Who's to blame? (Mis-selling land with property)

DRP

Dan-Dan wrote: »

Who is to blame ?
Easy , the op , next question ?

Yep.

As others have posted: Caveat emptor

Prothet_of_Doom

The KEY mistake was made by the Woolwich Surveyer, who was clearly too lazy to actually work it out and did the valuation incorrectly.

My suggestion is that he/or she failed in their professional capacity, and SHOULD be held accountable. The House Gardens and Paddock are now worth £X less because at least 0.8 of a acre of paddock does not exist. How much is 0.8 of a acre of scrub land worth ? My parents have just put a similar plot up for sale which is worth about £5k without planning consent and £80K with.

Prothet_of_Doom

SternMusik wrote: »

There is no difference in value. Nothing material has changed about the plot.

If the Survey had come back with 1.1 acres, and definately NOT nearly 2 acres, would the OP have re-negotiated the price?

Honestly, I think he would.

SternMusik

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

If the Survey had come back with 1.1 acres, and definately NOT nearly 2 acres, would the OP have re-negotiated the price?

Honestly, I think he would.

But OP viewed the plot, and was happy with the space he got. It sounds more like a misunderstanding on the part of OP how big one acre actually is.

Imagine buying a car. The advert says the car is black. However the car is in fact dark blue. You view the car. You are happy with the colour. You sign a document confirming that the car is indeed black. You enjoy driving the car. Years later you want to sell it. Someone tells you the car is dark blue. Now you complain that it isn't black and that you'd have preferred a black car all along.

ging84

Personally i think you bought what you could see and got it, so what is the problem

although i can understand that possibly the amount of land on paper was a factor in your valuation of the property.

Speak to a decent solicitor, i believe there some case law on this exact issue which found the estate agents guilty of mis-selling under very similar circumstances

Compo103

You can measure length and width using the ruler button in Google Earth, and do your own calculation. If you upgrade to Google Earth Pro (either by buying, or maybe just using the trial) you can measure areas directly. Obviously for postage stamp gardens it might not be too accurate but for 1-2 acres perfectly alright. Seems to me like someone has made a mathmatical error - only too common.

Prothet_of_Doom

SternMusik wrote: »

But OP viewed the plot, and was happy with the space he got. It sounds more like a misunderstanding on the part of OP how big one acre actually is.

Imagine buying a car. The advert says the car is black. However the car is in fact dark blue. You view the car. You are happy with the colour. You sign a document confirming that the car is indeed black. You enjoy driving the car. Years later you want to sell it. Someone tells you the car is dark blue. Now you complain that it isn't black and that you'd have preferred a black car all along.

No. It's like paying an RAC inspector, to view a car, and write a report, saying it's got a carbon fibre bonnet, and it's a RS 500 Cosworth when actually the bonnet is Steel, but covered in a vinyl carbon look wrap, and it's a 1.6 L with a Cosworth badge. (Sticky Backed Plastic anyone ?) :rotfl:

AND you didn't notice cause you never go over 30 mph anyway. :T

And then finding out that i

AdrianC

SternMusik wrote: »

Imagine buying a car. The advert says the car is black. However the car is in fact dark blue. You view the car. You are happy with the colour. You sign a document confirming that the car is indeed black. You enjoy driving the car. Years later you want to sell it. Someone tells you the car is dark blue. Now you complain that it isn't black and that you'd have preferred a black car all along.

This seems to be the best analogy so far.

The OP inspected the property, and was happy with the actual size.
The OP's purchase solicitor confirmed the boundaries, and the OP was happy with the actual boundaries.
The OP was happy with the purchase price in reference to the actual plot purchased.
The OP's been living there for years, and has been happy with the actual size.

Now - just because there's a discrepancy between an irrelevant number on the original EA details and the new ones - the OP wants to blame somebody.

But... to what end?

What outcome or remedy is desired?
Make a buyer pay more?
Get the original vendor to return some of the purchase price?

SternMusik

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

No. It's like paying an RAC inspector, to view a car, and write a report, saying it's got a carbon fibre bonnet, and it's a RS 500 Cosworth when actually the bonnet is Steel, but covered in a vinyl carbon look wrap, and it's a 1.6 L with a Cosworth badge. (Sticky Backed Plastic anyone ?) :rotfl:

AND you didn't notice cause you never go over 30 mph anyway. :T

And then finding out that i

No, I disagree. The survey at the time didn't state the exact plot size. OP could have had the plot measured at extra cost. He didn't think it was necessary as he was happy with the size of the plot in relation to the price of the property. The plot size has never been an issue until now. OP knew exactly what he got for his money when he bought the property. There was no deception about plot size, it was there for him to see.

OPs problem is that a 1.1 acre plot doesn't sound as grand as a 2 acre plot. He is happy with the amount of land he's got.

roonaldo

PartTimePete wrote: »

I did see the land
It did meet my needs
I have lived here happily for 8 very odd years
Move on......I feel like I've had my pants pulled down on plot size, thinking that I'm buying one thing and getting something else. If I'd gone to a car dealer and 'bought' a 911 only to find later on that it only looked like a 911, underneath it was built on Lego running gear. I would feel, you would feel 'cheated'. No?

but you were happy in your lego 911 for 8 years!