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Original poster

NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE

867 replies

MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 09:29

Hi

I need some advice please.

We're buying a semi detached property and due to exchange and complete in a week or 2.

Over the weekend we drove past the property to find a fence being built between our garden and the property on the right. I suspected they had come in to our garden at a glance so drove past again yesterday.

The fence had fully been up and clearly it crossed in to our garden (to be). I've attached a quick drawing which shows what I mean. The red line is the fence the neighbour has put up.

Just for some context this is a auction property as the owner has died and the children wanted a quick sale. This means that we have a deadline for completition which makes things more stressful.

What do we do now?

Tia

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NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE
OP posts:
PsychoHotSauce · 06/05/2025 13:56

I'm really happy for you OP, but be very careful with those neighbours. They've managed to land grab and got away with it. There's no telling what they'll do when your back is turned now. I would be taking photos of locations of every garden structure/boundary with the pics showing actual measurements from other garden structures to prove location. I'd also set up a camera or two (with all the right privacy settings so it only covers your actual garden), so you have proof if they ever try anything else.

Original poster
MummyToBeAgain1 · 06/05/2025 13:56

Dayna87 · 06/05/2025 13:52

Good luck OP - I think you will need it with those CF for neighbours!

I shall keep you updated about them!! Hopefully, this was a sneaky take whilst the property was vacant and not they day to day behaviour!

OP posts:
WhiteCloudd · 06/05/2025 13:53

So in the end the seller lost out because of the shitty neighbours. They sound horrible.

Whyherewego · 06/05/2025 13:53

Well done OP!

Dayna87 · 06/05/2025 13:52

Good luck OP - I think you will need it with those CF for neighbours!

Original poster
MummyToBeAgain1 · 06/05/2025 13:49

UPDATE.

Firstly, can I apologise for leaving you hanging!
The last 2 weeks have been the most stressful and intense 2 weeks of my life and that is no exaggeration. I felt it was best to fully focus on the house issue and update on here when I had definite results.

After alot of back and forth, discussions with all parties - we decided to accept the change and ask for a price reduction. We accepted the change because the strip of land taken wouldn't effect us massively as the garden was big anyway so we were happy if the price was reduced accordingly.

The price reduction we proposed reflected the price of the land taken, the solicitor/surveyor costs we will need to pay when getting this changed on Land Reg, and the inconvenience this will cause for us.

Initially, they proposed half of the price reduction we asked for but in the end agreed the full amount to get the sale through.

My advice to everyone would be don't rely on your solicitor especially when buying a house on auction. Contact the auction person, the agent and the solicitor - send all of them the emails. Contact everyone if you need things moving otherwise you'll put yourself in a really risky place. We're days away from our auction deadline - completion will be on the final day but we've made it!!

Thank you all for your advice and support. :-)

OP posts:
Missohnoyoubetterdont · 06/05/2025 07:14

Must be some update by now! 🍿

MinnieGirl · 06/05/2025 06:36

Hope it’s all being settled OP. You’ve got to be getting close to the time limit from the auction now. Fingers crossed for you.

Flyonthewall01 · 01/05/2025 16:49

Any update?

confusedaboutetiquette · 28/04/2025 07:37

We eventually managed to sell the property our neighbour made a land grab for. All done at great cost through solicitors. Git of a neighbour was fixed to Concede and sign a boundary agreement because our next step had to be barristers. He would have lost at huge cost and must have k own it. What annoys me though are two things:
we had to bear most of the cost (because had we been forced to take him to court we would have had to show we’d made reasonable attempts to negotiate (crazy since the land was OURS!). The stress was all ours too.
and also, the git is still telling people we stole the land - despite the fact his own father was there when we bought the property and helped mark out the boundary he disputed.

although the law got us there in the end, it has the whiff of an ass (to mangle a saying!)

Middlechild3 · 27/04/2025 08:50

Blatant land grab, solicitors!

