Advise Needed - Sellers wants to retain part of garden

Aran_101

I recently made an offer on a property which was accepted but after solicitors got involved I came to know that sellers is trying to retain 35% of the garden space to store his goods and also wants services like electricity to be provisioned from the house being sold.

Mortgage lender has said the offer is one the higher end in the area but they assumed 100% of the garden is being sold.

So my question is will the value of the property reduce if part of the garden is being retained and will I have any problems in the future when I sell.

gettingtheresometime

Sounds like he wants to have his cake & eat it

Carrot007

Aran_101 wrote: »

So my question is will the value of the property reduce if part of the garden is being retained and will I have any problems in the future when I sell.

Yes and Yes.



More problems witht he electricity he wants presumably for free without getting a seperate supply.


RUN RUN RUN (unless they see sence after a few hits with a hammer).


Are they even planning to pay for the splitting of the property and the paperwork or do they expect it all unoficially? Really RUN.

Aran_101

Thanks for the advise, you just saved me.

They want to do the paper work for split as a part of sale.

Marvel1

I would want the whole property not part of it and the electric use just it made it even worse.

Davesnave

Marvel1 wrote: »

I would want the whole property not part of it and the electric use just it made it even worse.

You wouldn't have bought our house then, but someone did and they've done well from it.

We did things correctly though, so we put a1.8m fence around long before we went to market, retained a rear access for purchasers and didn't show this area on the printed/on-line details, though we explained it was there and why we needed it to viewers.

It was impossible to build on, so there were no worries on that score and the remaining garden was still large and private. We offered a price with this plot, if required, with the proviso that we'd need to rent it for up to 3 years till our business could be relocated.

The people who purchased didn't want the extra piece. The garden they got was rather too much in their opinion, and it was the same for others who wanted the house but couldn't sell theirs.

When we sold, the purchasers agreed to keep the electricity and water supplies there for 3 years, to allow hedge maintenance and watering. It was no problem and these were terminated properly after we vacated. We then sold the cleared plot to 4 neighbours behind who had houses worth (in today's money) £1/2m and only 15'-20' of garden. There was a tiny piece left over covering a few square metres, which we sold to our former purchasers for £1. The people in the houses behind paid all the legal costs.

It was a win-win all round. Many thanks to the agent who originally spotted the possibility years before. Unfortunately, he went bust so he didn't benefit. Life is harsh sometimes!

Jonbvn

Davesnave wrote: »

You wouldn't have bought our house then, but someone did and they've done well from it.

We did things correctly though, so we put a1.8m fence around long before we went to market, retained a rear access for purchasers and didn't show this area on the printed/on-line details, though we explained it was there and why we needed it to viewers.

It was impossible to build on, so there were no worries on that score and the remaining garden was still large and private. We offered a price with this plot, if required, with the proviso that we'd need to rent it for up to 3 years till our business could be relocated.

The people who purchased didn't want the extra piece. The garden they got was rather too much in their opinion, and it was the same for others who wanted the house but couldn't sell theirs.

When we sold, the purchasers agreed to keep the electricity and water supplies there for 3 years, to allow hedge maintenance and watering. It was no problem and these were terminated properly after we vacated. We then sold the cleared plot to 4 neighbours behind who had houses worth (in today's money) £1/2m and only 15'-20' of garden. There was a tiny piece left over covering a few square metres, which we sold to our former purchasers for £1. The people in the houses behind paid all the legal costs.

It was a win-win all round. Many thanks to the agent who originally spotted the possibility years before. Unfortunately, he went bust so he didn't benefit. Life is harsh sometimes!

I think you were rather fortunate. Who is to say that the vendor will not run some business that utilizes large amounts of power from the retained garden?

OP, this is show-stopper.

Davesnave

Aran_101 wrote: »

So my question is will the value of the property reduce if part of the garden is being retained and will I have any problems in the future when I sell.

The answer depends on the size of the garden to start with, how the split is arranged legally, what someone else might do on the land and whether the loss of the smaller plot is reflected in the price you pay. It's impossible to generalise.

In my post above, I was happy to sell the retained plot and rent it back for a given period instead, if required. I made my house price more flexible at a time when money was tight and gave buyers more choice.

Your vendor doesn't sound so accommodating. The benefits seem to be all one way.

If I were you, I'd not get into any long term supply of services, regardless of how they might be funded.

Davesnave

Jonbvn wrote: »

I think you were rather fortunate. Who is to say that the vendor will not run some business that utilizes large amounts of power from the retained garden?

OP, this is show-stopper.

Having the on/off switch in the house? There was only a gentleman's agreement over the power; nothing in the title docs.

Actually, the purchaser's solicitors fouled-up over the unmetered water supply, which was of more importance to us and legally enforcable. They forgot to time limit it! We sorted that out though when the plot was sold.

scd3scd4

Why would you agree to this??


Or just counter with an offer that reflects the reducing. I see no benefit to you.

AdrianC

Aran_101 wrote: »

So my question is will the value of the property reduce if part of the garden is being retained

Would YOU pay the same for it with the full garden vs only 2/3 of the garden and giving free electricity to some Joe Random?