Flying freehold over access way

alezzandro

Hi,
I have just seen a lovely house which, however, has a little "complication". This house and the next door's house are separated by a passage that is part of the neighbouring property.

The house we have seen has a flying freehold over this passage way AND the entrance door in the same passage way.

The passage is not open, but is closed by two doors (of which, of course, both neighbours have a key): one door goes to the main road, the other takes to the back gardens. The passage has been decorated by the lady next door as it were a normal corridor: carpet, a small table, photos on the walls, a cabinet, etc.

The style of the decorations is, in itself, really questionable, however, the current setting is slightly putting me off for other reasons:
1. Do they have the right to close the passage with a door, even if I am entitled to keep copies of the key?
2. Do I have any right on how the passage way should be kept, given that it is the only access to the house?
3. Would I have any right to "ask" not to put "that terrible cabinet" exactly in front of my future entrance door?
4. Do I have any right in terms of "minimum width of the passage" that should be kept free for me to move around?
5. What happens if I, or my guests, will happen to break something in this "private corridor", or if she decides to accuse me of "stealing" (or breaking) things that are kept there?

I know this sounds quite extreme (and I have been told by the current owner that the lady is very lovely). Nevertheless, I am concerned of what might happen in the future should a new, less polite owner buy the house next door.

Do you have any advice/suggestion?
Thanks,
Ale

shane42

i think its a risk , as you say she is nice what about the future, i would never buy a place with flying freehold or even a shared drive, its too much money to have such a comprimise it could be really problematic in the future, there will be many other properties for you

azkaban420

Hi there, my brother has a shared driveway and it's been a sticking point all the time he's been at his house (almost 20 years), even though his neighbours are lovely. He will never buy anything remotely shared again, saying it's just not worth the aggro. You have already raised a number of questions about the complications...personally I would walk away, but it's down to the individual at the end of the day.

Good luck whatever you decide

Az

puddy

we looked at a place about 18 months ago and i fell in love with it, however, later the EA found out that it had a flying freehold and i was told by them that it was therefore unmortgagble in this climate (obviously the climate has changed slightly since then), so if you need a mortgage it might not even be an issue to consider, as you might not get it

however, if you can mortgage it, i would then have to question the day to day complications of such a property, personally i wouldnt like it, i dont want to have to negotiate over issues like that

timmyt

alezzandro wrote: »

Hi,
I have just seen a lovely house which, however, has a little "complication". This house and the next door's house are separated by a passage that is part of the neighbouring property. common place

The house we have seen has a flying freehold over this passage way AND the entrance door in the same passage way.common place

The passage is not open, but is closed by two doors (of which, of course, both neighbours have a key): one door goes to the main road, the other takes to the back gardens. The passage has been decorated by the lady next door as it were a normal corridor: carpet, a small table, photos on the walls, a cabinet, etc. Bless, but then it is her property and it sounds like there is no obstruction

The style of the decorations is, in itself, really questionable, however, the current setting is slightly putting me off for other reasons:
1. Do they have the right to close the passage with a door, even if I am entitled to keep copies of the key? possibly not no, but would you not prefer the security of a door? would yopu spend legal money trying to stop her as she will have had permission by the current owner
2. Do I have any right on how the passage way should be kept, given that it is the only access to the house? not if it belongs to her
3. Would I have any right to "ask" not to put "that terrible cabinet" exactly in front of my future entrance door? yes if the deeds give you a right of access, unless it could be construced that the current owner gave her the right to do it somehow
4. Do I have any right in terms of "minimum width of the passage" that should be kept free for me to move around? there shoudl be nothing blocking the original width, though again, has the current owner varied it?
5. What happens if I, or my guests, will happen to break something in this "private corridor", or if she decides to accuse me of "stealing" (or breaking) things that are kept there? then you are fully liable criminally potentially too

I know this sounds quite extreme (and I have been told by the current owner that the lady is very lovely). Nevertheless, I am concerned of what might happen in the future should a new, less polite owner buy the house next door.

Do you have any advice/suggestion?
Thanks,
Ale

do appreciate that you are moving in, and the next door has established a home already. dont go marching in, as you will end up with a neighbour dispute, and that can impact on your resale potential of your own house. get the neighbour and the owner to meet with you.

alezzandro

timmyt wrote: »

do appreciate that you are moving in, and the next door has established a home already. dont go marching in, as you will end up with a neighbour dispute, and that can impact on your resale potential of your own house. get the neighbour and the owner to meet with you.

Hi Timmy,

Thanks for the reply and thanks to the others as well. It looks like I have to refer to the deeds and on possible variations by the previous owners. I suspect such a variation could also be based on a verbal agreement?

In general, it is not a dispute, nor even an argument, I am looking for (I'm too peaceful for that ). I just need to understand the situation as much as I can before deciding whether to buy or not (and at which price).

The real problem is not the current situation, but what I could face in the future if, say, someone else comes to live next door. What if the new owner "furnishes the common areas" excessively or starts misbehaving?

Cheers,
Ale