Transfer of ownership of a small piece of garden land to a neighbour

ManuelG

I appreciate it's easy to say when not there but... their behaviour is sufficient that they shouldn't get the land. They're bullies, blaggards, and bounders... they should be ignored.

Helpful tactic I learned when a friend tried to engage in legal action against someone else(!) Ask the solicitor one question a time if you can be bothered - the solicitor will charge per letter to respond to said question(s) and, if there's nothing in it, then the neighbours will soon tire of spending money for no reason, and the solicitor may well advise them it's a stupid course of action anyway.

Grumpy_chap

Nellie67 said:

This has been a long protracted argument going back months. The guy contested that the bit of land at the bottom of my garden was his. To and Fro ensued between his solicitor and me. I did not get a solicitor because I don't need one. 

I think it is clear that, if this proceeds, you will need a Solicitor. 
A partial land sale to an aggressive and argumentative purchaser needs to be done fully above board and so that your interests (short and long term) are protected.
You need the agreed value for the land plus all costs for both parties met by the purchaser.
Even if no alternative use for the land may seem possible, you may well want the agreement to include covenants that prevent the land being used for building on, vehicle access / parking, or whatever else might be detrimental to your remaining property ownership.
FWIW - £5k or £10k is too little for any piece of land that is being acquired by "hostile acquisition".  What use of the land does the purchaser have in mind that is different to your use of the land?
If this were me, I'd simply say that the land is not for sale and cease any further communication on the matter.

Titus_Wadd

As others have suggested, the offer to buy indicates they've abandoned proving the land might already belong to them.
Don't feel obliged to reply to their solicitor's letters,  I've found radio silence preferable to writing back without a lawyer's assistance (though my dispute is very different).  If the neighbour wants his solicitor to keep writing that's his decision and his bill to pay.
He seems very invested in the strip of land, check the councils planning portal for his address - maybe he's already submitted plans that reveal why he wants the land so badly.  If it were me, I'd decide not to sell, but please let us know how it pans out.

user1977

Titus_Wadd said:

He seems very invested in the strip of land, check the councils planning portal for his address - maybe he's already submitted plans that reveal why he wants the land so badly.

If he submitted any planning applications then the OP as a neighbour should already have been notified. It seems a bit fanciful - why would anyone apply for planning which relies on land which they don't yet control?

Titus_Wadd

user1977 said:

Titus_Wadd said:

He seems very invested in the strip of land, check the councils planning portal for his address - maybe he's already submitted plans that reveal why he wants the land so badly.

If he submitted any planning applications then the OP as a neighbour should already have been notified. It seems a bit fanciful - why would anyone apply for planning which relies on land which they don't yet control?

Ah, good point.

robatwork

Nellie67 said:

My clients see no benefit of incurring further legal costs through negotiation by

correspondence, which is clearly not progressing matters, and they have stated this on a

number of occasions previously. Their £5,000 offer, with each party bearing their own costs,

as set out in our letter dated 23 February 2024, remains open for a further 7-days. At this

time the offer will be withdrawn and court proceedings shall be issued, without further notice

to yourself.

This would put my hackles right up and I'd either not correspond any more, reply with a one line "See you in court" or most likely "I refer you to the response in Arkell vs Pressdram"

dharm999

As an aside, if the funds go in to escrow, there are costs involved in setting that up, if it’s done properly, which shouldn’t be for you to bear.  Another thing, is insist that any interest earned on the funds in escrow are for you not the buyers.

SDLT_Geek

dharm999 said:

As an aside, if the funds go in to escrow, there are costs involved in setting that up, if it’s done properly, which shouldn’t be for you to bear.  Another thing, is insist that any interest earned on the funds in escrow are for you not the buyers.

OP should not countenance the money being held in an escrow, even if OP does decide to sell!

Nellie67

Thanks to everyone for your advice and time taken to respond. For clarity this is a boundary at the end of my garden which backs on to my neighbour. This has been an ongoing boundary dispute since March 2023 and I have responded to every solicitor letter politely and at times offered to go above and beyond to help resolve the matter and speed up the process. It is clear that neighbour no longer wants to get a legally determined boundary resolution as they know that the outcome is not the desired one for them. Hence why they have resorted to offering money and bullying tactics. 

I remain, as I have done throughout, with no need to sell the land. I have signed no agreements or contracts other than an instruction letter for the surveyor.  They wanted me to sign a draft settlement agreement and I refused. 

At this point, with the overwhelming feedback on this site, I am determined to now walk away from this very stressful situation. 

I guess my only question now is on what grounds could they take me to court as he threatens to do? Could he just sue me for his solicitor costs incurred to date? and if so, then I guess I am bound to instruct a solicitor to counter his claim against me - meaning  I would have my solicitors costs to pay. It would seem to me he just wants to hit me financially now because there's little more he can do. He's not getting his own way in getting the boundary legally moved,  and I'm not agreeing to his purchase price so what else can he do? He's incurred all this cost for nothing. If he sues me and then loses is he also liable to pay a % of my costs?  Could he win a claim against me from what you can tell from the information I have shared? 
Also, The solicitor correspondence uses the term "Without Prejudice Save as to Costs". 
Am I right in thinking that this means that the letters may be produced as evidence only for claim of costs? So can I produce their letters as evidence if it were to go to court? 

Thanks for any more of your sage advice. 

kipperman

Considering you have signed nothing, agreed to nothing I am at a total loss as to what he could conceivably sue you for. I agree therefore with everyone else - ignore, or if you wish to be a bit more forthright, " Arkell vs Pressdram".