Silversixpenny · 27/04/2025 08:44

SoonTheDaffodilsWillBeOver · 26/03/2025 09:45

To be clear OP - this is not your house. You haven’t even exchanged yet. So you can’t go to the neighbours and say the fence is on your land, because it’s not yet your land.

I would go through your solicitors and say there appears to be a boundary dispute, and you need the sellers to resolve this before exchange. Then it’s their problem.

THIS is tbe right answer

Booboobagins · 27/04/2025 08:11

I hope this works out ok. The alternative to moving the fence line is to charge them to buy your land. But yes you're moving next to CFs.

I pulled put of a purchase when the neighbours ripped up the wrought iron fence in the front garden between the two properties. I reported it to the estate agent but they were useless. The fence belonged to the property I was buying. I'd paid for a survey at that stage so it wasn't a cost free experience, but I felt it was the best option even though I loved the house....!

SuperSange · 27/04/2025 07:45

elfendom · 27/04/2025 07:18

this poster just wants to drag it out and get 1000 posts.

Why? Do they win a prize? Idiot.

Letmecallyouback · 27/04/2025 07:20

elfendom · 27/04/2025 07:18

this poster just wants to drag it out and get 1000 posts.

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone lives on Mumsnet.

elfendom · 27/04/2025 07:18

this poster just wants to drag it out and get 1000 posts.

BigButtons · 26/04/2025 07:24

Most solicitors are slower than slugs. They don’t care.

JamesWebbSpaceTelescope · 25/04/2025 20:02

Still no update. This must be agony for you OP.

Anonforthis58 · 21/04/2025 11:35

JustAnotherManicMomday · 20/04/2025 22:48

Contact solicitors and tell them that your happy to proceed but they need to get the fence removed from your soon to be land and placed on the boundary of the neighbouring property. If for any reason they say they can't, then once you take ownership, you carefully dismantle the fence and place it on the neighbours land with a note requesting they keep their property on their land and do not trespass. Personally I would run for the hills if I could get away with it as this neighbour is going to be hell.

Have you read the thread? 😵‍💫

JustAnotherManicMomday · 20/04/2025 22:48

Contact solicitors and tell them that your happy to proceed but they need to get the fence removed from your soon to be land and placed on the boundary of the neighbouring property. If for any reason they say they can't, then once you take ownership, you carefully dismantle the fence and place it on the neighbours land with a note requesting they keep their property on their land and do not trespass. Personally I would run for the hills if I could get away with it as this neighbour is going to be hell.

ChickenGotLegs · 20/04/2025 22:47

Damn guys calm down. There's a million other posts in this place to keep you occupied 🤣

Parmeggiano · 20/04/2025 22:25

Possibly something along the lines of “my solicitor has contacted the seller’s solicitor & I’m waiting to hear back” would be helpful as the way it stands, it appears as though OP is counting down to the auction & hoping it will be magically resolved by then. Which it surely can’t or won’t be?? In which case she’ll be forced to make a decision/pull out or agree to legally sorting it afterwards. If I’ve misunderstood or missed any updates, apologies.

Jacopo · 20/04/2025 10:43

Good luck OP, I really hope you can relax a bit over the long weekend and that everything works out well for you.

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 20/04/2025 09:03

AhBiscuits · 20/04/2025 07:58

I agree with this tbh. Why wouldn't you just provide a brief update of what's currently going on unless purposely trying to cause frustration and ramp up the drama?

Show quote history

I imagine the OP herself is feeling strung along, and as everything is now in the hands of the sellers, and there is nothing she can do to make progress, she must be feeling helpless and strung out waiting for an outcome. She’s not living this “drama” for the benefit of the MN audience.

AhBiscuits · 20/04/2025 07:58

DonnaDonna0 · 19/04/2025 19:48

Mmmm feeling a bit strung along now, post said the other day they had some updates. I know maybe not a conclusion but to say nothing at all. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I agree with this tbh. Why wouldn't you just provide a brief update of what's currently going on unless purposely trying to cause frustration and ramp up the drama?