Landlocked property

GDB2222

If you’re going to buy this house, together with the surrounding land, then you need to accept that the land has significant development potential, or at least that is how the cousin sees it. 

So, to make this work, you either need to pay a price that factors in the development potential, or you need to structure a more complex deal where you pay a lower price now but give the seller a chunk of any uplift in value due to development. This seems a fair solution, but agreeing the details could take time. 

Section62

GDB2222 said:

If you’re going to buy this house, together with the surrounding land, then you need to accept that the land has significant development potential, or at least that is how the cousin sees it. 

So, to make this work, you either need to pay a price that factors in the development potential, or you need to structure a more complex deal where you pay a lower price now but give the seller a chunk of any uplift in value due to development. This seems a fair solution, but agreeing the details could take time. 

If I were the neighbour I wouldn't be interested in any deal involving future uplift payments.  It hands control to the buyer, who can simply wait until the uplift clause expires and then go ahead with the development without paying the vendor a penny.  If the buyer is buying the adjacent house as a long-term home then they possibly won't be interested in having a new housing development on their doorstep anytime soon... they can (unless they need cash sooner) just sit on the land like the current owners are until such time that they decide to move on or realise their investment.

GDB2222

Section62 said:

GDB2222 said:

If you’re going to buy this house, together with the surrounding land, then you need to accept that the land has significant development potential, or at least that is how the cousin sees it. 

So, to make this work, you either need to pay a price that factors in the development potential, or you need to structure a more complex deal where you pay a lower price now but give the seller a chunk of any uplift in value due to development. This seems a fair solution, but agreeing the details could take time. 

If I were the neighbour I wouldn't be interested in any deal involving future uplift payments.  It hands control to the buyer, who can simply wait until the uplift clause expires and then go ahead with the development without paying the vendor a penny.  If the buyer is buying the adjacent house as a long-term home then they possibly won't be interested in having a new housing development on their doorstep anytime soon... they can (unless they need cash sooner) just sit on the land like the current owners are until such time that they decide to move on or realise their investment.

That point had occurred to me, which is why I thought it might become a complex negotiation! 

ManuelG

How has this thread made 2025 without the OP walking away?

GDB2222

ManuelG said:

How has this thread made 2025 without the OP walking away?

The OP really likes the house itself, and he's had a couple of failed transactions before. At this stage, it's not costing him anything to hang in for now, and I expect he's looking around for alternatives. 

Hoenir

GDB2222 said:

ManuelG said:

How has this thread made 2025 without the OP walking away?

The OP really likes the house itself, and he's had a couple of failed transactions before. At this stage, it's not costing him anything to hang in for now, and I expect he's looking around for alternatives. 

Unless one party involved in the transaction moves away from their entrenched position. Then nothing can or will happen. Deadlock. 

GDB2222

Hoenir said:

GDB2222 said:

ManuelG said:

How has this thread made 2025 without the OP walking away?

The OP really likes the house itself, and he's had a couple of failed transactions before. At this stage, it's not costing him anything to hang in for now, and I expect he's looking around for alternatives. 

Unless one party involved in the transaction moves away from their entrenched position. Then nothing can or will happen. Deadlock. 

The OP said the house vendor is up against a deadline, so either he will successfully put pressure on his cousin about the land, or he will just come to terms with the idea that he has an unsaleable property. In the OP's place, I would just wait and see what happens. I expect it will be that the seller withdraws the house from the market, but you never know. 

MysteryMe

ManuelG said:

How has this thread made 2025 without the OP walking away?

Quite,

It is understandable that due to past disappointments the OP may have hung on longer than I suspect most people would but seriously how many red flags does someone need? Obvious lack of transparency from the vendor as to why they have never secured access rights, pressure applied to the OP to push through a quick sale, neighbours who are less than cordial and apparently not willing to negotiate access unless it involves a significant sum of money, one of the neighbours appearing in the local papers and not for a good reason and the increased possibility of anti social behaviour at their boundary line as a result, the neighbours land potentially changing in use. I mean blimey, just get it go.

Statex2_2

MysteryMe said:

ManuelG said:

How has this thread made 2025 without the OP walking away?

Quite,

It is understandable that due to past disappointments the OP may have hung on longer than I suspect most people would but seriously how many red flags does someone need? Obvious lack of transparency from the vendor as to why they have never secured access rights, pressure applied to the OP to push through a quick sale, neighbours who are less than cordial and apparently not willing to negotiate access unless it involves a significant sum of money, one of the neighbours appearing in the local papers and not for a good reason and the increased possibility of anti social behaviour at their boundary line as a result, the neighbours land potentially changing in use. I mean blimey, just get it go.

Thanks for the replies that is how I feel, if up to me solely I would have walked away already but as we are buying it with our son he is pushing us to continue with the purchase. Previously we have had a few properties that have fallen through,(gazumped,in a flood plane, bad surveys etc )  My son has said that he will not consider any future properties this is the last chance, and my wife wants to be near the grandchildren and as we do not have very nice neighboursetc  I am under pressure from all sides. 

The land owners have now reduced the price but it just makes me wonder if this is a ploy to get us to buy the house and then pull out of the land deal.I have made it clear to the sellers of the house beforehand that I would have to purchase the land before the house if only an hour before therefore ensuring the access rights. The people who own the land have said they would require exchange  and completion on the same day.

The estate agent keeps pushing for me to have a survey but I want everything else sorted first before wasting any further cash on solicitors and surveys. We have lost enough cash on previous abortive purchases.

Another caveat is that the owner of the land has let a local farmer use the land for haymaking, no rent just a handshake agreement, does that cause problems. Could he claim a right to use it in future. Agricultural tenancies are complex and sometimes by letting someone use a field it can cause problems.One for the conveyancer.

So many issues with this property although it is just what we want I still believe that we should walk away.

babyblade41

I've followed this thread  and can not for the life of me think why you are still considering this property . 

Widen your search just a little more and include ones over budget and I'm sure there is something around that is far more desirable 

This has disaster written all over it .Time is precious , don't waste it