Property not as advertised - advice please!

ptgirl90

Doozergirl said:

It's not the actual parking space, just the access to it, yes? 

How wide is the actual access road?  Who owns the land?   How long have the vendors/previous owners been using it for?   Have you looked at the satellite history on the Google Earth app? 

Who is going to enforce the additional 20-30cm width of your car travelling along this piece of land?  

If you thought it was a bargain price for the area, it probably still is. My car is 6ft wide.  It wouldn't bother me.  

The access alley is owned mostly by houses who's gardens back onto it on the other side. The boundary for them comes past their back gates and covers most of the alley (except a 5ft wide part running next to the fence of the property we'd like).

So technically one day they could choose to use their rear parking, plonk their car in the alley on land they own and block us from getting past. 

The owner doesn't drive, she just said she was told by the previous owner that she could use the hard standing as a drive and there are double gates which suggest he had done so. 

ptgirl90

davidmcn said:

ptgirl90 said:

We've...had a look at the title deeds for the property. It turns out that we're unable to park at the rear...as the deeds state that we ONLY have a 5ft right of way to the back of the property

Now it doesn't have parking...

Woah. Have you actually had advice from your solicitor about the title deeds, or just tried to interpret them yourselves? As above, if the owners have been using the access for a car (do they appear to have?) and have done so for long enough, they may have rights which go beyond those stated in the deeds. And/or may be able to back this up with a title indemnity policy. Which would mean you (a) (at least for all practical purposes) have the rights you thought you did and (b) don't have to revisit the price.

My partner is a solicitor himself and asked to see the deeds. My partner and our solicitor is thinking about possibly indemnity insurance and just trying to use the drive and hope for the best... However they have told me from their experience insurers will do everything to avoid paying out if there is an issue, so I'm thinking some money off the purchase price might soften the blow when a jobs worth neighbour decides to block our access just because they can. 

ptgirl90

Thank you everyone for your very valuable advice!!! 

Jono111

@Doozergirl - perhaps people had read your post but thought that what is legal and what is right are two different things and so commented anyway.

Doozergirl

Jono111 said:

@Doozergirl - perhaps people had read your post but thought that what is legal and what is right are two different things and so commented anyway.

It wasn't my post I was talking about.  I don't do conveyancing... but I did ask questions and said what I would do rather than tell someone what to do with no more info than the OP.  

diggingdude

ptgirl90 said:

davidmcn said:

ptgirl90 said:

We've...had a look at the title deeds for the property. It turns out that we're unable to park at the rear...as the deeds state that we ONLY have a 5ft right of way to the back of the property

Now it doesn't have parking...

Woah. Have you actually had advice from your solicitor about the title deeds, or just tried to interpret them yourselves? As above, if the owners have been using the access for a car (do they appear to have?) and have done so for long enough, they may have rights which go beyond those stated in the deeds. And/or may be able to back this up with a title indemnity policy. Which would mean you (a) (at least for all practical purposes) have the rights you thought you did and (b) don't have to revisit the price.

My partner is a solicitor himself and asked to see the deeds. My partner and our solicitor is thinking about possibly indemnity insurance and just trying to use the drive and hope for the best... However they have told me from their experience insurers will do everything to avoid paying out if there is an issue, so I'm thinking some money off the purchase price might soften the blow when a jobs worth neighbour decides to block our access just because they can. 

An indemnity policy won't be much use when someone blocks your access, if parking is essential please think long and hard about whether you could live without it

pinkshoes

The house clearly does NOT have parking. You are relying on the good will of the neighbouring land owners. 

If if you NEED parking, then walk away, as this will cause more stress than it is worth.

Alternatively, look for a garage for sale in the local area then reduce your offer on the house by at least this much and a bit more for the inconvenience, or the relevant price for a house with no parking.

NewShadow

ptgirl90 said:

Doozergirl said:

It's not the actual parking space, just the access to it, yes? 

How wide is the actual access road?  Who owns the land?   How long have the vendors/previous owners been using it for?   Have you looked at the satellite history on the Google Earth app? 

Who is going to enforce the additional 20-30cm width of your car travelling along this piece of land?  

If you thought it was a bargain price for the area, it probably still is. My car is 6ft wide.  It wouldn't bother me.  

The access alley is owned mostly by houses who's gardens back onto it on the other side. The boundary for them comes past their back gates and covers most of the alley (except a 5ft wide part running next to the fence of the property we'd like).

So technically one day they could choose to use their rear parking, plonk their car in the alley on land they own and block us from getting past. 

The owner doesn't drive, she just said she was told by the previous owner that she could use the hard standing as a drive and there are double gates which suggest he had done so. 

Sorry - just to clarify... if the property has a vehicular right of access through the alley noted on the deeds - what makes you think the neighbours could park in the alley and block access?

They may own land, but if the property you are purchasing has right of access across the land, the owner of the land can't - legally - act in a way which prevents the owner of the property exercising their right. 

I'm struggling to visualise the arrangement as you've outlined it - any chance of a picture of the relevant section of the title deed showing the borders? *

Seconding the view this may or may not be an issue - depending on specific details which aren't yet apparent - and that the first thing to do is to figure out if it is an issue before deciding how to fix it. 


* ETA: alternatively, if it's easier, the exact wording on the deeds relating to the easement/right of access to clarify any limitations. 

akira181

It's hard to get a full understanding of the area from your description, a link to google maps would be useful.  I find it strange that people have walled off the rear of their properties some distance before their actual boundaries, rendering that bit of land effectively useless.  Is that back alley used for anything in particular? 

The access alley behind my block of flats is used by bin lorries so it's usually always kept clear, although !!!!!! occasionally double park on the junction preventing the lorry from turning in and collection gets skipped.  If that alley is used for bin lorries, then it needs to be kept clear and possibly the deeds just not updated.

bouicca21

As NewShadow says, the question is now whether that alley is a right of way, and if it is, who is entitled to use it?