Buying a property

sonaldinho

We was are close to exchange on a property but all of a sudden the seller wants to add a fence in the middle of the garden to make her other property which is attached to the house we’re buyings garden bigger. Is this actually possible, if it is and we agree a new price and go ahead how long would the new boundaries take time wise? Thanks.

AdrianC

Yes, it's possible.

No, it won't be quick. LR would need to amend both property's titles. Any and all mortgage lenders involved would need to revisit their valuations. Given we're now in September, it's entirely likely to hit the Xmas delays and run into next year.

If t'were me, I'd be telling the vendor to either exchange and complete as you are now, or you're walking. They can then take the property off the market, do the boundary-fettling, and then remarket it.

Flugelhorn

sounds like vendor pulling a fast one - fancy leaving it that late. @AdrianC is right, this change would involve a lot of work

csgohan4

I would walk tbh, they are messing you around

sonaldinho

I have a feeling they know that they’ve accepted a cheaper price than what they could’ve got for the area and prices have risen since the offer was accepted 

london21

I will not proceed with a smaller garden. 

TripleH

Tell them no, will proceed as is but you are happy to discuss selling part of the garden to her post completion.

It all depends on where you live, how attractive the property is and how desirable a larger garden is.

If all other properties have big gardens nearby, they may find they loose a lot of interest.

We looked at a property that appeared to be very good but one of the factors spoiling it for us was when it was converted, the couple who did the work (she still lived next door) had given the property a weird shaped garden so she could keep her all day sun. That put us off quite a lot.

user1977

AdrianC said:

LR would need to amend both property's titles. 

We don't know they're already on separate titles. If not, then tweaking the new boundary is (in that respect) no more complicated than it already is.

Greymug

TripleH said:

Tell them no, will proceed as is but you are happy to discuss selling part of the garden to her post completion.

Yep, exactly what I would do.

And then obviously I wouldn't sell them the garden because screw that, they tried to pull a quick one on you so that will teach them.

TripleH

On reflection, if you don't 'sell the garden' would you be happy living there with a neighbour who could become difficult?

As they live next door they could start being a pain and play silly buggers with whatever you do. (Sulk because you didn't sell them the land or that you say made them pay extra legal fees for the additional issues they caused)

Also flipping it around, the vendor is being daft, by being this 'greedy' so late on in the process they end up with a neighbour who may well move to their little world with no qualms about not upsetting the perceived status quo.

Greedy meant either that they want to squeeze more money from sale or give less away but with same money). They have no excuse if they have built on a plot they owned all of. They could have got this all sorted before it went to market.

sonaldinho

So they had a care home with a large garden which at some point they built this bungalow in and now have decided to nick part of the garden which is fine as it was like that when we viewed and still left us a decent sized garden but now they want to take around 90sqm of what we viewed! It’s a nice area and we seem to have got the house pretty cheap compared to what a bungalow in that area is worth of that size etc! Just not sure what to do now! We may just go in with a lower offer and if they don’t accept just take the loss.