Developer of apt complex in liquidation

[Madeleine27]

Hello,
I'm in the process of buying an apt and my solicior told me today that the developer never handed over the common areas to the management company. The developer is now in liquidation. This apartment block was completed in 1999.
Does the liquidator have the power to sign over the common areas to the management company? I'm nervous about going through with the sale now. What will it mean to me?

 

[JohnJay]

I'd be worried about that. As far as I know, if the developer is "struck off" (you can check this on the CRO website) then that company can not transfer the common areas to the management company. An application would have to be made to the courts to get the company re-instated and the common areas transfered over. Also check the state of the management company - are they trading ok? do they share directors with the orignal development company or are they fully independent?

Also check if the development company actually owned the site in the first place - I recently sold an apartment where the developer had gone out of business before the common areas were transfered over, but my solicitor found out that the developer never owned the land in the first place - it was still owned by an individual who was not bankrupt. He gave an undertaking (via his solictior) that he would transfer over the ownership in the future and the buyers solicitor was happy with this.

Your solicitor should be answering all these questions for you, if he/she is doing their job properly.

Having owned an apartment, having delt with a management company and having had difficulty selling due to issues like this, I would never buy a property in a development with a management company again. However, I am probably biased and I'm sure there are many sucessful developments with management companies out there