@littlemeadowcranleigh.co.uk
Our ongoing plan:
Once LMC has some funds available to it from the charges you have paid, we expect to be in a position to start reviewing the maintenance arrangements, to get some of the reported outstanding repairs sorted and finally to move towards achieving our objective of getting the whole estate up to an acceptable standard and looking good.
With FirstPort’s contract ending early next year we will be appointing a new managing agent who is already lined up to take over the day-to-day running of Little Meadow, with LMC having ultimate control. We will advise everybody of their contact details once they have been officially appointed and the invoicing of future charges (so the charges due at the end of March 2024) will become their responsibility, although payments will continue to be safely directed to LMC’s own account.
Finally, LMC’s insurance policies fall due for renewal next May and since the current broker is a FirstPort group company they have already been advised that we will be taking our business elsewhere.
Other matters:
The saga of Bellway completing all outstanding work continues. We still have a long list of work we are expecting them to carry out, or otherwise to pay LMC a sum of money to organise the work ourselves – that would be the preferred solution for us since we will then be in a position to make sure everything is done fully and properly.
A group of LMC directors met with Bellway representatives at Little Meadow on 27th September and they were encouraged to think that the developer finally wants to close out the remaining work within a short timeframe. We shall see what happens!
The transfer of the common areas of land is barely moving forward and we are at a loss to know why this would be. We continue to press for some progress and have made enquiries with some local law firms with a view to having them check over the transfer documentation when we eventually get it.
The directors will continue to keep everybody informed of progress and as always we would welcome any comments or suggestions.