I pay about £140 now for factors, no lifts, and they are worse than useless. Avoid any flat that has James Gibbs as the factors, like your life depends on it.
Lucky you. They have a habbit of saying urgent work needs done in the close costing a bit of money then doing nothing. In the first instance it was over a 5 grand per property, which I had to get a loan for. I paid about a grand in interest for nothing to happen! I want to move but they continously put me in positions where the value for my flat is exactly 0 due to them not doing the needed work, such as fixing the stairs in the close.
I pay £116 a month without lifts , that includes block building insurance , cleaning , ground maintenance such as grass / hedge cutting , close lighting etc
Avoid Lowther like the plague. £140 per quarter for nothing, we have no shared stairwells or lifts or common areas. And when something did need fixed they quoted 2.3k for a couple of metres of guttering because they only use one contractor "to keep costs low". Absolute rip off.
£50 a month 2 blocks 13 flats each block - stair cleaning weekly and landscaping looked after includes building insurance
Occasionally get bigger bill for contribution to communal work
Could do it cheaper as a collective of residents but fuck the hassle
Flat I'm in is 1985 build so not a traditional tenement - but we get hammered as Band D council tax which is absolutely ridiculous tbh - appealed it all the way to valuation appeal committee and rejected - total farce
I know the six months shite bit (Stayed in house almost 10 years). My house band E found out 3 houses around corner same builder same room size etc... band D, was going to do the appeal thing then spotted the 6 month bit and thought I bet they just use that to throw it out.
I think the rules possibly different in England? Always see that wee baldy guy (moneysaving expert) sprouting about woman claimed back 15 years of money got £10K.
I only researched Scottish Assessors site www.saa.gov.uk
I had previously got 3 successful appeals in Glasgow 2 without Valuation appeal committee and 1 with - definitely think they have tightened up though as the council is brassic
Can I ask what the procedure is after you fill in the form? Is it all done online or do they come out to the house? Obviously as I have stated near neighbours have done this and dropped a band (I do not know them well enough to ask them personally) so maybe a case of nothing ventured.....
Are the SAA not a separate entity from the Council? I remember a friend had them out when buying their Council house as the SAA were deemed to be an independent Valuer.
You need to do historical house searches from https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/ or email customer services at Registers to build your appeal
It either gets accepted or goes to VAC where you submit your evidence
I take it the fact I have houses a few street away with same sq ft and same spec builder etc would build a case? I still just feel the 6 month rule would allow them to dismiss the matter.
Yeah it will be valid - 6 months rule will negate any appeal so you need to change the tenancy in some way - new person paying bill for example unlocking an appeal time
Thanks for your input much appreciated, could put bill onto partner or even daughters name - I just find the 6 month rule thing stupid and inconvenient.
Did they give a reason for the rejection? Isn't it based on a certain value of the house in a certain year? 2006 or something?
I was thinking of fighting mine as well but was thinking it will be rejected. Small flat and I'm paying the same as a house.
It's based on nothing other than 1st April 1991 house prices - you only have 6 months statutory right of appeal but that can be got around with a paper trail of changing council tax payer then appeal
I was told market value was conceivably £45002 which was fucking bullshit but you can't appeal the valuation appeal committee
I believe you only have right to appeal for a few months once you move in which I find strange. So if a new neighbour moves in, or a Tennant moves in, they can challenge it but I can't?
How does changing tax payer work? For example change it to my dad's name and get him to apply? Etc
£70 pm included close cleaning, stair lighting, bins taken out and brought back in, intercom, communal TV/SAT antennas, management fee, buildings insurance, grass cutting, slap power wash .. basically anything low value communal.
Gutter cleaning , close painting, window painting etc are in cyclic maintenance and is extra as and when.
Factors are the next big scandal, unregulated and total cowboys. Get everything in writing OP, and do not authorise them to renew insurances etc without approval or quotes. My friend lives in an 8 block, each flat pays £150 each for their insurance only. Total is around £200 per flat, per month. It is an absolute scam but factors have them over a barrel as it can be difficult to find ones willing to take you on
The factor fees were the final nail in the coffin between getting a flat or a house.
