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Property/DIY

Vendors don't know who is responsible for any boundary

24 replies

HuckleberryGin · 30/07/2016 21:11

Vendor been really slow and only just received property information pack. They don't know who is responsible for any boundary, left, rear or right. Dh is ha ing a hiss fit over it. I do realise it could lead to issues. Is there a simple way of finding out. He's suggesting talking to neighbours.

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Palomb · 30/07/2016 22:01

We had this with the house we have just sold. There were no T marks on the maps and the boundarys were not mentioned in the deeds.

Our buyers solicitor was a dick about it but if you don't know them you don't know. We must have answered that question about 4 times. In the end I was tempted to lie about it.

It's quite common for boundarys to be shared.

When we bought that house we just accepted that we'd have to assume responsibility for the fencing.

KingJoffreyLikesJaffaCakes · 30/07/2016 22:02

Isn't it the left side which is usually yours.

Palomb · 30/07/2016 22:05

No, that's a myth. Each property is different.

LegoCaltrops · 30/07/2016 22:06

If there is nothing in the title deeds etc which helps, & you are concerned there may be issues down the line, is there be an indemnity policy available which would satisfy you & your lender?

HuckleberryGin · 30/07/2016 22:06

Dh is unhappy to go ahead with sale with just a don't know. Boundary disputes are very common (he works for the council). We have dick head neighbours right now and knowing which wall was ours helped stop them destroying it and hammering a fence directly into it.

King what I've read says that that isn't true, just commonly believed.

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LIZS · 30/07/2016 22:10

Neighbouring land registry details may show it. We are responsible for all 3 at the back so no there is no convention of "to the left".

HuckleberryGin · 30/07/2016 22:11

The fence the left and rear is the same. The right boundary is a half fence/wall, which makes me think that is probably neighbours.

I'm not as fussed as Dh. He gets worked up about odd little things.

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Mycraneisfixed · 30/07/2016 22:12

Terraced house built 1899. No-one knows who's responsible for any boundary but we manage.

trinity0097 · 31/07/2016 07:51

I was unsure when doing my property info pack, but all was on the deeds which the buyers solicitors got.

The usual timescale of doing things is to have to fill out that form in an urgency to get it back to the solicitors so that the process can start even before you've found all the important documents!

HuckleberryGin · 31/07/2016 08:11

Yeah, sadly not in this case. We've been waiting for weeks for this. We've got a copy of title deeds at same time and it's not marked on there that I can see.

They didn't instruct their solicitors until about 4 weeks after the offer. We are pretty much ready to exchange on the sale of our house.

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wowfudge · 31/07/2016 08:27

The presumption is that they are shared if not explicit in the title docs. Tbh I think your DH is being over-cautious verging on the ridiculous - unless there are issues regarding the current boundary structures.

ChunkyHare · 31/07/2016 12:19

We had title deeds with the purchase documents but had to apply to land registry for the additional document listing all the covenants on it and it was on that document where it specifically said all boundaries are shared. Not on the title plan.

The title plan didn't have any markers on it, but the vendor said all boundaries between us and the neighbours are shared. Our house was built in the late 1990's.

I can understand your Dh's concern, but could you ask the neighbours what their belief is or are there too many?

PotteringAlong · 31/07/2016 12:24

There are no boundaries marked on ours so we just share them

HuckleberryGin · 31/07/2016 12:49

"ovef-cautious verging on ridiculous" is a pretty good summer of him :) But he's a good egg in other ways. Right I'll try talking some sense into him.

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SweepTheHalls · 31/07/2016 13:08

We had the same issue which made me flap in our sale, but the solicitors were very laid back, said it was quite common. We do now have a slight issue that our new neighbours think the dilapidated fence is ours to maintain, but seem to be backing down as I pointed out that we obtained copies of ours and their documents from the land registry and there is no markings on either, which means responsibility must be shared.

Spickle · 31/07/2016 13:22

Yes, if title deeds or any old conveyancing documents don't show ownership then Land Registry will say it's shared.

How long have the vendors owned the property? We would normally make an enquiry of their solicitor saying something like "we note the seller has owned the property for xxx years and we would therefore ask you to clarify with the seller why they have stated that they do not know who maintains any of the boundaries in their reply to ..... in the Property Information Form. Surely they must have carried out some maintenance during their ownership of the property?"

Even if you still don't get the ideal response, it at least addresses the question further and makes the vendor think once again about his answer to that question.

wowfudge · 31/07/2016 13:45

Hope I didn't offend OP - we have never bought a property where responsibility for the boundaries was explicit.

HuckleberryGin · 31/07/2016 14:02

No, no offence wow I think he's being ridiculous too!

They've lived there 2 years. I don’t think they've done anything. They've not had the boiler serviced either which Dh also thinks is outrageous (honestly he can be quite lovely sometimes)

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ExcuseMyEyebrows · 31/07/2016 14:12

The vendors of the house I live in now were very frustrating. They answered 'don't know' to every question I asked them.

They didn't even know which company supplied their gas and electricity! Took me ages to find out too.

wowfudge · 31/07/2016 14:52

Our vendors said they hadn't had any electrical work done in 30 odd years. So who fitted the modern alarm and security lights? Just meant we took much of what they said with a pinch of salt.

GiddyOnZackHunt · 31/07/2016 18:39

We bought our house from a lady with dementia so the questionnaire filled in by her twit of a son had more 'Don't Knows' than answers. Didn't even know who the electricity supplier was!
We knew what we were in for and it's been fine. Neighbours both sides are reasonable (phew!) so we know now.

BasinHaircut · 01/08/2016 07:15

Yeah we share responsibility with both sides apparently. Our vendors didn't know legally either but did say that they had gone halves with neighbours on a new fence. Once we had moved in we asked the neighbours and they both said it was shared.

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YelloDraw · 01/08/2016 09:09

I'm responsible for all the boundaries! Unlucky end of terrace.

I think that if I was buying where it wasn't clear - I would hope for shared and nice neighbors but plan for PITA and to have to maintain them myself.

HuckleberryGin · 01/08/2016 12:15

Thanks. I think if it is shared dh will want a further viewing to inspect the walls and fencing. God he's hard work sometimes.

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