It is evident from the number of enquires
we receive from new owners that, in many
instances, owners are confused by particular
terms laid down in their Title or Deed
of Conditions. The principal items that
appear to cause confusion are:
1. Common Insurance Policies
2. Advance Charge or Floats
To help owners understand more fully
these items, we have produced this circular
with question and answer illustrations.
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| COMMON INSURANCE
POLICIES |
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Q. Why are you insuring
my property?
A. Written into the
Deed of Conditions is a clause that makes
it a condition that, when you purchased
your property, you are required to contribute
to a Common Insurance Policy.
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Q. Why should there
be a Common Insurance Policy?
A. As you will appreciate,
many parts of your property may be common
to several owners, e.g. roof, outside
walls, mutual division walls, foundations
of the building, gutters, footpaths, stairs,
etc. Therefore, it is sensible to have
one Insurance Company that is common to
all the owners who have a mutual interest.
That way, if a claim has to be made, then
there is only one Insurance Company to
deal with and, secondly, all the owners
can rest assured that their neighbours
have insurance cover.
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Q. Are there any other
advantages to me in having a Common Insurance
Policy?
A. As major insurers
of residential property we are able to
negotiate on your behalf very favourabl
rates with the major Insurance Companies,
resulting in you paying a premium which,
in most instances, represents half or
less the normal rate charged for a Single
Domestic Building Policy.
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Q. There is nothing
in my Deed of Conditions about a Common
Insurance Policy. Is it possible for me
to obtain cover under a Common Insurance
Policy in order to receive the cheaper
premium?
A. Yes! In most cases
we can arrange to have your property transferred
to a Common Insurance Policy. For further
details just telephone our Property Management
Department who will be happy to discuss
the matter with you.
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| FLOAT AND LEVY INFORMATION |
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Q. Why does my Deed
of Conditions state I have to pay an Advance
Charge, and what is it for?
A. Simply speaking,
to enable us to pay for your Building
Insurance, cleaning of windows, internal
cleaning of common stairs and entrances,
ground maintenance, stair lighting, etc.
we require to hold enough funds to settle
accounts.
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Q. Do you charge everyone
the same?
A. No! The amount of Advance
Charge requested is based on estimates
received by us from the various contractors,
or companies, who are involved in maintaining
your property. Obviously, we will require
a greater fund to pay for a variety of
services, as against an Estate, where
we are only dealing with payments to a
Landscape Contractor.
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Q. How does the system work?
A. At specific times
of the year, we request from you a sum
of money estimated to cover either part
of, or the whole of, the following year’s
expenditure. At either the end of the
first half of the year, or the end of
your financial year, the date normally
specified being Whit Sunday (15th May)
or Martinmas (11th November), we will
balance your account and forward a Statement
showing the expenditure we have made on
your behalf, less the advance payments
you have made. In addition, we will request
the next advance payment, which will re-commence
the aforementioned procedure.
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Q. My Deed of Conditions
state I have to pay a Float, why?
A. A Float is only a
different method of funding the costs
of maintaining your property. Instead
of paying a charge every year or half
year, as with the Advance Charge System,
you make a one-off payment which we retain
until you sell your property. At the next
accounting period after the date of sale,
your account is balanced off and, once
your final account is paid, your
float is returned to you.
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We hope this information has been of
assistance, however, should you still
be unsure of any particular point, please
do not hesitate to contact us on Tel.
0141 221 9266 - Fax. 0141 226 5064
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