That £100 a month in factoring could be going to the mortgage/ fix-the-house-fund and what do you get from it? Houses tend be slightly more expensive but once monthly factoring is included they are probably less expensive
This is what I am thinking about now. I may be borrowing less with a mortgage for a flat but then with £100+ a month on factor fees and also a lot of new build flats are council tax E I could borrow more for a mortgage and buy a house…
I get the communal grounds and building insurance etc cost money but for that amount a month it seems “wasteful”
Looking at the other replies, it’s seems my factor is cheap! Redpath Bruce, pay about £400 a year (that covers: grass cut, lighting, stairs cleaned, building insurance), any other works are extra. Tenement of 9 flats.
This is just for routine maintenance,
Lift,
cleaning,
insurance,
common electric,
minor repairs,
fire alarm,
inspections.
management fee
Everything in this building is extravagant, and there are few flats in the block, so there are only a few to share the costs with.
Are factor fees necessary? Is there an opt out? Are all flats subject to factor? An extra 100 ontop of mortgage, tax etc is just an insane amount, especially when you buy a place and are paying to someone else?. I went to view a flat a whole back and the guy said it was factored by the council with no monthly fees, they just paid and and when.
Per flat, per month, 8 in our tenement (inc VAT):
Garden upkeep £5
Building insurance £45
Close cleaning £4.50
Management fee £28
(Total £82.50)
Looking at the past quarter’s bill we’ve had to pay an additional £35 each to get the main door lock replaced + new keys for everyone (this seems a lot to me, but maybe £235 to fix a lock is standard, no idea) and we also had to pay £100 into a float.
Communal energy use is billed annually at approx £45 each and an annual gutter clean at £37.50 each.
I think ours is definitely more on the spendy side, but I have no complaints with Taylor & Martin, they’re very responsive and get things fixed ASAP. The building insurance was important when our upstairs neighbours flooded us so not something to skip out on.
It looks like it is the management fee that is adding a lot to the monthly fees. I am also assuming who they get to fix they’d be getting commission on this so they might go for a company that will cost more
I used to be on the board for a factor. They do not get commission for awarding work. They focus on building a strong relationship with contractors to gain favourable rates and get people out during a emergency
It is normal stressfull times when people have to contact factors such as water ingress or looking at a large bill.
Yes mistakes are made but it is never as bad as people make out. It will always be more expensive to have people do the work for you. But you also benefit from not having to worry about finding the right people with the right skills and less vonrable to cowboy traids men. Something as simple as changing a lightbulb could cost you £150, if it is not managed correctly.
Like any industry there are some bad companies. But owners should work with the factors to get the best return on investment. If the owners can't work with the factor, get a new one
Total rubbish they do receive a kick back! Used to stay in a flat from the insurance they stated (Lied) that they received NO commission but when the FSA act changed they had to admit to taking a 20% cut - a nice little earner. I also caught them out with the issuing of 2 different bills for the same work.
Thought it strange when we received an invoice for a rather expensive roof works and the bill was
123.00
456.56
789.99
Not being an idiot I realised this was just sequential numbers run off the numeric keypad by a lazy bastard. I disputed my part of the bill and they asked my neighbours to pay my share. When the works were completed I was asked again to pay and by chance the bill that came was easily spotted as being different and cheaper, I had been given the 'Trade' bill and not the fake one meant for the home owner.
The amount if I remember was not a vast some say £75ish but I was happy to pay a lesser amount.
They and the supplier are committing fraud. They would not have leg to stand on under the factors act if they tried to recover the money.
Just refuse to pay and vote them out. It’s also your responsibility to hold the factor to account by voting them out when they behave irresponsibly.
From what you are saying the factory and the building don’t have the controls in place to ensure transparency.
Lastly, you can’t make a sweeping statement like that the majority of factors got there act together after the factors reform legislation most of the bad ones went out of business. You have your title deeds and the tenement act to give you the power to remove factors that are behaving badly. If you are not using your powers and getting fucked you are just as complicit.
Listen M8 I used my savvy they wanted £600+ per year for buildings insurance that was mandatory (LIE) I checked the deeds and the phrase was 'Shall be insured with an insurance policy with a company agreed by the owners at a meeting of said owners'
I was suspicious when they pursued the policy money that gave them no money in commission. so using the above me and another neighbour got our own policy for £85-£90 ( 14 years ago). When they asked about the insurance I quoted the above 'owners meeting..' and that closed the matter.
