Selling to nextdoor neighbour

Beenie

Situation: house is adjoined to a bigger house (they were one big house in the past). Seller has never lived in the house, only used it as a holiday home and with a vague plan to use it as a retirement home. Now wishes to sell due to changed circumstances. 

Problem: next door neighbour in the larger house has referred to a verbal contract, made one evening several years ago when drink had been taken, where (neighbour states) the little house was promised to them at the original purchase price. Seller doesn't have the same recollection. And times have changed anyway - property prices in this area have rocketed. 

What to do? 

nimbo

Surely they can do one? No contracts. Verbal agreement only one side remembers… 

Also seems very close to financial abuse to expect someone to sell something way below market value? 

GrumpyDil

Even if that conversation had taken place it's unenforceable.

For an agreement to sell a land to be enforceable it has to be evidenced in writing.

So assuming there is no written evidence in nimbo's words he can do one!! 

Beenie

I don't know the ins-and-outs. I'm asking for a friend. Truly.

Several other friends have made suggestions such as get a solicitor as the other side can enforce a verbal contract (I'm not too sure about that as people pull out of property deals all the time). Others say give the neighbour a discount (i.e. you're not using an estate agent so can afford to reduce the sale price by the amount of EA fees that would be due). Others say tell the neighbours to take a hike....

Brie

Laugh it off.  No one can honestly expect that to happen.

We lived in a vaguely similar place with the inlaws and wanted to move to a place of our own.  The woman who lived in the in the main flat below and owned the freehold was elderly and wanted to move so offered us her flat at a price we easily could afford.  We talked about it for a couple of days to consider the pros & cons (continuing to live so close to inlaws, possibilities of re-joining the 2 bits of the property etc). 

But then her daughter found out and said it was definitely not going to happen preparing to have a real battle with us.  I just said I completely understood and that for fairness the property should be valued.  Turns out the market suggest a price nearly double so we declined and very happily found a place elsewhere.  And it turned out that there was so much wrong with the flat that the new owner spent a ton on it to make it properly livable.

user1977

Beenie said:

Several other friends have made suggestions such as get a solicitor as the other side can enforce a verbal contract

Do any of these friends actually know anything about the law? There's no such thing as a verbal contract to sell land, as explained above. 

Beenie

to be fair to the friends giving their legal opinions <cough> they have googled oral contracts and it does say that these can be enforced. Nobody has read far enough to see the exclusion relating to property/land.

Stubod

.." a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on.."?

Jeepers_Creepers

Once your daft friend's brain fog clears and they do remember making that promise - which they definitely did, 'cos I was there and witnessed it - they will hopefully also recall that the second part of that conversation was where the owner of the large house promised their house to your friend on the same terms.

Man, they were both completely blootered...

Do not engage a solicitor, not even for a free consultation, not even for advice. This is nuts!

Hang on - someone's driving past my gate. I'm sure that person promised me their car a few years back, tho' they were so ratted they probably can't remember - must dash.

RAS

Even if you've had a written offer accepted there is NOTHING to stop the vendor changing their mind right up to the time contracts are exchanged, in England or Wales.

It's a bit different in Scotland but even then there's flexibility until missives are agreed.

user1977

Beenie said:

to be fair to the friends giving their legal opinions <cough> they have googled oral contracts and it does say that these can be enforced. Nobody has read far enough to see the exclusion relating to property/land.

"What exactly are your legal credentials?"
"I can Google things - badly!"