The nervous wait to exchange....

[Dan_P]

This may sound like a daft question, however, our solicitor has shared with us the boundary lines for our new build house and we are surprised that there is a small piece of grass area next to our parking spaces which is also ours. What I am wondering, is if this is "our land" does that mean we can do anything we want with it (within reason and any associated planning permission)? For example, could we change this to additional parking spaces for us?

Picture attached (green space we didnt know about is highlighted in blue)

 

[koolpc]

This may sound like a daft question, however, our solicitor has shared with us the boundary lines for our new build house and we are surprised that there is a small piece of grass area next to our parking spaces which is also ours. What I am wondering, is if this is "our land" does that mean we can do anything we want with it (within reason and any associated planning permission)? For example, could we change this to additional parking spaces for us?

Picture attached (green space we didnt know about is highlighted in blue)

Your solicitor should be able to find out for you

 

[Dan_P]

Your solicitor should be able to find out for you

I have already asked, however while i am waiting was hoping someone here would have an idea.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

If there is a restriction, it will be in your contract.

 

[alexakasloth]

@b0rn2sk8 exactly as you said, quick look around and took some photos around mid day and now have an offer issued, so a pretty good day.

 

[happy_2008]

Just had an offer accepted on a property

However, trying to contact my mortgage company Clydesdale is an absolutely nightmare since they're not accepting inbound calls.

 

[ProStreet]

Should be completing in the next two weeks but all depends on negotiating one crucial legal bit in the contract . Should find out this week. Nervous!

Buying a house is definitely one of the biggest challenges.. and I'm buying with no chain either ends. Can't imagine buying a house with a chain...!!

 

[Phil99]

I have already asked, however while i am waiting was hoping someone here would have an idea.

There might be restrictive covenants in the deeds that cover what you can/can't do with the land. Those restrictions would apply over and above any planning permission that may be granted. If there are any restrictions, it's not uncommon for them to expire after a certain time period (i.e. a fixed period after the builders have sold the last plot).

If there are restrictions and they don't have an expiry date, it might be worth asking your solicitor if it's worth trying to negotiate an expiry time. I have no idea how successful that might be, though.

 

[Nomisf]

Has anyone here used "Personal" Searches or an indemnity policy in place of Local Authority Searches ?

The LA have quoted 25th November as the soonest date they will return results - "because of Covid" - aside from the LA search everything else is ready for exchange. Our solicitor is as incensed as we are, and I am willing to throw money at the problem - but I am eager to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation!

 

[Dan_P]

There might be restrictive covenants in the deeds that cover what you can/can't do with the land. Those restrictions would apply over and above any planning permission that may be granted. If there are any restrictions, it's not uncommon for them to expire after a certain time period (i.e. a fixed period after the builders have sold the last plot).

If there are restrictions and they don't have an expiry date, it might be worth asking your solicitor if it's worth trying to negotiate an expiry time. I have no idea how successful that might be, though.

Thank you very much, hopefully I will hear more from the solicitor soon. I hope we can build extra parking, I think this will be beneficial for both both us while we live there and the house when resell.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

You would just need to make it clear to your neighbours that you actually own the land. In my experience of new build estates with insufficient parking is that people will just park anywhere, including grassed areas.

 

[Dan_P]

I have queried this section of the contract with the solicitor who is also questioning the developer if this can be removed. What I don’t know is should it be removed, is there a benefit?

The Buyer now applies to become a member of the Management Company and will become a Director or
Secretary of the Management Company if asked to do so by the Seller.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I assume it’s because the estate isn’t adopted by the council and you are responsible for the upkeep of the communal areas and have to pay a small fee.

Normally this is done through a management company that all of the property owners own and run. The work is normally contracted to a local firm, your role to to make sure they aren’t taking the proverbial.

Why would you want it removed? If you are not a part of the management company you have no say over the upkeep of the communal areas and the costs involved.

 

[Dan_P]

I assume it’s because the estate isn’t adopted by the council and you are responsible for the upkeep of the communal areas and have to pay a small fee.

Normally this is done through a management company that all of the property owners own and run. The work is normally contracted to a local firm.

Why would you want it removed? If you are not a part of the management company you have no say over the upkeep of the communal areas and the costs involved.

I didn't really understand it and the solicitor has asked if this can be removed, not me. Based on your response though it seems to make sense to keep it, so when the developer responds to the solicitor assuming nothing else has changed i will ask them to keep it.

