Can anyone give me advice about (legal) cost of buying a bit of land from a neighbour

mikerotherby

Hi I would like to know the cost of the legals to purchase a strip of land from a neighbour. I realise I need to fund mine and the owners costs.  I can then approach the owner to see if they are interested and make a suitable offer.

I understand bit of land like I want have a simple value, which is what we can agree, the current tenant wants rid as too much to look after, and it will not take any value away from the property as the amount is only about 1 metre by 20 metres, hence my statement.

elsien

The current tenant might want rid, but what does the owner think?
Have you approached them at all yet? Because if the answer is going to be a definitive no  there is little point in paying a surveyor to work out how much the land might be worth.

user1977

Does your neighbour have a mortgage? Do you? That will affect the costs quite a bit, as the lenders will need to be involved.

Legal costs will vary quite a bit, you're probably best to ask for some quotes from solicitors. These things can be quite fiddly and not really much more simple than buying a whole house.

Alderbank

Is this strip of land in West Bromwich?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6443822/garden-land

propertyrental

Is this your neighbour?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6443822/garden-land

Why are you approaching a tenant about this purchase? You need to discuss with the owner.

Why do you think the land has 'a simple value'? The value will depend on many factors, not least the purpose you will use it for and how important it is to you!

GDB2222

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6443756/can-anyone-give-me-advice-about-legal-cost-of-buying-a-bit-of-land-from-a-neighbour

5 years ago, we did a land swap with a neighbour. We paid their legal costs, which were about £1500 using a West End (of London) solicitor. Conveyancing costs have roughly doubled since then. That included registration of everything.

p00hsticks

Does the strip of land have its own distinct Land Registry title, or is it currently part of a larger plot ?

As I suspect that will have a big influence on the legal work that is required…..

mikerotherby

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80026468#Comment_80026468

I want to get an idea of the legal costs, but the house as far as I know has no mortage, so the value is not the issue, that is to be determined, but legal cost + a agreed figure will be my cost and as the actual land value is relatively small then untill I hve an idea of the legal costs, I will not be paying any proffesinal person so other matters do not come into play.

mikerotherby

No it is part of an existing plot where the land registery is concerned, as for values, a similar house sold for under £200000 this year, I am interested in about 1/20th of a plot

mikerotherby

Have read your responses let me start again.

The question was/is the cost of the legal work to convey a piece of land (small in size). This would be from one registered plot to a second registered plot.

In this situation you have to start somewhere, and the legal fees relative to the value that I consider the land is worth to me may mean that the idea is dead in the water.

Having explained that the starting point is the legal fees.

The value of the land would be subject to negotiation, as I state it has a simple value that being what I will pay, it has no other value the particular garden has been refused permission to build due to the flooding register, there is no other person that would want any part of the land.

I am asked why talk to the tenant, the tenant is my neighbour, the landlord is not. My understanding is that the property is owned outright and it is on that basis that I would buy, as the extra-legal costs would most likely prevent an agreement on price.

The one last question that you may ask is why this bit of garden, - my property was built to the boundary and I would like to have about a metre to the boundary as I think would be required to build the same property today.

eddddy

mikerotherby said

The question was/is the cost of the legal work to convey a piece of land (small in size). This would be from one registered plot to a second registered plot.

In my experience, this varies a lot depending on the type of solicitor and where they are based in the country. I've had one solicitor quote 3 times as much as another solicitor for conveyancing.

Most solicitors would give you a free quote, if you send them an email…

• Mention that you want to buy part of your neighbour's garden. Neither property has a mortgage (if that's your understanding). What would their legal fee be for dealing with your purchase.

• You could also try mentioning that you'll be paying your neighbour's legal fees. So what would they expect the neighbour's legal fees to be, for example if, hypothetically they were acting for the neighbour.