Echoes of Flavio's Ghost Dreaming

Was replying to Rhona when she commented about the service charge situation and thought it needed to be a wider post. At this point, somebody from the housing association emailed me to say 'don't pay that bill, it is in error' but the charge still appears in my account on their web site and I have received no official communication from them after the 'pay, or else'.

it is horrendously complicated as well. The management company for the freeholder bills the housing association -just as they bill the private flat owners- astronomical service charges that the housing association simply passes on to me uncontested. This has already happened a couple of times in the couple of years since this management company has been, well, managing, for lack of better word, but the amounts seem to increase almost exponentially. Some of the private owners tried to rebel and organise but many of the flats have been bought to rent them out and the owners don't seem to care, they charge their tenants for the increased amounts and this being a very good location in London, it seems like people will pay whatever they're asked to live here.

Even selling the flat, it being shared ownership, is enormously complicated and weighted against the 'shared ownership' leaseholder. And, if I survive all this, I've already been warned there is the issue of extending the leasehold once it reaches the point where there are 'only' 80 years left. I seriously don't recommend anyone to get into shared ownership, at this point. Traps within traps; as a help group says, it is not either shard nor ownership.

I think I just gave myself an ear-worm with that post title.