Buying and Selling a house

Garden Wood is a private estate. Although the roads and footpaths are maintained by West Sussex County Council, the community areas are owned and maintained by Garden Wood Residents Company Limited. The company was set up for the sole purpose of maintaining the estate. All homeowners are allocated 10 shares in the company. The company is a non profit making organisation run by residents for residents. The details of this arrangement are set out in the deeds of all the houses on Garden Wood Estate.

To maintain the estate, an annual maintenance charge is payable. This charge is set by the directors of the company. The directors try to keep this charge to a minimum whilst still maintaining the estate to a reasonable standard.

When you sell a house on Garden Wood you should advise your solicitor and the buyer of the maintenance charges and the share certificate arrangement. Your solicitor will then apportion the charges and arrange the transfer of the shares. The maintenance charges are paid yearly in arrears and must be paid before the end of December. They are paid in arrears so an outgoing homeowner could owe up to the whole year's charges, depending on the time of year the sale is completed.

When you buy a house on Garden Wood you should be advised of the maintenance charges and shares via your solicitor. Even if the vendor has neglected to advise the solicitor, this should have been evident from the deeds. The vendor should ensure that the maintenance charges have been apportioned. Your solicitor should contact the Garden Wood Resident Company's solicitor to arrange the transfer of the shares into your name and the issue of a new share certificate. Note that homeowners who pay the maintenance charge by Direct Debit pay a slightly reduced charge which reflects the reduced cost to the company.

Garden Wood Resident Company's solicitor is Mayo Wynne Baxter.

Garden Wood Resident Company's official address and that of its solicitor is: Office 39, East Court, College Lane , East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3LT. The company can also be contacted on gardenwood16@gmail.com

The maintenance charges are mandatory as attested to in the deeds of all Garden Wood properties. All refusals to pay are pursued through the small claims court and will result in a county court judgement. The offender will have to pay court costs as well as the maintenance charges and will get a bad credit rating as a result of the county court judgement. The company regrets the need for such action but non- pursuance would result in increased charges to the vast majority who pay on time.

PLEASE NOTE WHEN YOU MOVE HOUSE DO NOT FORGET TO CANCEL YOUR MAINTENANCE STANDING ORDER

Updated 12 June 2017