23 November 2007 by chrisr

Le Domaine De Figuiere

Hi,

I was wondering whether anyone could advise me on a problem that I have with the company that is running the owners' syndicate on the Domaine de Figuiere leaseback in St. Maxime. The company (Gerimmo) have started to levy fairly high charges (c. €350 per quarter) for repairs to the development, although they are not providing any evidence of whether the work was necessary, what estimates were received for doing the work, what the invoices for the work were and the allocation of cost between apartment owners. In other words, all the things that you would expect if you did this yourself.

My question is how have other leaseback owners dealt with suspiciously high 'maintenance' charges. Should I just not pay it or demand proof that the work was carried out? What can they do if I don't pay?

Thanks,

Chris

Comments

jaward

23 November 2007

Hi Crisr,


Yes,i have also had these alarmingly high Co-Op fees.The first was for the last qtr (1/07/07) and again for qtr (1/10/07).Surley they are not for specific work,they are for exactly the same amount.(348.51).


I have emailed Gerimmo for an explanation,i will post when i get a reply.


As for not paying,i think you would legally be in a difficult situation.


Far better, in my opinion to challenge them,i would be aghast if 350 euros was our new quarterly charge for co-op fees.


Regards


John





chrisr

23 November 2007

To rcummings

As far as I understand the system, whilst the management company are responsible for on-site repairs, in reality these charges get pushed through to the owners (i.e. us).

To John

For your information, this is the reply we have received from Gerimmo. It would appear they have split the total charge between all the owners - is yours a 2-bed as well? Given that there are c. 78 apartments on site, this would give a total bill of around €27K - nice work if you can get it!

I will keep you posted as to what we do - I would anticipate a visit to a solicitor as this level of charge is unsustainable for me anyway.

Chris

Reply from Gerimmo

The charges are for repairs to:

- motorised controlled ventilation (VMC) works

- varied works

- swimming pool work

- gate work

jaward

24 November 2007

Rcummings


My lease states that i am responsible for the following


Major work that may need doing such as


Painting the Facade


Roof refurbishment


Building work on the Foundations,pipes and windows of the building.


Refurbishment of Swimming Pool


Also responsible for replacement of furniture if it no longer comforms to saftey regulations.


To Chrisr.


What about the 27k that they had in july.


I agree with you,this needs to be challenged otherwise the bills will keep coming.


After all it is only 2 years old,to be getting bills for major work is unacceptable.I thought there was a 10 year building gaurantee on all leasebacks.They should be claiming these repair bill from the Developer or there insurers.



Regards



John


jaward

28 November 2007

Seamus


This is a new build,now 2 years old.


In a previous post Chrisr said her reply from the management regarding the works to be carried out,included motorised control ventilation work,varied work,swimming pool work and gate work.


As Chrisr points out,78 appartment x 350 euros for 2 qtrs = 56,000 euros.It appears to be for minor work,just a lot of it.


I firmly beleive that we are sitting ducks for these extra charges,and appart from protesting,legally we cant do much about it.I can see bigger bills via these co-ops further down the line.What happens when there is major refurbishment or when the 10 year warranty runs out.


Regards


John



chrisr

28 November 2007

Seamus,

The only other shared facility other than the pool is the reception building, so very little really.

I agree with John about being 'sitting ducks' for these extra charges, although I have written back to Gerimmo (who manage the co-op) asking to see quotations and invoices for the work.

Given that I am sceptical whether they will produce the evidence that they have spent €53,000 on repairs, I would like to know what the legal position is. Will they have to sue us for the money if we don't pay or will they get onto Eurogroup and get them to deduct it from our rent? (the latter no doubt!)

This begs the next question, who are Gerimmo? I naively imagined this was a company working on our behalf, managing any on-site repairs and liasing with the developers if something major goes wrong under guarantee. Does anyone know how these companies get appointed? Are they connected to the head tenant , i.e. Eurogroup?

Regards,

Chris(topher)

chrisr

28 December 2007

Just to let you know, we have received a new invoice from Gerimmo which has the c. €350 maintenance charge taken off! I'm not sure how to interpret this, it could have been a mistake although I think as Seamus said, demanding to see proof of how our money has been spent and allocated between apartments may have changed the situation.

We were planing to hire a solicitor to challenge the bill if necessary, although this step no longer appears necessary.

Chris

jaward

31 December 2007

hi Chris,


Yes,i have also have had the 350 euros repair bill credited to my account.I faxed them(no email address) but didn't get a reply.It makes you wonder how competent the people running the co-op are.


Regards


John

chrisr

18 April 2008

Hi

The problems with this development seem to mount. Now Eurogroup are refusing to pay our rent as they have been caught up in a legal action that the syndic is taking out against the builders of the swimming pool, which has required remedial work after only 3 years.

Without going into the details, my question is does anyone have any experience of taking legal action against companies like Eurogroup for non-payment of rent. They are clearly in breach of the contract they signed with us, so in my view they should either be made to pay up or kicked off the development. I personally feel like changing the locks on the apartment until they pay the rent.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Chris

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