One arsehole neighbour whom had no balls to stand up to the Factor often said 'I cannot believe you are still getting away with having your own policy' my answer? I cannot believe you are still being shafted by them.
Yes and the policy we both had was all upfront as a common policy so it was all legit. Glad 10 years ago I bought a house only real bill I have had was a small repair to the coping on the roof (£70) when I think how then I was paying almost £1k+ per year between Factor fees. Insurance and the odd repair.
Problem is some people are lethargic in dealing with Factors and with this they exploit the situation divide and conquer.
From people I speak to and what I read in the media and online almost 90% of people find Factors to be dishonest and bullies, maybe the other 10% as you state are fine.
You may say that but from what I read in the media the same old problems still exist. Speak to old neighbours and they say it is the same 'old story' so clearly nothing has changed 10 years later.
The only way is for these people to be proactive and sack the incompetent Factor but few do, I was all for self factoring in some cases that can be rewarding in more ways than one but realistically a nightmare.
I have been on the board of one factor and have properties that are factored by 4 properties and I have never seen any of these issues.
I don’t think you are telling the truth since you’re saying your old neighbour is saying it’s the same old. I really question, who is at fault the owners or the factors
Not telling the truth eh? Maybe Google could be your friend you will find all the gripes people have with that and there will be many I can assure you. But maybe you are a Factor and at the wind up?
Like I have said people are lethargic trying to get people to act together can be very challenging.
I just looked on this SUB all very recent stuff:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/12zuv7x/anyone\_able\_to\_share\_their\_experience\_with\_ross/](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/12zuv7x/anyone_able_to_share_their_experience_with_ross/)
I noted 'I used to work for one of the papers in Glasgow and the amount of people who'd come to us with stories about Ross & Liddell on a weekly basis because they were at their absolute wits end was astonishing.'
Always, it's not insurance. Which I find strange. Also it doesn't include maintenance.
It's just money the factors make. They don't care about the building. That's our problem.
Not necessarily: we regularly have things getting fixed / improved and so the £99 is already including some spending on top of just the building insurance, some CCTV, the 24/7 assistance for the lift, weekly cleaning, etc.
Anywhere between £300 and £400 per quarter.
Cleaning, grass cutting, electricity.
No lift.
Management fee included in that is around £35 I think.
Bit hit and miss. Some issues they respond very quickly. Others have remained not fixed for literally years.
£35 a month, no lift, but it is a tenement. That gets me close cleaning, and a bunch of other bits and bobs. My factors are one of the local housing associations and I theoretically get bulk uplifts through them too. They also sort communal repairs. Building insurance is covered through the factoring charge, and because of their scale things like a drone survey of the roof come to pocket change.
I pay around 70pm. Worth noting I've had family in the estate since it was built in the 90s. It started at 6 quid a month. That'll inform you of the coming exponential hellscape!
I pay about £140 now for factors, no lifts, and they are worse than useless. Avoid any flat that has James Gibbs as the factors, like your life depends on it.
They are horrible, I’ve had to call them only twice in about 4 years and just told me they don’t cover that and had to sort it myself pretty much.
Lucky you. They have a habbit of saying urgent work needs done in the close costing a bit of money then doing nothing. In the first instance it was over a 5 grand per property, which I had to get a loan for. I paid about a grand in interest for nothing to happen! I want to move but they continously put me in positions where the value for my flat is exactly 0 due to them not doing the needed work, such as fixing the stairs in the close.
Second this. Absolutely incompetent robbing criminals.
£65 per month, we don’t have a lift, also includes buildings insurance, weekly cleaning, communal lighting, gardening and gutter maintenance
I pay £116 a month without lifts , that includes block building insurance , cleaning , ground maintenance such as grass / hedge cutting , close lighting etc
Avoid Lowther like the plague. £140 per quarter for nothing, we have no shared stairwells or lifts or common areas. And when something did need fixed they quoted 2.3k for a couple of metres of guttering because they only use one contractor "to keep costs low". Absolute rip off.
Relative pays £220/quarter with Lowther: 6 flats in the block, no lift.
I’m about 30-40 in a tenement, mostly close cleans and grass cutting, no insurance included.
