What should you ask about the service charge before you buy a flat?

Why isn't the advertised charge enough to go on?

A listing gives one figure for one year. It does not show whether the charge has been rising, which lines drove it, whether the reserve fund is building towards a large job, or whether works are already planned that will be billed after you buy.

Three years of documents answer those questions. One figure cannot.

Which documents should you ask for?

The last three years' service charge demands. What was asked of this flat, and when.

The budgets for the same years. The plan for each year, line by line.

The year-end accounts. What was actually spent, line by line, and what is held in the reserve fund. How to read the year-end accounts shows which parts matter.

What the reserve fund holds, and any plan behind it. Some developments have a long-term plan of works that sets each year's contribution.

Any notice of planned major works, and any one-off payment asked for or expected. A large one-off payment sets out what its paperwork should show.

The buildings insurance schedule: the cover, the premium and the excess.

A statement of the seller's account, showing the charge is paid up to date.

Can you ask before you make an offer?

Yes. The seller will have received most of these documents already and can send copies through the estate agent. Many buyers wait for their solicitor, but nothing stops you asking first, and the earlier you see them, the earlier you know what you are buying into.

What does your solicitor ask for, and when?

Once your offer is accepted, your solicitor usually asks, through the seller's solicitor, for the managing agent's pack of information about the flat, often called the management pack, with answers to standard questions about the lease and the charges. It usually covers the budget and accounts, the reserve fund, planned works, insurance and anything owed on the flat.

If the pack leaves a question open, ask your solicitor to put it to the managing agent before you exchange.

What should you look for?

The trend, line by line. Set the years side by side. A total that rose tells you little: check which lines rose, and whether the categories are the same each year. Why did your service charge go up? shows how to find the real change.

Spending against the budget. A line where the accounts come in well above the budget, year after year, is a question.

The reserve fund against what is coming. A small reserve with a roof or a lift due for replacement can mean a large one-off payment after you buy.

One-off costs. A large item in one year's accounts: what it was, and whether it will come back.

Your share. The accounts show the development's figures; your lease sets the share of them that is yours. How your share is set shows how to check it.

The management fee and the insurance. What the management fee covers separates it from what contractors are paid, and the insurance line shows what to check in the premium.

Which questions get useful answers?

Put them in writing, through your solicitor or the estate agent, one per point:

How has the service charge changed in each of the last three years, and why?

Are any major works planned, or under discussion?

What does the reserve fund hold, and what is it building towards?

Has a one-off payment been asked for, or discussed?

Is any charge in dispute, or anything owed on the flat?

Is the buildings insurance remarketed at renewal, and is any commission paid out of the premium?

Once the flat is yours, should you stop paying while you query a charge?

What does Synclair do?

Once the flat is yours, Synclair explains each line of your service charge that your documents show, and compares it with published figures where they exist. Add earlier years and it shows how each line has changed. Where your documents show it, Synclair can also point out a management fee above its budget, or more charged than was spent. Anything you report about the development stays on record with its date. When something is worth raising, Synclair can draft a letter for you to check and send in your own name, and you can then record the reply and the outcome.

Only owners pay for Synclair: never managers, insurers or suppliers.

One document is enough to start. It is free for three months, and the three months begin when your first analysis is ready — not when you sign up. There is one free period for each email address.

One document is enough to start: a budget, a charge demand, a statement or year-end accounts.