Loft/Back to Back/Fly Over

lake06

Hi 
I’ve placed on offer in a back to back terrace but I’ve now realised that the property to the back of me has built their loft conversion into part of my loft space. This has left me with 40% of the original space. Essentially, their loft conversion now goes over my bathroom, landing and part of the bedroom. 

The estate agent said that the vendor was told the owner before her had a verbal agreement with the neighbours that they were allowed to do this. 

It’s odd that anybody would allow you to take part of your property for free! 

I’m unsure now whether to proceed with the property sale as I will need to repair the roof that I can’t even have the benefit of. 

I haven’t contacted the solicitors yet to enquire about the deeds because I’m not sure that if that space is mine, with the neighbours already building the conversion, whether I would have any right to get the required space back? 

Any advice would be fab. 

greatcrested

A flying freehold.

Potential can of worms even when properly authorised and documented. But when based on a verbal agreement with an owner who is long gone......

Unless this is either an unmissable dream house in other respects, or priced as a complete bargain, I'd keep looking.

lincroft1710

I know that in both Holmfirth and Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, there are numerous terraced houses which were built on hillsides, so that what looks like a row of 4 storey house in fact comprises 2 x 2 storey houses, one on top of another. 

Your situation is slightly different in that only part of next door is over your property yet, you may have responsibility for maintaining the roof over their part. I would suggest that what you would be purchasing would be what you see as currently belongs to the house, rather than what might have belonged some years ago.

Because of all this and the fact I wouldn't want people walking over my bedroom, I personally wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, unless I was desperate to buy and it was the only property in my budget.

davidmcn

lake06 said:

I haven’t contacted the solicitors yet to enquire about the deeds because I’m not sure that if that space is mine, with the neighbours already building the conversion, whether I would have any right to get the required space back?

Surely you should be contacting your solicitor in order to get some advice from them? It is what you're paying them for, after all. It does however sound deeply problematic.

searchlight123

walk away from this house.
that sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen and the chances of this not coming back to bite you when you decide to move from there in the future are very slim.

Falafels

Yes, here's another vote for walk away. Even if you're content to maintain a roof which effectively isn't yours, you may well find it will cause you problems when/if you try to sell.