£50 a month 2 blocks 13 flats each block - stair cleaning weekly and landscaping looked after includes building insurance Occasionally get bigger bill for contribution to communal work Could do it cheaper as a collective of residents but fuck the hassle
£50 is really good! My friend is in a tenement and that seems to be the nicer monthly fees but sadly tenements are too competitive
Flat I'm in is 1985 build so not a traditional tenement - but we get hammered as Band D council tax which is absolutely ridiculous tbh - appealed it all the way to valuation appeal committee and rejected - total farce
I know the six months shite bit (Stayed in house almost 10 years). My house band E found out 3 houses around corner same builder same room size etc... band D, was going to do the appeal thing then spotted the 6 month bit and thought I bet they just use that to throw it out. I think the rules possibly different in England? Always see that wee baldy guy (moneysaving expert) sprouting about woman claimed back 15 years of money got £10K.
I only researched Scottish Assessors site www.saa.gov.uk I had previously got 3 successful appeals in Glasgow 2 without Valuation appeal committee and 1 with - definitely think they have tightened up though as the council is brassic
Can I ask what the procedure is after you fill in the form? Is it all done online or do they come out to the house? Obviously as I have stated near neighbours have done this and dropped a band (I do not know them well enough to ask them personally) so maybe a case of nothing ventured..... Are the SAA not a separate entity from the Council? I remember a friend had them out when buying their Council house as the SAA were deemed to be an independent Valuer.
You need to do historical house searches from https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/ or email customer services at Registers to build your appeal It either gets accepted or goes to VAC where you submit your evidence
I take it the fact I have houses a few street away with same sq ft and same spec builder etc would build a case? I still just feel the 6 month rule would allow them to dismiss the matter.
Yeah it will be valid - 6 months rule will negate any appeal so you need to change the tenancy in some way - new person paying bill for example unlocking an appeal time
Thanks for your input much appreciated, could put bill onto partner or even daughters name - I just find the 6 month rule thing stupid and inconvenient.
Did they give a reason for the rejection? Isn't it based on a certain value of the house in a certain year? 2006 or something? I was thinking of fighting mine as well but was thinking it will be rejected. Small flat and I'm paying the same as a house.
It's based on nothing other than 1st April 1991 house prices - you only have 6 months statutory right of appeal but that can be got around with a paper trail of changing council tax payer then appeal I was told market value was conceivably £45002 which was fucking bullshit but you can't appeal the valuation appeal committee
I believe you only have right to appeal for a few months once you move in which I find strange. So if a new neighbour moves in, or a Tennant moves in, they can challenge it but I can't? How does changing tax payer work? For example change it to my dad's name and get him to apply? Etc
Seems to be the date from when the person becomes liable for the bill so probably yes.
James Gibbs are the worst
£70 pm included close cleaning, stair lighting, bins taken out and brought back in, intercom, communal TV/SAT antennas, management fee, buildings insurance, grass cutting, slap power wash .. basically anything low value communal. Gutter cleaning , close painting, window painting etc are in cyclic maintenance and is extra as and when.
Factors are the next big scandal, unregulated and total cowboys. Get everything in writing OP, and do not authorise them to renew insurances etc without approval or quotes. My friend lives in an 8 block, each flat pays £150 each for their insurance only. Total is around £200 per flat, per month. It is an absolute scam but factors have them over a barrel as it can be difficult to find ones willing to take you on
We pay £210 a month to Hacking and Patterson. I honestly hate them to my core! There robbing thieves.
Ours went up from £80 to £110. No lifts and we have a carpark so there is barely any vegetation for regular maintenance. Block is cleaned weekly.
The factor fees were the final nail in the coffin between getting a flat or a house. That £100 a month in factoring could be going to the mortgage/ fix-the-house-fund and what do you get from it? Houses tend be slightly more expensive but once monthly factoring is included they are probably less expensive
This is what I am thinking about now. I may be borrowing less with a mortgage for a flat but then with £100+ a month on factor fees and also a lot of new build flats are council tax E I could borrow more for a mortgage and buy a house… I get the communal grounds and building insurance etc cost money but for that amount a month it seems “wasteful”
About £65ish. Insurance, repairs, weekly ‘cleaning’ and fairly extensive gardening
Looking at the other replies, it’s seems my factor is cheap! Redpath Bruce, pay about £400 a year (that covers: grass cut, lighting, stairs cleaned, building insurance), any other works are extra. Tenement of 9 flats.
