00:00Broken ground lights, weeds and disrepair.
00:04Just some of the reasons that residents here on the Isle of Sheppey decided to do away
00:08with their estate management company, Firstport, from their development for good.
00:14Repairs, what has and hasn't been done, it was just getting worse.
00:17It went up and up and up from the jobs that needed doing and we were continually chasing
00:21them and then we just decided, we've had enough, we just don't want you anymore.
00:27Where Neil and his colleague Stuart became directors of the Residence Management Company
00:31that oversees maintenance of the Queens Borough Phase 1 development last year, they tried
00:37giving Firstport the benefit of the doubt.
00:39But it was only after ditching the company that they discovered they've been left in
00:43more than £18,000 of debt, essentially wiping out their reserve fund, though that initial
00:50figure has since been reduced by several thousand pounds.
00:54We were informed that there was no service charge debt with the account in February.
00:59That was unfounded in the end, works out about £12,000 to £13,000 of service charge debt,
01:06which now obviously prevents us with repair work moving forwards.
01:10We've got to prioritise and get urgent repairs or health and safety related repairs done now,
01:16as opposed to just cracking on through the estate.
01:19Firstport say that a number of homeowners did not make service charge payments, following
01:25the news that there was going to be a change of managing agent, resulting in a shortfall of
01:31funds and impacting the works that could be undertaken.
01:35Neil and Stuart now worry, with pressure on the reserve fund, whether they themselves will be able to
01:42undertake these repairs in a timely manner.
01:46We have no money because Firstport haven't put any money over.
01:50So apart from the people that pay monthly, you know, we have some funds coming in.
01:56Unfortunately, luckily we sold some land and we have a fund of about £9,000, which is literally
02:04keeping the estate going.
02:05Firstport say they're working through the handover process within the required timeframe.
02:11But with more money needed to plug the gap on the estate, difficult choices and potential
02:18service fee increases could be on the table.
02:22Olly Leader in Queensborough.
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