If you’ve bought a flat recently, you may have found yourself as a Director, owning a share of freehold. You’ll have done your research, so you’ll know that this comes with a number of benefits, not least giving you more control and a better stake in the management, maintenance, and lease of your property.
However, it may not feel like a bed of roses if it’s dawned on you just how much responsibility and admin can be involved.
It’s not that share of freehold administration is rocket science or brain surgery.
And it’s not that you’re not perfectly capable of looking up what you need to do and getting it done.
It’s that a lot can go wrong if you take your eye off the ball and miss an administration deadline or regulation update.
If you’re busy with your own life, work, family, other properties and commitments, with the best intentions in the world, this can happen.
So let’s just take a look at a few of the reasons why you shouldn’t handle this admin yourself, but trust a qualified and reliable external professional to do it instead.
1. time
This is the biggy really. After all, most of us lead pretty busy lives. And you will need to set aside sufficient time to both learn what you need to do admin-wise, and then do it in a timely fashion. Time-consuming tasks include;
- Presenting service charge accounts to leaseholders
- Filing all mandatory returns
- Keeping abreast and compliant with H&S legislation
- Registering the Company
- Reading and complying with the Constitution
- Attending meetings and keeping agendas and minutes
- Organising insurance
The list goes on! Ask yourself whether you genuinely have the time on an ongoing basis to do all of this.
2. Risk
Make no mistake, if you own a share of freehold, you have responsibility. If you fail to supply the right information at the right time to the right people, you could face fines.
If you do not comply with Health and Safety regulations and updates, and something happens, you could be financially responsible.
If you don’t have the right insurance in place and you need to claim, you could be in a tricky financial position.
You need to be sure you won’t accidently fail in your compliance of obligations, given the stress and expense it could involve.
3. Prevention
You may be happy initially to take on all the share of freehold admin but overwhelmed if a problem crops up or there’s something you miss. The last thing you need is to find yourself scrabbling around for the right professional to support you with legal advice.
By outsourcing the admin to a professional who is all over the detail and knows share of freehold inside out, you’ll be removing the stress of problems cropping up, because they’ll be anticipated and resolved before you know it.
Prevention is better than cure. Consider how much more relaxed you’ll feel, knowing your admin is all in safe and reliable hands.
4. Cost efficiency
If you own multiple properties, naturally the admin burden will increase accordingly. All the more reason to keep on top of all the share of freehold admin.
An outsourced share of freehold expert will maintain an organised system with all the key dates and requirements, so you’ll never miss a thing.
This means you’ll be able to focus on other aspects of property management requiring your attention without worrying about the detail and the risks of financial penalty.
You’ll also enjoy economies of scale, making the outsourced service more cost effective.
5. Confidence
We know from our clients that even if they have the time to take on the admin related to their share of freehold, often there’s a confidence issue due to a lack of knowledge. A professional who has this knowledge will have your back.
Over time, you will get to know what’s needed when, but at the beginning, it can be daunting. And there may be times when more complex situations arise beyond your level of expertise. This can leave you on the back foot, rushing around before deadlines instead of being calm, in control, and able to be proactive.
One of our clients said it best;
“All the communications I receive from VCS are short, simple e-mails, explaining exactly what needs to be done and by when. The benefit is I now feel back in control and less stressed because I have professional support in this area”.
Virtual Company Secretary services for property companies and owners can be a life saver for all the above reasons, especially if you’re new to it. Don’t let the benefits of share of freehold be negated by drowning in admin, worrying about your obligations, or at worst, getting something wrong and paying for it; either through penalties or needing urgent legal advice.
Outsourcing your share of freehold administration duties to a virtual company secretary is a sensible and cost effective decision. It will make your life easier by getting a lot of tasks ticked off the list by experts who won’t leave you exposed to any risks.
Ideal for;
- New Directors
- Directors with a lot of properties
- Directors finding themselves too busy or lacking the knowledge to handle all their legal obligations
Contact us now.