Roz

I don't know where your friend got £15k from.

I lived in Forest Croft until 6 years ago and the only lump sum we were asked to pay was just before I left and was about £3k for external decoration and repairs. I lived there for over 30 years and this was the only time we were ever asked for a sum over and above the Service Charge.

Kinleigh were the managing agents for a number of years and were not the best. I understand they have now been replaced.

The leaseholders of F/C each own a portion of the Freehold and were issued new 999 year leases, and are in effect their own landlords. Its a matter of setting up the right sort of Company. The one big advantage is that you do have a say in how things are run and the long lease overcomes the problem of leases becoming shorter and affecting property values.