The provider of mover conveyancing services managed 8246 leasehold transactions in 2014, 24% of which were to first-time buyers.
Myhomemove has seen vast discrepancies between the amounts charged by management companies and landlords.
On their services, which include Notice of Transfer, Notice of Charge, Deed of Covenant, Stock Transfer and Application, leasehold clients can be charged anywhere from 10p to over £1000.
Doug Crawford, chief executive of myhomemove, said: “In this day and age it seems incredible that there is no industry standard for management companies and landlords, meaning they have carte blanche to charge leasehold home buyers whatever they want.
“Over a third of our leasehold clients are charged between £100 and £200 by landlords and management companies, while the really unfortunate ones must pay between £500 and £1000. These fees are in addition to their moving costs, ground rent and insurance.”
The number of buy-to-let investors increased by 19% last year, with a large proportion investing in leasehold properties such as flats and apartments, especially in booming areas such as London and the South East.
Crawford added: “We appreciate that services cost money, but when a client is left baffled as to the amount they must pay and why, it seems very unfair especially as they cannot purchase the property without paying these charges and they have no way of ‘shopping around’ for a better deal.”
