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Property/DIY

New detached house not so detached

266 replies

Gemmawashere · 23/07/2014 19:46

Hello - I have been reading many a useful topic on here for ages and am now hoping somebody can help with my issue regarding boundaries etc.

We are about to sign for a new house - a persimmon detached house that was already built with wall and roof and is just having the insides finished.

The neighbours to each side have already moved in - perhaps 1 month ago max.

This is our first house so not very experienced with how it all goes - anyway, the first thing was - which we stupidly didnt realise, the house is detached but we don't have access to one of side of our house - I thought it was a bit strange that, whats the point in having a detached? anyway, it appears this is quite normal so no real issues. The wall that we can't have access to forms the boundary, and on further inspection our neighbour has bolted his gate to this wall, he has also bolted his back garden fence to this wall and also there is a plank of wood bolted to my house rear wall! (does that make sense) which helps support his fence, and then to make matters worse the 5 wall posts are completely into our garden and over the boundary so that his fence is nice and flush with our wall! and then the cheeky guy has put flags down which go under his fence and a couple of inches past the edge of our house and into our garden!

So then to the other side - the other neighbour, they have built a supporting wall around there garden so that they can have it flattened (the gardens have an incline) which is a good idea, she has built this wall on the boundary line so I suppose half of it is into our garden - not the end of the world and I dont think this is a relationship breaker, but then the fence built on top of the wall has its 4 or 5 posts into our garden and they are secured into concrete!

I wanted to get the garden flattened - got a friend round, he said it couldn't really be done as next doors fence posts would end up not in the ground - would have to build another supporting wall way into our garden (am aware we need to build a supporting wall anyway) when really I should be able to build right up to the boundary line (which technically I can't build right up to the line as her wall is half over anyway - and thats if we got the posts removed!)

Sounds straight forward - so I spoke to the rude sales office, they inform me that they gave permission to the neighbours for all this to be done whilst they were still the 'owners' of the house! and we can't do anything about it - other than not sign for the house (next week), but it really is our dream home :(

Has anybody any ideas?

Thanks
Gemma
(sorry its so long)

OP posts:
Lelivre · 23/07/2014 19:54

What does the solicitor say as I would be concerned of implications if reselling.

Gemmawashere · 23/07/2014 20:11

Solicitor is 'looking into it' - but then am concerned as the solicitor is the one that Persimmon told us we must use......
They said that by using this solicitor there was more chance of us being approved and it would go through quicker - they were so rude and pushy but we thought they must be right and trusted there direction, on looking into now we were clearly to easily 'tricked' or 'conned' due to our naivety and eagerness to secure our first house

OP posts:
doobledootch · 23/07/2014 20:13

I wouldn't sign, not only have you lost garden but your future neighbours don't sound particularly neighbourly!

Itsfab · 23/07/2014 20:17

It won't be your dream home if your neighbours turn out to be so disrespectful and greedy.

Finola1step · 23/07/2014 20:20

I'm sorry to say that you have fallen for an old trick - the developers insisting that you use a particular solicitor! This means that you can not be that confident in the solicitor's impartiality.

However, all is not lost. The key question now is have you actually exchanged contracts and thus paid the 10% deposit? If you have and you pull out now, then you lose your 10%.

If not, then you do not have to continue. You could ask a builder for a quote on how much it would cost to make good the garden and boundary situations and approach the developer with a proposal to share such a cost.

Rockdoctor · 23/07/2014 20:21

Agree with doobledootch and Itsfab, quite apart from the legality of the whole thing, you are starting off with problem neighbours and you haven't even moved in yet.

Kerberos · 23/07/2014 20:23

Agree with Finola. If you've not exchanged you have time to put things right. And if not right then certainly to investigate further.

I'd also switch solicitors ASAP.

DayLillie · 23/07/2014 20:24

What finola said, and I would look into the possibility of another solicitor too.

PeoplesFrontOfJudea · 23/07/2014 20:25

I wouldn't sign either.

CrockedPot · 23/07/2014 20:25

You need impartial advice, not the advice of the persimmon subsidised solicitors. Clearly, by your post, your gut feeling is giving out warning signals, you are right to listen to them. The potential neighbours don't sound too great either. I would exercise caution and check it out with impartial legal advice, if I were you. Good luck!

Gemmawashere · 23/07/2014 20:26

Thanks doobledootch - thats our thoughts too, but we are unsure now if we could afford to pull out having paid a deposit and solicitors fees etc we wouldn't be able to afford to 'go again' on another house.
We think we are going to have to buy it still - its a beautiful house and a lovely area - its just these issues, I was hoping maybe that it didn't matter that persimmon had given the neighbours permission as it still goes over the boundary and they have still drilled into our walls.

The neighbour to one side is an elderly women (god bless her for going through the stress of buying a new home at her age!) and the other side are a middle age couple - both seemed decent but now we are wondering.

