FTB Public Right of Way

Essex112233

Hi guys, first time on this forum. We are first time buyers - exchanged on a property in December and due to complete this month. Just been told about a PROW that goes right through the property and had no knowledge of this beforehand. Apparently an extinguishment order is being sorted but could take months. What’s the general advice when something like this happens? Continue with completion but have this issue outstanding? Back out now but lose deposit as exchanged?
We don’t want to have issues selling further down the line!

On a side note, although after sifting through the plans I can see very subtle mentions to this PROW, is it not the job of a conveyancer to specifically inform us of this and also to sort this out prior to the stage we are now?

Any advice at all is most welcome!

davidmcn

Assuming you're buying with a mortgage, I doubt your solicitor will advise your lender to proceed before it's sorted. What sort of property are we talking about - newbuild or something older? Does the contract assume that you're already satisfied on this sort of thing?

princeofpounds

Yes, a conveyancer should be highlighting issues like a PROW. Depends what you mean by 'subtle mentions' though... what counts as a blindingly obvious piece of information to a conveyor may be missed by someone who doesn't know what they don't know. Or maybe the conveyancer missed it because it's so subtle to the point of not being disclosed, which is a different situation.

An extinguishment is being sorted by who? On what basis? Extinguishment is rare.

Speak to your conveyancer about your next steps, but I would imagine completion is still probably your best bet. Failing to complete would probably be a disproportionate cost, unless you have a really non-standard contract (unlikely) or the PROW runs through your living room.

A PROW does not necessarily make a house unsaleable. Loads of people own land with PROWs on it with zero meaningful impact. The question is more where the PROW specifically runs and how intrusive it is. 

AdrianC

Essex112233 said:

On a side note, although after sifting through the plans I can see very subtle mentions to this PROW

Did you not notice it when you confirmed the plan to the solicitor pre-exchange?

is it not the job of a conveyancer to specifically inform us of this

Remember, the conveyancer has ONLY seen the plan, not the actual property. You've seen both.

Was this a new-build, or an existing property?
If new-build, did you use the developer's "recommended" solicitor? Or did you use one without a conflict of interest?

and also to sort this out prior to the stage we are now?

Does it even need "sorting out"? What's wrong with having a PRoW through your land, anyway?

We have one comes in our back gate, right past the back door, and down through a gap in the hedge onto the road near to our drive. I quite like it.

GDB2222

Not completing doesn’t just mean losing your deposit. If the property is subsequently sold much more cheaply, you are liable for the balance. If your lenders will still advance the money you may be better off completing the purchase and making the best of it. 

Some description of the ROW or a diagram might help. It’s possible that you can get the ROW diverted, if it can’t be extinguished. 

greatcrested

By PROW doe you mean Public or Private ROW? I assume Public....?

So how big a deal is it?

* the public have the right to walk through our living room?

* across your lawn?

* along the side of the back fence?

If it's in the garden, how big is the garden ie how close /far to the house is the ROW?

In practical terms, how many people actually use it and how often?

Is it really a show-stopper in terms of the house being what you want?

There's a public footpath across the field next to my garden and people frequently walk across which affects my privacy. To get to the field the public footpath crosses my neighbour's lawn. Neither of us mind that much!

How did the ROW come to light? Was it not identified on either the Title and/or Title Plan which you checked and approved as matching what you wished/expected to buy?

Essex112233

davidmcn said:

Assuming you're buying with a mortgage, I doubt your solicitor will advise your lender to proceed before it's sorted. What sort of property are we talking about - newbuild or something older? Does the contract assume that you're already satisfied on this sort of thing?

Its a new build property. We are not legally experienced at all so relied on solicitor to review the paperwork and inform us of any issues that already have or may arise. We exchanged in December and only when this was highlighted to use did we notice the PROW listed on the local authority search. 

davidmcn

Similar issue on this thread from a few days ago (or possibly the same issue if it's the same development!):
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6237137/public-right-of-way-issue/p1

Essex112233

princeofpounds said:

Yes, a conveyancer should be highlighting issues like a PROW. Depends what you mean by 'subtle mentions' though... what counts as a blindingly obvious piece of information to a conveyor may be missed by someone who doesn't know what they don't know. Or maybe the conveyancer missed it because it's so subtle to the point of not being disclosed, which is a different situation.

An extinguishment is being sorted by who? On what basis? Extinguishment is rare.

Speak to your conveyancer about your next steps, but I would imagine completion is still probably your best bet. Failing to complete would probably be a disproportionate cost, unless you have a really non-standard contract (unlikely) or the PROW runs through your living room.

A PROW does not necessarily make a house unsaleable. Loads of people own land with PROWs on it with zero meaningful impact. The question is more where the PROW specifically runs and how intrusive it is. 

That is useful to know! What we are concerned about is selling on in the future?
In the grand scheme of PROW I would say this would not cause much inconvenience at all but would a PROW put off future buyers? Is it likely to have any impact on property value in the future? If so, should we be asking the developer to cut the selling price now?

Essex112233

greatcrested said:

By PROW doe you mean Public or Private ROW? I assume Public....?

So how big a deal is it?

* the public have the right to walk through our living room?

* across your lawn?

* along the side of the back fence?

If it's in the garden, how big is the garden ie how close /far to the house is the ROW?

In practical terms, how many people actually use it and how often?

Is it really a show-stopper in terms of the house being what you want?

There's a public footpath across the field next to my garden and people frequently walk across which affects my privacy. To get to the field the public footpath crosses my neighbour's lawn. Neither of us mind that much!

How did the ROW come to light? Was it not identified on either the Title and/or Title Plan which you checked and approved as matching what you wished/expected to buy?

The only time it came to our attention at all was when they served the completion notice last week. At this point we then went back and had a look at the plans/searches in more detail. Our solicitor has mentioned that currently they will not contact the lender to request funds because the title is not as advertised with this PROW, does this mean they expected it to be sorted prior to completion and it has been delayed?

AdrianC

Sorry, what? You've exchanged, they've issued a completion notice, and your solicitor is now saying "Nah..." - because of a RoW that's marked on the searches you had pre-exchange...?

This cannot end well...