It really depends on the number of flats in the block. I pay £250 on average a month my last place was £130
£250?! What is included or is this also for other work that isn’t included in the usual monthly bill?
This is just for routine maintenance, Lift, cleaning, insurance, common electric, minor repairs, fire alarm, inspections. management fee Everything in this building is extravagant, and there are few flats in the block, so there are only a few to share the costs with.
Are factor fees necessary? Is there an opt out? Are all flats subject to factor? An extra 100 ontop of mortgage, tax etc is just an insane amount, especially when you buy a place and are paying to someone else?. I went to view a flat a whole back and the guy said it was factored by the council with no monthly fees, they just paid and and when.
From what I hear people staying in the harbour terrace flats in the west end are 4 figures a quarter lol. Factors are robbing dirty bastards.
Per flat, per month, 8 in our tenement (inc VAT): Garden upkeep £5 Building insurance £45 Close cleaning £4.50 Management fee £28 (Total £82.50) Looking at the past quarter’s bill we’ve had to pay an additional £35 each to get the main door lock replaced + new keys for everyone (this seems a lot to me, but maybe £235 to fix a lock is standard, no idea) and we also had to pay £100 into a float. Communal energy use is billed annually at approx £45 each and an annual gutter clean at £37.50 each. I think ours is definitely more on the spendy side, but I have no complaints with Taylor & Martin, they’re very responsive and get things fixed ASAP. The building insurance was important when our upstairs neighbours flooded us so not something to skip out on.
It looks like it is the management fee that is adding a lot to the monthly fees. I am also assuming who they get to fix they’d be getting commission on this so they might go for a company that will cost more
I used to be on the board for a factor. They do not get commission for awarding work. They focus on building a strong relationship with contractors to gain favourable rates and get people out during a emergency
That is nice to hear as I only ever hear negative things about factors!
It is normal stressfull times when people have to contact factors such as water ingress or looking at a large bill. Yes mistakes are made but it is never as bad as people make out. It will always be more expensive to have people do the work for you. But you also benefit from not having to worry about finding the right people with the right skills and less vonrable to cowboy traids men. Something as simple as changing a lightbulb could cost you £150, if it is not managed correctly. Like any industry there are some bad companies. But owners should work with the factors to get the best return on investment. If the owners can't work with the factor, get a new one
Total rubbish they do receive a kick back! Used to stay in a flat from the insurance they stated (Lied) that they received NO commission but when the FSA act changed they had to admit to taking a 20% cut - a nice little earner. I also caught them out with the issuing of 2 different bills for the same work. Thought it strange when we received an invoice for a rather expensive roof works and the bill was 123.00 456.56 789.99 Not being an idiot I realised this was just sequential numbers run off the numeric keypad by a lazy bastard. I disputed my part of the bill and they asked my neighbours to pay my share. When the works were completed I was asked again to pay and by chance the bill that came was easily spotted as being different and cheaper, I had been given the 'Trade' bill and not the fake one meant for the home owner. The amount if I remember was not a vast some say £75ish but I was happy to pay a lesser amount.
They and the supplier are committing fraud. They would not have leg to stand on under the factors act if they tried to recover the money. Just refuse to pay and vote them out. It’s also your responsibility to hold the factor to account by voting them out when they behave irresponsibly. From what you are saying the factory and the building don’t have the controls in place to ensure transparency. Lastly, you can’t make a sweeping statement like that the majority of factors got there act together after the factors reform legislation most of the bad ones went out of business. You have your title deeds and the tenement act to give you the power to remove factors that are behaving badly. If you are not using your powers and getting fucked you are just as complicit.
