Boundary issue

Stressed_Seller_2025

Hello, we received an offer on our house and accepted it. We are now roughly half way through the whole process and our buyers are questioning the boundaries of the property. We live on a new build estate which means we don't own the front and side of our house - we pay a service charge for this. The estate agents knew this and yet it seems our buyers were under the impression they would own that land. The buyers are now saying they need to think about whether they want to proceed. We have spent a fair bit on solicitors fees already and on our next house as we needed to reserve it and choose our options as it is a new build. Where do we stand now if our buyers pull out?

Mark_d

The buyers are free to change their minds at any point and for any reason up until the exchange of contracts.

I don't know what you've paid your solicitors for.  When I've bought/sold my home, my conveyancing company wouldn't charge fees unless the sale/purchase completes (though there could be costs)

daveyjp

In England and Wales a sale isn't a sale until exchange of contracts.  Up to that point both seller and purchaser are free to pull out of negotiations.

Knowing what you are buying is the first stage of any sale and this is the job of the solicitor acting for the buyer, not the agent acting for the seller.

Section62

Stressed_Seller_2025 said:

Hello, we received an offer on our house and accepted it. We are now roughly half way through the whole process and our buyers are questioning the boundaries of the property. We live on a new build estate which means we don't own the front and side of our house - we pay a service charge for this. The estate agents knew this and yet it seems our buyers were under the impression they would own that land. The buyers are now saying they need to think about whether they want to proceed. We have spent a fair bit on solicitors fees already and on our next house as we needed to reserve it and choose our options as it is a new build. Where do we stand now if our buyers pull out?

You need to have a conversation with your EA - if your buyers pull out you'll need to find new ones PDQ as your contract for the new build is unlikely to give you the freedom to back out with minimal loss that your buyers will have up to exchange.

The EA needs to establish whether the buyers are just having a wobble over the boundary issue, or if it is a red line to them.  Be guided by your EA - you don't want to wait weeks for the buyers to 'think' before ultimately pulling out, but equally if it is only a wobble then you don't want to do anything that would prejudice the sale.

It is extremely unlikely you'll be able to do anything for the buyers in terms of getting the boundaries changed, so the options available to the buyers are very limited.

loubel

Your agent needs to discuss this with the buyer to establish what the issue is. If you had told the agent that the land wasn't included in the sale then they should have passed that info on early, so I doubt it is thaton its own. I would presume that the info on the service charge has been passed on to them now by their solicitor and that is what is putting them off - is there an estate rentcharge?

AlexMac

Stressed_Seller_2025 said:

... We have spent a fair bit on solicitors fees already and on our next house ... Where do we stand now if our buyers pull out?

Sympathies; I pulled out of buying a flat once as the seller (a developer, who'd bought the property as a part-exchange) was being wholly incompetent and unreasonable about replies to enquiries and then, some water damage during the lead-up to exchange.  I just swallowed the several hundred pounds of my solicitors' costs, so unless you have the conveyancing arrangement described by Mark_d above, I guess it'll cost you some legal fees, but worse, potentially lose you the onward purchase? 

However, your Estate Agent (and Solicitor?) should maybe be trowelling on the reassurance that this is a perfectly normal arrangement on this new estate (assuming it is?) and that the service charge is good value for money (if the estate management maintain it...?).  If all else fails you, could decide whether to offer the incentive of a price cut, but don't offer that too soon.  Good luck anyway!

m0bov

Your EA should be sorting this. The buyer needs to decide today,are they pulling out. Any more dithering, get it back on market.