The fences are both positioned as such that the surveyor thought they were ours! erected like a good neighbour would - completely within our boundary with nothing even overhanging the boundary line and then the good side facing our neighbour! (I know this isn't rule/law but apparently good neighbours still do this)

We visited the other day and whilst in the living room the kids from next door were kicking the ball against there fence - no problems, but as its attached to our detached house it just completely shuddered every time the ball hit the fence! that can't be right! and then they slam the garden gate every 2 minutes - also attached - and also shaking the entire house!

OP posts:
DayLillie · 23/07/2014 20:29

Our neighbours children used to kick the football against the lean to garage, which was our party wall. It was like living in a drum :(. But they grew up and moved on - we have had 3 lots of nice neighbours since :)

Gemmawashere · 23/07/2014 20:30

Thanks to all the other replies - I was typing whilst you were.

We haven't paid the 10% deposit yet, we only paid a deposit to secure the house whilst the mortgage went through, we are at the stage now were we are just waiting for them to finish a couple things inside and then signing....

OP posts:
Viviennemary · 23/07/2014 20:30

I think under the circumstances I wouldn't go ahead with the sale. And them saying you must use their solicitor that seems to be a massive red flag. Don't sign before you take independent advice. I quite agree you are starting of with problem neighbours before you've even exchanged contracts.

fanjobiscuits · 23/07/2014 20:31

Definitely get it checked out with impartial solicitors before signing. Do neighbours/developers have proof of permission in writing? Developers sales offices have been known to give inaccurate info...

Gemmawashere · 23/07/2014 20:34

I wish we could afford to pay for it to be put right - it took us years just to save the deposit :/
and then there were loads of 'charges' we weren't ready for, searches this and that etc - so we have no money (or the power that comes with it)

A friend of mine also told me that 'new' boundary that the neighbours have created into my land will become the actual boundary in time - I looked it up, adverse possession, quite complicated - but incredibly cheeky! I hate my neighbours already, its so sad

OP posts:
GalaxyInMyPants · 23/07/2014 20:36

I'd be telling the solicitor to write to the neighbours and get them to remove their fences, concrete posts, anything drilled into your house. I would drag my feet about completing till its sorted.

Viviennemary · 23/07/2014 20:45

You could try saying either you want everything removed from your land that shouldnt be there or try and negotiate a substantial discount on the price. They won't want to lose a sale at this late stage. But it all depends on how much demand there is for the houses. I think under the circumstances you could even sue them and get all your fees back because they have really acted in an unreasonable and unfair way if you only found out about this building at this late stage.

But Iknow all this would cost money. Hope you get things sorted out.

BloodyNaffedOff · 23/07/2014 20:48

I would pull out, ut will annoy you forever. There will be other houses Wine

CurlyhairedAssassin · 23/07/2014 20:48

IS it normal to have no access to one wall in new build houses, as you seem to suggest in your OP?

Surely the land should go all around the edge of the house, all the way round?


The neighbours either side - do THEY have a similar boundary on the other side of their house? It seems you've come off worst.

To be honest it would put me off buying the house. The developers sound morally shoddy.

CalamitouslyWrong · 23/07/2014 20:50

If you paid a £500 deposit, you might find you get £250 of it back. Persimmon told us at the weekend that was their policy on deposits.

It's not too late to switch to your own solicitor, tbh. And make it clear that, since persimmon have given the neighbours a foot or so of your garden for free, you'd expect a reduction in price (or other stuff included in the original price: flooring, upgraded finishes, additional appliances, etc). If the house is already built they should be desperate to get rid of it so you should have some ability to negotiate. It's much harder for developers to get people to buy a house that's been built and the tiles and kitchen etc chosen by other people without offering a good discount.

I'd be very wary of buying a detached house where one of the walls form the boundary simply because the bloody neighbours might decide to extend and turn it into a semi or something equally nightmarish. Our street is full of 1930s semis with attached garages. Where two houses have added rooms above their garages, they've turned their houses into mid terraces, which would impact in the price.

juneybean · 23/07/2014 20:51

I'd pull out, you haven't thankfully put the 10% down. It sounds like a complete headache before you've even got in there.

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CurlyhairedAssassin · 23/07/2014 20:52

Reminds me of the PPI debacle. "If you take this out, it will improve your chances of getting the mortgage etc etc."

Have you got anything in writing that says that if you used their solicitor then things would progress quicker or whatever the reason given was?

OddFodd · 23/07/2014 20:53

I really think if you go through with this, you'll be throwing good money after bad. If you do go through with the sale, get your own solicitor and play hardball

CalamitouslyWrong · 23/07/2014 20:54

Curly: some of the houses on the development we were nosing around at the weekend are built so that one wall runs along the boundary and there's a driveway/garage on the other side. The house next to them has an extra metre (or less) of land on their plot so that the houses are detached even though one house has no access to their own wall. It's all part of the squeeze as many houses on as possible strategy.

The more expensive detached houses (and we're talking c.£100k more expensive) have access to both their walls. It means the gap between the bigger houses is c.2m rather than 1m on the side where there is no driveway.

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