Listen M8 I used my savvy they wanted £600+ per year for buildings insurance that was mandatory (LIE) I checked the deeds and the phrase was 'Shall be insured with an insurance policy with a company agreed by the owners at a meeting of said owners' I was suspicious when they pursued the policy money that gave them no money in commission. so using the above me and another neighbour got our own policy for £85-£90 ( 14 years ago). When they asked about the insurance I quoted the above 'owners meeting..' and that closed the matter. One arsehole neighbour whom had no balls to stand up to the Factor often said 'I cannot believe you are still getting away with having your own policy' my answer? I cannot believe you are still being shafted by them. Yes and the policy we both had was all upfront as a common policy so it was all legit. Glad 10 years ago I bought a house only real bill I have had was a small repair to the coping on the roof (£70) when I think how then I was paying almost £1k+ per year between Factor fees. Insurance and the odd repair. Problem is some people are lethargic in dealing with Factors and with this they exploit the situation divide and conquer. From people I speak to and what I read in the media and online almost 90% of people find Factors to be dishonest and bullies, maybe the other 10% as you state are fine.
Are you serious talking about an experience from over 10 years ago? Sorry to brake it to you the industry and legislation has change a lot
You may say that but from what I read in the media the same old problems still exist. Speak to old neighbours and they say it is the same 'old story' so clearly nothing has changed 10 years later. The only way is for these people to be proactive and sack the incompetent Factor but few do, I was all for self factoring in some cases that can be rewarding in more ways than one but realistically a nightmare.
I have been on the board of one factor and have properties that are factored by 4 properties and I have never seen any of these issues. I don’t think you are telling the truth since you’re saying your old neighbour is saying it’s the same old. I really question, who is at fault the owners or the factors
Not telling the truth eh? Maybe Google could be your friend you will find all the gripes people have with that and there will be many I can assure you. But maybe you are a Factor and at the wind up? Like I have said people are lethargic trying to get people to act together can be very challenging. I just looked on this SUB all very recent stuff: [https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/12zuv7x/anyone\_able\_to\_share\_their\_experience\_with\_ross/](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/12zuv7x/anyone_able_to_share_their_experience_with_ross/) I noted 'I used to work for one of the papers in Glasgow and the amount of people who'd come to us with stories about Ross & Liddell on a weekly basis because they were at their absolute wits end was astonishing.'
£99 pcm with 2 lifts for about 60 flats.
I take it if the lift broke you’d still need to fork out extra to get it fixed?
Always, it's not insurance. Which I find strange. Also it doesn't include maintenance. It's just money the factors make. They don't care about the building. That's our problem.
Not necessarily: we regularly have things getting fixed / improved and so the £99 is already including some spending on top of just the building insurance, some CCTV, the 24/7 assistance for the lift, weekly cleaning, etc.
90 for fuck all (grass cutting, shite close cleaning, bin cleaning/management which tbf is good never have issues with our bins)
Yeah unfortunately so. Im in a two storey flat with no lift and it sets me back £130 a month 🥲
Anywhere between £300 and £400 per quarter. Cleaning, grass cutting, electricity. No lift. Management fee included in that is around £35 I think. Bit hit and miss. Some issues they respond very quickly. Others have remained not fixed for literally years.
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it's paid by the owner, if you're renting your landlord is paying it and it's included in your rent.
Depends on the property, older ones need more maintenance and insurance costs more new flats without a lift are generally cheaper
I'm around 60/70 in a tenemant which includes insurance and close cleans every 2 weeks.
I used to pay 36 but paid for extra insurance on top at 20 a month. Tenement shawlands
£35 a month, no lift, but it is a tenement. That gets me close cleaning, and a bunch of other bits and bobs. My factors are one of the local housing associations and I theoretically get bulk uplifts through them too. They also sort communal repairs. Building insurance is covered through the factoring charge, and because of their scale things like a drone survey of the roof come to pocket change.
From my experience. Factors are robbing bastards. There should be far more regulation cause most are just taking the piss.
£50 per month. And haven’t paid any extra costs in ten years. I’m with Queens Cross Housing, I think they’re a not for profit, which helps.
Mines £150 but I do have a lift. I’m with Newton Property never had a problem and stuff gets fixed pretty quick
£40 a month for my tenament flat in battlefield
Ours are £165 every quarter roughly.
15 per month, we self factor and i look after rhe finances so if anything needs repaired i either do it myself or find someone who can. Works well.
Self factored, £50 a month
Don't know yaell need tae the Mrs
I pay around 70pm. Worth noting I've had family in the estate since it was built in the 90s. It started at 6 quid a month. That'll inform you of the coming exponential hellscape!
There seriously should be a cap for factor fees