Land Purchase

Geepkay

I wish to purchase a small strip of land approx 1 x 3 metres adjacent to my drive, from my neighbour. At some time in the past it has been incorporated into the block paved drive of my house, however, technically it falls within my neighbours property line. Its an anomaly caused by the way her house sits back from mine and the way the drives adjoin. 

We want to replace our drive and incorporate this strip into it, so was thinking of offering to buy it from my neighbour, but I don't want to rack up thousands on conveyancing and solicitors fees to buy a piece of land that's probably only worth a few hundred pounds and is of no use to anyone but us.

Can anyone offer any advice on how I could do this myself ie conveyancing, land registry etc?

Thanks

Slithery

Does your neighbor have a mortgage?

If so then you'll need to pay for solicitors to act for her lender as well as their approval to split the title.

RAS

Do either of you have mortgages? If so, you will need your provider's permission.

user1977

The principles are the same no matter whether it's 3 square metres or 3000 square metres, so unfortunately the bureaucracy is probably going to outweigh the value of the land - though it sounds like it will resolve a boundary discrepancy.

Does your neighbour have a mortgage? If so their lender will need to consent to the release of the land from their charge, so that in itself is probably going to account for a few hundred in costs...

AdrianC

A straightforward transfer of a title is eminently DIYable.

This won't be a straightforward transfer, because the neighbour's title will have to be altered to remove it from the existing single title.

You could then have it as a second title, but I suspect you'd want to incorporate it within a single one, right...?

And then there's the mortgage lender question - nothing can be done to their title without their lender's permission, because the title is security for their mortgage. It's unlikely they'd object to such a small change, but they will charge for looking at it.

How important is this third-of-a-car-sized bit of land?

wend33

You would be buying part of their title so would need a transfer of part (TP1) which includes a plan showing the extent of the land transferred and, if the have a mortgage, their lender would need to supply a discharge of part (DS3) with the same plan. All plans must be signed by the parties. You can easily keep this as a separate title, just remember to include it in any future sale (at which point new owners could apply for amalgamation). As to whether the lender would deal with private individuals or insist on a solicitor is up to them.