Waiting for exchange - strange enquiry. please help!

CCrowthwr93

Hi all!

We are currently eagerly (impatiently) awaiting exchange for the property that we are selling. In the third, and hopefully final, round of enquiries that the buyers’ solicitor sent they have requested the below information:

1. Our search reveals the below Land Compensation Charge. Please provide evidence that this has been paid in full:-

Land Compensation Notice made under Section 8(4) of the Land Compensation Act 1973, dated 23/06/1988

 Has anyone received similar before? What does this even mean?! It’s dated 1988 and our property was built in 2022…how would we even have access to this information?

Has anyone had similar? Did you find the answer? How did you respond?

It feels like the enquiries have been relentless and we really need to get them wrapped up asap.

Secondly, hoping that this is the final round of enquiries…once they have been returned/reviewed/satisfied, how soon potentially could we reach exchange? 

Buyers are FTB and there is no chain our end as we are buying a new build.

Thank you  

user1977

Presumably you have a solicitor rather than having to figure this out for yourself? What's their advice? It should be obvious that you won't have any info to provide.

CCrowthwr93

user1977 said:

Presumably you have a solicitor rather than having to figure this out for yourself? What's their advice? It should be obvious that you won't have any info to provide.

Yes we do! The enquiry was forwarded from themselves with no advice given. Whilst it seems obvious to us, and we have emailed them asking for clarification as well as emailing the solicitor that we used for purchasing, we weren’t sure if there is someway for us to find this information as we do not want to cause unnecessary delays.

It is such a specific enquiry that it feels like we should know what this is?

If the answer is as simple as ‘we have no way to access this’ then that’s great, we just want to ensure that we are responding with the correct information to avoid delays. 

Thank you

user1977

CCrowthwr93 said:

user1977 said:

Presumably you have a solicitor rather than having to figure this out for yourself? What's their advice? It should be obvious that you won't have any info to provide.

Yes we do! The enquiry was forwarded from themselves with no advice given. 

Ok, they sound like idiots in that case. My sympathies.

subjecttocontract

All you can do is reply that you have no knowledge of and hold no documents relating to it. If the buyers legal team feel they need evidence it's been paid or no longer relevant then unfortunately it is likely to cause some delays for everyone. 

twopenny

You could try referring them to the builders of your property who are the only ones who might know.

Chief_of_Staffy

Your solicitor is incompetent. They should have dealt with the enquiry, which is a simple one, and not even involved you. It will relate to historic land use, nothing to do with your house. Your solicitor needs to check the records and reply to the buyer's solicitor. If they're incapable of doing that, which it sounds like, the buyer can spend a tenner on an indemnity policy if it bothers them, which it shouldn't.

Section62

CCrowthwr93 said:

Hi all!

We are currently eagerly (impatiently) awaiting exchange for the property that we are selling. In the third, and hopefully final, round of enquiries that the buyers’ solicitor sent they have requested the below information:

1. Our search reveals the below Land Compensation Charge. Please provide evidence that this has been paid in full:-

Land Compensation Notice made under Section 8(4) of the Land Compensation Act 1973, dated 23/06/1988

 Has anyone received similar before? What does this even mean?! It’s dated 1988 and our property was built in 2022…how would we even have access to this information?

Has anyone had similar? Did you find the answer? How did you respond?

....

The Land Compensation Act 1973 mainly relates to land a property affected by public works, and compensation payable to occupiers and/or owners as a result.  For example, it may be applicable if part of a property is compulsorily purchased leaving the remaining part worth less than it would be as part of a larger plot.  More commonly, where there are improvements made (say a road widening) and the resulting increase in traffic, which is also now closer to a dwelling, causes disturbance which devalues the property.  The rules are complex, and probably beyond the average conveyancing solicitor to work out.

I don't understand the solicitor's question though.  Does it relate to a local land charge?

The answer is most likely held by the local council... though it might take a lot of perseverance to find it.

vic_sf49

Has your solicitor just forwarded it to you, like they have with other enquiries, to show you that there is this one remaining question?

As mentioned already, just reply "Don't know what this is, and have no documents referring to it, so please deal with it." 

35har1old

vic_sf49 said:

Has your solicitor just forwarded it to you, like they have with other enquiries, to show you that there is this one remaining question?

As mentioned already, just reply "Don't know what this is, and have no documents referring to it, so please deal with it." 

Sold a property last year I was asked questions by my solicitor I thought they should have found the answers themselves.
One example the house was a new build roughly 15 years ago  was the pumping station on the site adopted.i had to phone the local authority and ask for email detailing the date of adoption
Solicitor do very little 
Buyer was keen to complete but both solicitor's dragged it out if it had not been for the estate agent talking to the buyer and convincing him that the solicitor was prolonging  the issue 
 

subjecttocontract

I'm not suggesting this is you but.......part of the problem is that people often choose a solicitor on price. They go for the one that charges the least so they often get what they pay for. Sometimes there is a premium service offered for an extra £50 or £100 but people won't pay extra. It's very difficult to find a firm that will do a first class job for very little.