Garden, but no garden.

WIAWSNB

Davesquire said:

WIAWSNB said:

Hi Dave.
Have you been proved sight of the deeds for this property? You can download a copy of 'yours' right away for just a £ew. And worth doing ditto for the neighbour too.
Good chance the answer will be in words, and not the 'map'.
This could, for example, be a 'communal' garden, owned by one, but with entitled access by others. The deeds would/should make this clear.
If that's the case, then it could also have restrictions on what it can be used for - BBQs, outbuildings, etc. And, it would hopefully clarify that you do have rights to exit over it, and use it as part of the included folk.
Would that be an ok scenario? A 'shared' garden?
You had a separate concern regarding access for maintenance? That should not be a problem - afaIk, everybody has this 'right' via neighbouring land, and it can be enforced - if needed - using a court order. The vast majority of neighb's just say, "Of course!".
This has to be your call, of course, but I'd strongly suggest that if it turns out the garden is fully and exclusively owned by the other property, and you don't have an easement or covenant that allows you to cross it, and if it goes right up to a clear window, then the property would have to be compellingly cheap. 

Apologies for the delay in responding and thank-you for your wise words. 
I do have the deeds, but they are outdated and do not refer to the garden at all. I do now have a cunning plan and, yes, have asked my solicitor to suggest knocking a few bob off the price.

Make sure your cunning plan is also a credible one, legally :-)

Good luck, and please keep us updated. 

Davesquire

GDB2222 said:

More than a few bob! A house without a garden is worth a lot less. Are you saying that there’s no outside space at all? 

Allegedly. Well, according to the plans and the solicitor's efforts.

elsien

Davesquire said:

WIAWSNB said:

Hi Dave.
Have you been proved sight of the deeds for this property? You can download a copy of 'yours' right away for just a £ew. And worth doing ditto for the neighbour too.
Good chance the answer will be in words, and not the 'map'.
This could, for example, be a 'communal' garden, owned by one, but with entitled access by others. The deeds would/should make this clear.
If that's the case, then it could also have restrictions on what it can be used for - BBQs, outbuildings, etc. And, it would hopefully clarify that you do have rights to exit over it, and use it as part of the included folk.
Would that be an ok scenario? A 'shared' garden?
You had a separate concern regarding access for maintenance? That should not be a problem - afaIk, everybody has this 'right' via neighbouring land, and it can be enforced - if needed - using a court order. The vast majority of neighb's just say, "Of course!".
This has to be your call, of course, but I'd strongly suggest that if it turns out the garden is fully and exclusively owned by the other property, and you don't have an easement or covenant that allows you to cross it, and if it goes right up to a clear window, then the property would have to be compellingly cheap. 

Apologies for the delay in responding and thank-you for your wise words. 
I do have the deeds, but they are outdated and do not refer to the garden at all. I do now have a cunning plan and, yes, have asked my solicitor to suggest knocking a few bob off the price.

Is this for both your property and the neighbours? Because if you haven’t looked at the neighbours to see what theirs reference for the garden, that would be my starting point. 

koalakoala

He said he had looked at the neighbours

ExEstateAgent

You can't dictate what whoever has access to the garden can or can't do - so yes, they might decide to put the BBQ right in front of your window, or have kids playing and kicking a ball up against your wall. 

I viewed a maisonette which had a nice french doors onto a large lawned garden, only it transpired that the garden belonged to upstairs. The vendors claimed they bought the property as it was and that the neighbour is happy for them to use the garden. 

I saw the property a while later after somone had bought it. The french doors were now a wall - whether the new owners decided they didn't want doors onto land they didn't own, or if upstairs caused issues I don't know.