Six weeks in, still waiting on one reply
A leasehold flat sale is moving well except for one thing: the managing agent's pack. The seller's case handler requested it after the seller confirmed who the managing agent was, which took a while. The agent asked for a fee, which the seller had to pay, which took longer. Now the pack is 'being prepared'. The buyer's conveyancer asks every few days, and so does the estate agent.
When it finally arrives, it is missing the service charge accounts and the buildings insurance schedule, which means another request.
Why leasehold packs hold things up
The managing agent is a third party with its own timetable and fees, and the firm cannot make them go faster. But much of the delay sits on the firm's side of the fence: identifying the right agent (sometimes there is a freeholder, a head landlord and a managing agent), requesting the pack late, and waiting for the seller to pay.
Packs also come back in many formats, and checking them for completeness against what the buyer's side will ask takes time.
| Delay point | What causes it |
|---|---|
| Identifying who to ask | Freeholder, head landlord and managing agent not clear |
| Ordering the pack | Requested after other steps rather than at instruction |
| Paying the fee | Seller not told early, or payment route unclear |
| Waiting for the pack | No chaser schedule |
| Incomplete pack | Missing documents noticed only on review |
What the waiting costs
Leasehold sales often take longer than freehold ones, and the management pack is a common reason. Buyers lose patience, chains wobble, and case handlers spend time answering 'any news on the pack?' calls. A pack that comes back incomplete adds a second round of waiting.
Sellers are often surprised by the fee and the wait, and feel the firm should have warned them.
How we build leasehold pack tracking
- Identify early: at instruction, the tool reads the title register and the seller's leasehold information to list the landlord, any head landlord and the managing agent, and asks the seller to confirm.
- Order promptly: the pack request is prepared from your template with the property details and the documents your firm usually needs, for the case handler to send as soon as the seller confirms.
- Fee handling: the seller is told about the managing agent's fee early, with a way to pay it through the firm or directly, and the payment is tracked.
- Chase on a schedule: requests without a reply are chased on the intervals you set, with the case handler copied.
- Completeness check: when the pack arrives, it is checked against your list of expected documents (accounts, budgets, insurance, notices) and missing items are listed for a follow-up request.
- Status for others: the buyer's conveyancer and the agent can be told the pack's status in routine updates, with your approval.
What changes on leasehold files
Management packs are requested at the start of the file instead of weeks in. Sellers know about fees early. Chasers happen without someone remembering to send them. Incomplete packs are spotted the day they arrive. Everyone in the chain can see where the pack is.
The managing agent still sets their own pace, but the firm stops adding to the wait.
Does this describe your leasehold work?
- Management packs are ordered after other steps, not at instruction.
- Identifying the right managing agent takes time.
- Sellers are surprised by pack fees.
- Packs are chased from memory.
- Returned packs are often missing documents.