Access?

paddy's_mum

It sounds from your opening comments "I am buying" as though you still have time to escape from this trap. In your shoes, I'd be running away at top speed!

The man is so rabid that he fires off letters to MP's to try to enforce rights that don't exist and that he hasn't got? He's already tried a land-grab - do you think he's going to accept it meekly when you remove his fence from your ground?

The man's a bulldozer so unless you have extremely deep pockets and enjoy living with constant uncertainty ... I can guarantee that it won't be long, once you thwart him, before he starts on about your hedge blocking out his sunlight and the roots are damaging his paving slabs, your tree overhanging his ground and shedding leaves all over his lawn; the constant smell from your dustbin; you playing loud music at all hours; your fence is 1" out of true; your renovations are going on at all hours; your central heating exhaust is polluting his house .....

Blacksheep1979

Paddys mum may be right here - writing letters to parliament is never a good sign and a quick google will show you how long and costly some of these disputes can be. Even if you win a dispute there's no guarantee that you get costs awarded either.

missb123

Yeah it was a bit iffy when he brought out those letters, it seems he has real issues. i love the house and so far it has been a real struggle to get it due to major hassles with building warrants for the loft.
i am going to leave his gate, just put mine.. unlocked in front of it, surely he couldnt complain about that?? if he does he would never get access again.
I do have a bad feeling about this and spoke to my solicitor at the time, the greenhouse has to go and we have the right to remove the fence he positioned to close off the bit of our garden (it is a panel belonging to the original fence on my side) our solicitor said he doesnt have right of access and if we wanted to let him through with his bin that was fine but on no uncertain terms were we to sign anything, he explained it would de value our house and also set a precedence, what if really horrible neighbours moved in and had official right of way, i took on board what he said, if any crap starts i will block him off and if he moves or dies, the gate goes.
im sure im in for a bumpy ride, thats why im trying to balance up keeping him on good terms with my desire to have a bit of privacy!

princeofpounds

This guy sounds like a real potential neighbour from hell. Access issues, land appropriation and random ideas of rights and avenues of complaints..

Big Red Flags.

If you do want to buy this place, get the vendor to remove all problems like the border theft and blocking the gate. Don't take these on yourself or you will be the bad guy.

And personally, I wouldn't let the guy cross my garden. It is not your problem.

LadyinBlack_2

I think you should check you have legal cover on your house insurance just in case you need it in the future. If not, then you can add it on for a relatively small amount.

Also, please check with your solicitor about not putting anything in writing about the gate. I was advised I should put permission to use my drive in writing together with any conditions I wanted (no parking etc). My solicitor drafted it and stated very clearly in the letter that I could withdraw this permission at any time for any reason. This way my neighbour could use it on my terms and couldn't claim any rights for himself. I'd take your solicitor's advice on this.

missb123

Thankyou, that is a great idea, we are still in contact with our solicitor as the deal hasnt completed yet, i could get him to draft a letter stating that as we wish to be good neighbours, we will allow him to use the gate we put up to allow access once a week for his bin... thats it, not just to come and go as he pleases, also put in it that if the agreement breaks down then we will reinstate full boundary, i guess he could argue he has enjoyed the use of this for ages before i moved in. thats why i thought i would see how it panned out. our solicitor said just to fence it off, there is nothing he could do, not to even acknowledge the gate and his use of it... ie it doesnt exist. but i read that someone could claim easement if they could prove they use it and have done for years. thats why im keen to get rid of this greenhouse issue, before we start on thr fence/gate issue.
The seller is unaware of the issue because she bought the house at auction years ago, she has been up a few times, thats when he asked her to sign stuff and she told him to get lost. he told us this.
God i dont do things by half!!!!!

paddy's_mum

Right .. so you block his gate, he succeeds in getting an injunction forcing you to remove it and permit his free use of the disputed access (your garden) pending a full hearing.

He then dawdles about (I've been saving up the legal fees/survey costs Your Honour, and I'm just a poor old pensioner) and keeps this unresolved for three, four, five years? In the interval, about which you can do absolutely nothing since he is in the driving seat, as it were, you have lost every last scrap of privacy, the value of your property has plummeted and you can't even sell because of the dispute. You are trapped in a spiral of stress and unhappiness - would you then think that you "love the house"?

I'm really not trying to be a party-pooper but clearly this guy knows enough about land-grabbing, rights of access and easements to be making the right moves and noises - your comment "he has enjoyed the use of this for ages" would have me unable to sleep at night - but then again, I've once been on the highly expensive receiving end of a boundary dispute.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do, but I have to say that like prince of pounds, I too can see Big Red Flags.

missb123

Thankyou paddy's mum. that is why i am trying to let him have his bin access, he obv has a huge issue re it. our solicitor says he has no right of way of course he feels he has in some capacity and sound like the type to dig his heels in., if i put a gate on our side, he cant complain if it is unlocked, if he starts being a pest then i will lock it but allow access once a week, surely thats fair... personally i would like to have my garden to myself but i know as i cant afford a detatched i have to put up with neighbours.
Im a nice person and try to see the best in people, i will give him the benefit of the doubt... if he blows it, i stop being nice.
I have lost sleep over this but i live in rented just now and really do have the neighbours from hell, really! and not over some fence, lets say i have to wear industrial earplugs to get a sleep!!! makes work the next day interesting!

Running_Horse

I wouldn't even exchange until the greenhouse and gate were gone and all fencing put in its correct place. This man is going to cause you grief for years. In fact I wouldn't exchange at all. Life is too short to worry about aggressive nutters.

missb123

You are right, we have had such a run around with the loft issue (seller said she had building warrant, turns out she didnt, she has to put it right, 20k to fix it before our lawyer will let us complete) long story!!!!! the fence and greenhouse issue were kinda on the back burner but now we are close to completion it is starting to bug me.
Hmm, i will run it past my solicitor this week, thanks