boundary issues

Slithery

ritc wrote: »

...or maybe try to speak to the neighbours (seems strange when we haven’t yet bought the house)?

Haven't you spoken to them all already before deciding whether or not to make an offer? It's one of the first things I do if I'm interested in a property.

G_M

Yes - I always knock on the neighbour's door before a purchase.

1) you get an idea if your neighbours will be friendly or .... the opposite (yes, I know they might move and new people come. Nothing in future life is guaranteed but that does not stop us trying to foresee the future!)
2) neighbours will often reveal things about the house you are buying that the owners will not......


If " it is no issue as all parties are in agreement." then it should be noproblem to get the paperwork sorted. Yes, it will add a delay but at least it will happen without dispute. And if a dispute does arise (eg parents object for some reason) then you'll have dodged a bullet!


The neighbours boundary is more complex as they've actually built an extension. Clearly they are not going to want to remove it and reinstate the proper boundary.


If you decided to build your own extension, using theirs as a party wall, I don't see a legal issue. Clearly their wal is on the boundary (indeed, over it)so would fall within the Party Wall Act. But whether it is physically capable of being used would be a matter to ask a surveyor or structural engineer.


Finally, the neighbours boundary with the rest of the garden: is there currently a fence or barier and if so is it
a) where you believe it should be or
b) in line with the wrongly-placed extension wall?


If a) I don't see a problem. If b) well, there's another potential dispute for you to deal with..........

Cakeguts

I am going to ask the usual questions that seem to come up when first time buyers post on here about a house that has multiple problems and has been on the market for a long time.


Does this house appear to be "good value for money?" If so that is because it has problems and the sale price as been reduced.



The reason that it has been on the market for so long is because it was overpriced to start with for the problems it has.



The price has now been reduced but the problems have not been solved so it is likely to be still overpriced.

ritc

Thanks cakeguts. The house was definitely overpriced back in May. That was because up to last year houses came on the market for 10% more than comparable houses. People had been chasing the market for the last 5 yeas with prices rising by about 10% pa on average. Until 12 months ago is was unheard of that houses would go for under the asking price. The market has changed, and even more so in the last six months. Our offer was accepted in September so the house was on the market for 5 months.

We got the house for a fair price - but it is not a bargain by any means. The surveyor agreed with us that the price reflects the current market. We did our research on sold properties in the area and made our final offer accordingly. It took the seller a couple of weeks to accept the offer. I think is it more a matter of them having had slightly overinflated ideas about the worth of the property rather than it being a problem house. (Well, it can be both but then the seller might not be aware of the problems they are creating.)

However, I agree that we will be careful and - as much as it isn't want I want to do - we will walk away if the boundary issues cannot be resolved. We will loose a few thousand pounds, which isn't great, but I know that it is a lot better than having a large mortgage on a house that would be impossible to sell.

Another quick question (yes, I know, there seem to be plenty): there is a door in the fence at the rear. I understand that the parents used it to walk from their garden to their daughter's house. We asked for the door to be removed, and they said they would do so between exchange and completion. Now, isn't this too late? Do I have any guarantees that they will do as they say? Is it reasonable to ask them to remove it before exchange? They will have to do this anyways if they want to sell the house, so they might as well do it now and before exchange?

Slithery

ritc wrote: »

We asked for the door to be removed

Why not just lock it from your side?

and they said they would do so between exchange and completion.

Brilliant. So you obviously advised your solicitor of this and had it written into the contract then.

G_M

ritc wrote: »

....... there is a door in the fence at the rear. I understand that the parents used it to walk from their garden to their daughter's house. We asked for the door to be removed, and they said they would do so between exchange and completion. Now, isn't this too late? Do I have any guarantees that they will do as they say? Is it reasonable to ask them to remove it before exchange? They will have to do this anyways if they want to sell the house, so they might as well do it now and before exchange?

oh for goodness sake! This is the least of your problems!

Once you have bought the property (assuming your do), then

* put a bolt on your side of the door or
* if the fence is yours (not the parents') remove the door yourself and replace with a fence panel.
This is not an issue worth worrying about now.