Buying part of neighbours garden

newuser111

I know this topic has been covered before but not recently as far as I can see.
We approached our neighbours at the end of last year in the hope of buying a piece of their garden that is next to ours. They said yes at the time but neither of us have done anything about it until now.
Both properties are mortgaged.
Please could you kind folk advise of the process we need to follow? 
We have agreed a price for the land and will also cover their legal fees. We know they need to get permission from their mortgage company but how is this arranged?
Thanks in advance. 

newuser111

I should perhaps point out the piece of land is small, approx 3m x 3m. And has no potential for anything other than to give us a bit of a bigger garden. 

eddddy

newuser111 said:

We know they need to get permission from their mortgage company but how is this arranged?

Perhaps the best approach is for your neighbour to tell their mortgage lender that they want to sell part of their garden.

The mortgage lender will probably want to send out a valuer, to re-value the property with the smaller garden (which the neighbour would have to pay for).

Depending on the re-valuation and the max LTV of the neighbour's mortgage product etc, the lender might want part of the mortgage paid off (or the lender might refuse altogether).

But assuming the neighbour's lender agrees in principle, then you probably need to instruct solicitors. The lender will insist that a solicitor deals with it.


Edit to add...
For a 3m X 3m piece of garden, you might find all the legal costs etc are prohibitive.

davidmcn

And your mortgage lender would (probably) expect you to add the additional property to their charge.

newuser111

Thanks to you both. 

I cant see it changing the value of the house for either of us by very much, or at all. We both have decent gardens. 

We will be picking up the tab for the survey provided their mortgage company wants one. Anyone got a ballpark figure? £200? 

Also,  we've had quotes for the legal work required from a couple of solicitors and I suppose it all comes down to how WE value the land. We think it will be money well spent. 

Thanks again for all the replies. 

Slithery

Is your quote for 2 lots of solicitors?
You'll need separate ones for your lender and their lender.

greatcrested

1) First step is confirmation from neighbour they still happy to sell at the price agreed

2) Then they need their leder's consent. Without that, nothing happens. The fact it's so small is irrlevant - consent is needed.

3) then you get your lender's consent - a formaility as you are potentially increasing the value of your property.

4) appoint 2 solicitors and decide whether to own the new plot as a separate Title or incorporate it inot you existing Title.

5) survey the land, draw up the Title Plans for each property (or for the new tiny Title)

6) Sign TP1 and pay £x

7) register the new Title

Slithery

Mickey666 said:
The OP has said that both properties have 'decent gardens' so 3x3m will be easily 'lost' within the title plan.

If, in the future, anyone wants to dispute the boundary the only resolution will be to engage a boundary surveyor and, guess what, they'll come along and if they see clear, unambiguous boundary fences they'll declare those fences as the boundary because there would be no evidence to the contrary.

Surely that all depends on the layout. If it means changing a dog-leg border to a straight one or vice-versa then it will be blatantly obvious that the plans are incorrect.

newuser111

Why would I need permission to increase the value of my house? Didn't ask if we could get the kitchen and bathrooms done and they've made it more valuable.

And thanks for the clear plan. I really only needed to know what their mortgage company would want and how they will go about it. 

davidmcn

newuser111 said:

Why would I need permission to increase the value of my house?

Land can be a liability rather than an asset (think contamination, for example) - but I doubt your lender will be too concerned about you adding to your property, just as long as their mortgage covers it.

Slithery

Because your mortgage lender will want to be able to repossess the entire property if they need to, not just part of it.

PS - Renovating your kitchen and bathroom probably hasn't increased the value of your property.