Seller sold Part of Garden to Neighbour but not notified Land Registry

kormacurry

I need some advice if anyone can help.  I am keen on buying a property which has been on the market for a couple of months.  The vendor says that he has 'informally' sold a small part of the rear garden to his neighbour. However, he did not notify the LR.  The LR boundary document still shows the 'old' boundary.  I did not find out about the boundary change until I noticed it on Google satellite view (where it clearly shows the old boundary line). I then asked the vendor about it.   I'm not concerned about the loss of the small piece of land, just the legal implications.   Should I walk away from this purchase or am I making too much of this?

davidmcn

The vendor's an idiot if they think there's such a thing as "informally" selling land without registering it. Your problem would be buying a property without full vacant possession of it, because the neighbour is occupying the bit which is "theirs". Vendor needs to sort it out one way or another (simplest would be for them to "informally" buy it back from the neighbour!) before you get further involved.

kormacurry

Thanks for the advice. It confirms my fears. (the EA says it's no problem, but then they would, wouldn't they!). I'll just have to keep looking!

RAS

If they've got a mortgage, they do need to "informally buy it back."

pinkteapot

kormacurry said:

Thanks for the advice. It confirms my fears. (the EA says it's no problem, but then they would, wouldn't they!). I'll just have to keep looking!

Absolutely the EA would say that - they work for the vendor and just want it sold. If you want to be absolutely sure before moving on, ask a solicitor (you could get quotes ready for when you need one and ask them about it when chatting to them for a quote - you'd probably get a quick bit of free advice). Would expect them to say the same as everyone here though.

During the purchase process, your solicitor would send you the title plan from the Land Registry and ask you to confirm it matches what you saw on the ground (they don't visit the property so they rely on you saying the plan looks right). In this case your answer would be 'no - the neighbour has expanded their garden over this part of the plot'. 

pinkteapot

RAS said:

If they've got a mortgage, they do need to "informally buy it back."

I mean.... Legally they actually still own it so could just move the fence and take it back. Probably wouldn't go down well with the neighbour who purchased it though. They're the ones who should have insisted on a Land Registry update. 

nimbo

I’d be less worried that they haven’t told land registry (although that’s a ball ache) and would suspect that if they have a mortgage  their lender is likely to be a bit miffed if they also haven’t been told.... 

There may a few hiccups in relation to conveyancing on this one. 🤦🏼‍♀️

princeofpounds

The vendor will be able - in theory - to sort it out one way or another.

Either they reverse the transaction (and you would want to be very sure it had happened), or they formalise it (by getting approval of the mortgage company and processing the conveyance properly, including registration).

But there's little point waiting on it. If you like the property, then tell the EA you would like to make an offer but you will not do so until the boundary situation is resolved. Any sensible punter would do the same, although I suspect they will hope someone doesn't notice, then get them to invest in surveys and legal fees before making the effort to sort it out over some months.