Estate Agents Neglected to mention Electrical Substation until it turned up in survey

Guest101

Ryix wrote: »

We called the electrical company who confirmed that there was indeed a substation at the back of the property and that they did own the land it sat on, not leased.
The conveyancing deeds and land registry both show the same.
The land registry shows that the properties driveway, side area and back garden all fall on outside of the property also.

following everyones advice i feel like i should be considering the Sellers rather than the Estate agents, however should we approach the Estate agents, the sellers or our solicitors to deal with this matter? obviously i dont want to tip our hat to any party of our intentions as each would prefer we just paid up ourselves!

What do you mean tip your hat?


You do a Land registry search, write a letter before action to the sellers and then make a MCOL. At which point you need to clarify why you're suing.

LKRDN_Morgan

Ryix wrote: »

following everyones advice i feel like i should be considering the Sellers rather than the Estate agents, however should we approach the Estate agents, the sellers or our solicitors to deal with this matter? obviously i dont want to tip our hat to any party of our intentions as each would prefer we just paid up ourselves!

Whilst it would have been nice of them to inform you of the substation beforehand unless they're obliged to you're wasting your time (and money)

Chalk it up to a bad experience and move on

Guest101

Ryix wrote: »

The land registry search has already come back, it shows that the land does not belong to the seller.
Sorry, are you suggesting i write to the sellers directly? maybe i watch too many movies, but i would have thought it best to keep it quiet until we are sure of our next move/outcome?

sorry, whats an MCOL?

Neither of us have any experience in property or legal matters im afraid Thank you for your patience.

Money Claim On Line, but you MUST write to them before you file a claim.


If you expect to surprise them in court with new evidence, yes you watch too much TV. They must receive all your evidence (your bundle) before it goes to court. - MCOL has a great guide

Davesnave

What makes you think you were being offered the land the sub-station sits on, if you didn't see it and it isn't on the title documents?

By law, all sub-stations must be fenced so I'd imagine it would be fairly noticeable. Are you sure you applied due diligence during the viewing?

Perhaps I'm not getting something here!

KRB2725

Whilst I understand your frustration, countless people lose money whilst trying to buy a house.

A seller can pull out at any point up until exchange, when all searches, surveys and mortgage fees have been paid buy the prospective purchaser.

kinger101

Ryix wrote: »

The home owners alliance website and the property ombudsman both state that they are obliged to. Which is why i thought i had a leg to stand on.

If that is the case, follow the EA's official complaints procedure, and refer it to the relevant property ombudsman if that fails. Would be useful if you could link to where it states this.

AdrianC

Ryix wrote: »

The electrical substation is hidden behind a shed, fence and planters etc built on land which was sold to provide access to it. part of the property also overlaps land which was never part of the plot.

This is one of the small brick ones, not a massive metal humming behemoth.

So just as visible - or otherwise - to the EA as to you.

Although i have no evidence the estate agent knew of any of these issues, are there no checks they are required todo? such as ensuring that the land is actually the sellers to sell?

There's been a minor misunderstanding over one portion of the borders. One sixth of what you assumed was the plot is partitioned off, hidden from sight, with a brick building on - and you didn't notice this...?

Part of your solicitor's job to verify with you, using the Land Registry map, that what you think you're buying is what the vendor is actually selling.

Are you really going to walk away from the property, writing off the money you've spent so far, because of this? Why? You are, it seems, buying what you saw when you viewed.

BrassicWoman

generally substations links to ill health are not proven

I would not give a monkeys about living by one, never mind thinking of suing the estate agent for something that is probably quite safe

BrassicWoman

http://www.emfs.info/living-substation/

CathA

We live right near a sub station. We're fine so far, not grown an extra head or anything. Is it the living near it that bothers you or something else?