Factor Floats- What you Need to Know

When moving into a new property or taking on a new factor, there’s lots to learn about the costs behind property factoring, but it is not as confusing as you may think.

We take a look at some common questions that surround your ‘floating fund’ charge: what it is, what’s included within your charge and where the money goes.

What is it?

When a development appoints James Gibb as a factor or a new owner moves into one of our factored developments, a ‘float’ invoice is issued to the owner(s). A floating charge fund (commonly referred to as ‘The Float’) is a one-time payment/deposit of an agreed sum which allows James Gibb to pay for external services prior to issuing common charges to residents. The purpose of a float is to allow us to have sufficient finance to carry out urgent repairs or cover any immediate costs in advance of the normal regular bills being sent out.

How much is it?

To ensure complete accuracy of your charges, we must be ‘in funds’ in order to pay contractors, utilities, insurance etc, on your behalf, before we charge these out to you. To enable us to do this, the level of float will typically equate to at least an average quarter’s costs.

The split (or apportionment) of costs is normally determined by the deed of conditions. If there is no provision in the deed of conditions for some costs, the apportionment will be agreed between James Gibb Residential Factors and the Homeowners’ Association. Where no definition exists, the Tenements (Scotland) Act will apply, where relevant.

Do I get it back?

Floats are repaid to each homeowner after departure from the property and will appear as a credit on the final invoice.

The date of the final invoice is determined by the homeowner’s sale date. If the sale date falls at least two clear months prior to the next quarter end, the final invoice/ return of float will be produced shortly after the forthcoming quarter end. If the sale date falls less than two clear months prior to the next quarter end, the final invoice will be produced one full quarter after the next quarter end.

Further details are available in our Written Statement of Services

If you have any further questions on this topic, please contact the relevant office and one of our staff members will be happy to assist you.