Before I buy, what do I ask about service charges?

I am considering buying an apartment but am clueless about management companies, charges and how the whole thing works. In particular, what questions should I ask about service charges before I buy?

By even preparing yourself at this stage shows you are not as clueless as you think. The people who have real problems are those who don't find out a thing about their apartment's service charges or management structures before they buy. The National Consumer Agency has an excellent information booklet for apartment owners which you should look at - see www.consumerconnect.ie.

It advises that the basic information you need to find out about service charges include: check with your solicitor how service charges have been divided between individual owners (this will be shown in your lease); find out how much your service charge will cost and ask for a detailed list of services that it covers; find out about service charges in similar developments (age, size, style) in the area; request a five-year projection of service charges and management fees; ask to see the most recent set of financial statements from the management company, if available; ask about the sinking fund (if it is low or doesn't exist owners will have to pay more when significant work has to be done); is there a history of withholding charges in the complex? By not paying service charges, residents damage the financial health of the management company and its effectiveness. This will badly affect the value of your investment.

What can we do about new wall in open-plan estate?

We live in an open-plan estate - there are no walls as such between gardens - built in the early 1990s. A new resident has self-built a high wall around their front garden with a gate at the end of their driveway. It looks very unsightly - the houses on either side (including mine) have no walls. Can anything be done?

The open-plan nature of your estate is, most likely, defined in the planning permission under which the estate was built. So there's a good chance your new neighbour is, perhaps through ignorance of the situation, contravening that planning permission. The planning office in your local authority should be able to advise you on this and how it will proceed in terms of enforcement, if that does prove to be the case. If it transpires that there is nothing in the planning permission for the original estate in reference to garden dividing walls, you may at least be able to appeal to the planning enforcers on the grounds of the walls' height.

You say the walls are "high" - front garden walls must not exceed 1.2 metres in height.

• Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.