 

[HungryHippos]

On my previous property I had FirstPort (really crap management company) basically trying to guilt trip me into becoming a director of the local estate holding company, said it would be 2-3 hours work a month. Unpaid. No thanks!

Not just me probably sent the same thing to everyone.

Didn't really see why it was necessary they just need to cut some grass and fix broken things, that kind of work is what they are paid to do by the residents.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I’m not a lawyer so don’t rely on my advice, there is loads of information online about these arrangements and how they work in practice. I’d suggest doing your own research so you know that your signing up to. This kind of arrangement is getting very common these days though and key to make sure you don’t get taken for a ride when it comes to maintenance fees. Those who are directors can ultimately get rid of the contractor you have and get a new one if necessary.

This apples to a couple of people I know and the residents take turns as directors of the management company.

 

[roge8014]

We're in the 9th week of the selling process. The rest of our (significantly long) chain are now discussing completion dates. As at the end of last week we STILL haven't had ANY information on the property we're buying - no PIF no FFE forms, no test certificates and no answers from the 20 odd "enquiries" made by our solicitors based on the searches.

After almost three weeks of radio silence from our solicitors (as we were trying to get this PROW issue sorted) we found out we'd been moved conveyencing team internally within the firm (without being told!). We finally got hold of our new solicitor last week and things have started to happen, got an email this morning to say they've received a "flurry" of emails off our sellers solicitor which they hope answer the multi-enquries questions. I'm hoping we finally get to see what the seller is leaving in the property (the seller contacted us to see if we would like to buy the blinds througout the property which they paid £2k for and would let us have for £300; we can't agree anything until we see what they're leaving and what they're taking - my issue with the blinds is that they're made-to-measure so unless they're renting a property with identical sized windows, what the hell they gonna do with them if they take them??).

Our seller has been the one wanting a completion date of 25th September, and she's still wanting this completion date as she's moving up to Chester due to her job and they're renting so I'm guessing she's already paid deposit and doesn't want a double whammy in October of rent AND mortgage payments. But this PROW is going to get in the way, plus we asked for at least 10 days between exchange and complete to allow us to organise the removal and reinstallation of my sons bed (its an NHS adjustable bed and can't be moved like a normal bed), so the 25th isn't going to happen unless by some devine miracle things all just happen. Our solicitor has reported the PROW to our mortgage lender who will probably do one of three things (I think) - insist on an indemnity insurance to cover loss or request a reduction on the value of the property or (I really hope not) retract the offer - unless our seller has information on the PROW which takes the problem away (like they had the path diverted).

Jeez the stress of it all.....

@TheVoice as many have mentioned in this thread, numerous time, choose your solicitor carefully, seems like you're good to go in all areas.

 

[mid_gen]

Surveyors are always extremely over cautious in what they put down on paper.

There are good surveyors that take into account the age of the property and include some context in their recommendations. Then there are bad surveyors like the one I got for this latest property, who just flat out stated that half the property and fittings were knackered and needed replacing.

Has anyone here used "Personal" Searches or an indemnity policy in place of Local Authority Searches ?

The LA have quoted 25th November as the soonest date they will return results - "because of Covid" - aside from the LA search everything else is ready for exchange. Our solicitor is as incensed as we are, and I am willing to throw money at the problem - but I am eager to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation!

25th November? I thought the 4 weeks we're waiting was bad.

No experience of them, but I'd definitely explore the indemnity insurance option.

 

[koolpc]

There are good surveyors that take into account the age of the property and include some context in their recommendations. Then there are bad surveyors like the one I got for this latest property, who just flat out stated that half the property and fittings were knackered and needed replacing.


25th November? I thought the 4 weeks we're waiting was bad.

No experience of them, but I'd definitely explore the indemnity insurance option.

Some are real scaremongers.

 

[Liquid_Entity]

So a flurry of activity since yesterdays depressive day. Local searches haven't shown the loft conversion as having any building regs approval and upon a search myself of the council there is nothing about the extension either. Spoke to estate agents who said vendor had paperwork and was passing it on to my solicotors. Even though was told they already had all paper work. Surely they would have known such questions would have been raised.

Asbestos survey booked for tomorrow morning so by end of week we are either still pursuing or bailing out and if we bail out I am sure our buyers will not hang around any longer and then we'll be £2-3k worst off with no house to buy and no flat to sell as nobody is buying flats at the moment.