Bought a house with a known dispute over the drive

maninthestreet

silverchoice wrote: »

It's a unique house and we got a good deal to get it and were convinced it's only a minor dispute between the builder and the neighbour which is still our view.

So you knew about this before exchanging contracts??
What was you solicitor's view on this dispute?

DVardysShadow

silverchoice wrote: »

It's a unique house and we got a good deal to get it and were convinced it's only a minor dispute between the builder and the neighbour which is still our view.

Did you approach the neighbour before buying? Although it is a bold move to buy a house with a dispute, it is not necessarily wrong if you understand what you are getting into - but contact with the neighbour is fairly central to assessing the scale of the dispute.

poppysarah

So what are you here for?

Advice - too late for anyone to say don't buy it.

Has the dispute now fallen into your ownership. The house isn't the builder's anymore - it is yours. Therefore this is your problem.

I would print the evidence you have off google maps and keep it safe.

Your resale value is affected by this dispute.

Slinky

Am I right in thinking drives now need planning permission (could be wrong here). If you're planning on extending your drive to the gable wall could your neighbour object?

I know you say building a retaining wall could be expensive, it may be cheap by comparison with the difficulty in reselling your house in a few years time?

silverchoice

Slinky wrote: »

Am I right in thinking drives now need planning permission (could be wrong here). If you're planning on extending your drive to the gable wall could your neighbour object?

I know you say building a retaining wall could be expensive, it may be cheap by comparison with the difficulty in reselling your house in a few years time?

No planning permission necessary if you use permeable block paving or any other permeable surface.