Loan for a Management Company

General Discussion

Hi All,

Hoping to pick your brains. I am part of a flat management company (which owns the freehold) for a block of 26 x flats. The block itself now requires some major works in the form a new roof! There is no sink fund, nor enough money in the account to pay for the works (est at £60k) and the the leaseholders all plead poverty so trying to secure individual payment from each leaseholder, outside of ground rent and service charges is highly unlikley.

One of the tenants who was suffering with water ingress has involved the council (as 3 x repair attempts by our own appointed contracters did not yield any results!). The council have provided us with a quote for a complete roof replacement from their approved contractor and advised that on top of the quote, they will charge a 34% admin fee, plus a punitive interest charge - we have had no joy negotiating the fees down!

Therefore we are now looking to obatin our own quotes to avoid the admin fee and interest charges, but i have a few questions, that i am hoping someone can help me with, or at least point me in the right direction in terms of raising funds:

1. Can a Management Committee like ours obtain a loan for the works? I assume banks wouldnt lend, but are there other orgnisations that would?

2. Can we register for VAT to at least allow us to claim this back?

3. Does anyone have any other advice or suggestions for raising funds to allow us to pay for the work?

Appreciate any advice or guidance that anyone can come up with.

Many Thanks