Mis-sold property with issues. Please advice.

eddddy

Hi aandumk

In general, you can only rely on pre-contract enquiries made between solicitors before exchange of contract - including the SPIF.

So if they misrepresented info in the SPIF (about neighbour disputes or work done on the property), in theory, you can claim damages from the vendor (And potentially report them to the Police for fraud. But I suspect the Police would need a lot of persuasion to get involved).

Realistically, it would be very difficult to claim for anything stated in the EAs details or verbally by the EA or vendor. If something was important (e.g. parking), you should have asked your solicitor to make a 'pre-contract enquiry' to confirm details (or check the deeds).

Was the survey a valuation survey done by the mortgage co? If so, the mortgage co is the surveyor's client, and you have no recourse. But if you instructed the surveyor, I guess you may have grounds to claim damages for negligence.

aandumk

Parking queries, SPIF nothing disclosed any of these issues.

Thank you all for the fast replies. I more or less understand where we stand.

1. Somehow talk to the neighbors to resolve the parking situation. If not leave it as is and learn to get on with life. Maybe sell the house after a few years if the problem is unbearable.

2. Complain to the EA at least using their internal procedures about:
a. Mis-leading advertisements.
b. Mis-leading statements on the state of repairs.

3. Start saving money for all the repairs.

davidmcn

aandumk wrote: »

Did download the title register online but it just showed the boundaries including the shared drive as belonging to the house.

So as that seems contrary to the EA's statement, why not stop and check the parking position at that stage? I would say it's rather unusual for a purchaser not to check the title of the property they're buying. Did you not instruct a solicitor?

TBagpuss

You may have a claim against the sellers (not the neighbour) for failing to disclose the dispute with the neighbour. There is a specific question on the PIF which asks about neighbour disputes and if they lied then this is actionable.

If successful, you would be entitled to claim damages - I would recommend that you discuss the issue with your solicitor before you speak to the neighbour, to ensure that you do't make matters worse.

b. Unless you have something in writing AND the seller is prepared to state that they explicitly told the agents there was only one space, then you have no chance. The solicitor only knows what is on the documents, and will have asked you to check that what these showed was what you believed you were buying. Unless you asked them to spcifically confirm this, and they failed to do so, you have no complaint against them on this point. You can complain to the agents about misrepresentation but it is difficult to prove, unless the statement about there being two spaces was in the particualrs or was confirmed to you, by them, in writing.

c. how / when did you ask? If this was in formal written enquiries through your solicitor or on the property information form, and the sellers lied, then you may be able to claim the cost of the repairs from them,. If it was simply a verbal assurance, then you have no come back.

d. part of owning a house.

moneyistooshorttomention

Am wondering whether you could clamp the neighbours car when it is illicitly parking on your drive? Or possibly park your car blocking their access to get out of the drive?

bmunky7

You mention the dispute the previous owners had with the neighbours and that the neighbours are parking on a shared drive - but is this causing you an issue? I understand you wanted 2 spaces but you still have one. The neighbour has 2 cars and parks one on their space and one on the shared drive. Do you want to park a 2nd car on the shared drive, or is their car blocking your space / access? Given the history the best you could probably do is accept that they will park there and work around that. They presumably won't take kindly to the new kid on the block telling them where to park.

melb

why should anyone have to put up with some bully deciding that they will park where they want whether or not it inconveniences anyone else? presumably if all the householders along the street took the same attitude there would be chaos. Estate agents will say anything to sell a house. surveyors put in minimum effort and take no responsibility for what they put in their surveys - they do not appear to be accountable. Vendors will lie through their teeth to sell their problem property. So all in all it is a case of caveat emptor but really shouldn't as that is why we pay solicitors to deal with the purchase.

C_Mababejive

Park where your neighbour parks and do some driveway blocking yourself.

tom9980

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Am wondering whether you could clamp the neighbours car when it is illicitly parking on your drive? Or possibly park your car blocking their access to get out of the drive?

Clamping is illegal.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Park where your neighbour parks and do some driveway blocking yourself.

If the neighbour has a right to use the drive way for access then blocking them in means they can call the police and have your vehicle towed.

AdrianC

aandumk wrote: »

There is a shared driveway which as per the title deeds, belongs to the house but is shared with the houses on either sides. The other parties have rights to walk, drive over (but not park) it at all times.

a. The seller was in an ugly dispute with the neighbours on the right. Neighbours had two cars but parking space for only one and were leaving the other parked on the shared drive, which the seller was objecting to. There were police, solicitors involved etc. We were not informed about this at all. The neighbours have now bought an even bigger car and are leaving it on the drive! We dont want to upset them by starting a dispute all over again!

aandumk wrote: »

(a) Did you ask about disputes? What did the sellers say in response?

Nothing. The SPIF was just NA for everything.

So you _may_ have a misrepresentation case against the vendor. You need to ask yourself what you hope to achieve by pursuing it, what it'll cost you, and whether winning it will resolve your issue.

b. The property was advertised with two parking spaces but we have discovered it has only one. The other space is part of the shared drive. When we viewed the house the Estate Agent explained in detail about the two parkings. I think the EA mis-sold the property by advertising it with two spaces. Can we complain about this?

Your own research showed, before exchange, that this "second parking space" didn't exist. If it was an issue, you could/should have pulled out at that stage.

c. The pitched garage roof is leaking badly on one side and the seller has messed up that entire elevation ( the whole elevation is visible only from the neighbours garden) by pouring tar/bitumen paint and plastering cement with his fingers! We specifically asked about the state of the property including repairs that had been carried out to any of the roofs but the seller didn't disclose anything. The sale of the house had fallen through a few times because of the issue with the roof.

Presumably once their surveys highlighted the problems... Did you ask the EA whether there'd been problems with previous sales? What did they say?

The cost of fixing the roof has been quoted between £1200 and £1500.

Is that all? Can't be THAT serious, then.

(c) What did your survey say?

Basic. So said nothing.

And that's why there's more comprehensive surveys available... You took a gamble, to save money, but it didn't pay off.

Sorry, but...