Page 26 | NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE

godmum56 · 27/03/2025 10:54

Highfivemum · 27/03/2025 10:45

Appaling behaviour but it doesn’t surprise me. We bought a house that was empty and viewed it three or four times. Just after exchange and before we completed we went around with a builder and all the garden items ( benches/ potted plants/bins and a small summer house were gone. We were confused as they were included on the fixtures and fittings. No idea where they went until we went upstairs and saw them in the neighbours garden ! Summer house all painted and looking new.

what did you do?

anyolddinosaur · 27/03/2025 10:53

Adverse possession is now a LOT more difficult than it used to be. You could get away with fencing it, using it for 10? years and then register it. The time period has increased and I believe the owner is now notified and can still object.

Highfivemum · 27/03/2025 10:45

Appaling behaviour but it doesn’t surprise me. We bought a house that was empty and viewed it three or four times. Just after exchange and before we completed we went around with a builder and all the garden items ( benches/ potted plants/bins and a small summer house were gone. We were confused as they were included on the fixtures and fittings. No idea where they went until we went upstairs and saw them in the neighbours garden ! Summer house all painted and looking new.

varden · 27/03/2025 10:39

I hope this gets resolved for OP and for the vendors.

Was just wondering how a land grabber registers full ownership of the "grabbed" land? Surely the original deeds (of the house where the land was taken from) would remain the same as before incursion? And how does the land grabber register ownership of the bit of land taken?

There must be a way, probably illegal I bet. Adverse possession maybe?

Puzzledandpissedoff · 27/03/2025 10:32

As a pp said, how low can someone get to steal of a grieving family. A family who have already lost they parent and now will be bombarded with this unexpected dilemma

Unfortunately such people don't care, @MummyToBeAgain1; all that counts is what they want and they'll do whatever they can to get it

Like my late, exMIL, who every time we went on holiday had a visit from neighbours attempting to persuade her to sell some of her land for a pittance.
Luckily my ex had POA, and luckily MIL had come to believe this meant she could do nothing without his say so ... not true of course, but awfully convenient with matters like this

stayathomegardener · 27/03/2025 09:08

Hufdl · 26/03/2025 23:27

This happened to friends of ours. It was the house boardering them at the back.
It was a long garden, they took down the fence, build a wall taking 10ft and putting a shed on top of it.
My friends had family illness going on so the sale went through and their solicitor informed them they were aware of what they had done, but they didn't pursue it.

Come some years later they are selling and my friend views the house, takes lots of photos and then tells her solicitor to inform them that they have a boundary issue.

They informed them a couple of weeks in when bidding is brisk.
They come around furious with them that they were being messed about years later.
Bottom line they were told if they wanted to sell they better pay through the nose for it, or take it down and put a fence back up and restore the boundary.
That was the quickest thing to do, so they ended up doing it.
Hopefully it will cost them.
Land grabbing is surprisingly common when houses are going through probate.

This was a remarkably satisfying outcome.

Abouttoblow · 27/03/2025 09:06

Goldengirl123 · 27/03/2025 09:00

You speak to your solicitor

🙄

Goldengirl123 · 27/03/2025 09:00

You speak to your solicitor

Original poster

MummyToBeAgain1 · 27/03/2025 08:49

Morning All

No update yet but will have one once I've spoken to my sol later.

I'm surprisingly not stressed or panicking (yet) - maybe because we found out just in time so it's not really our direct issue. It could have been though.

A lesson for us all, when buying property - please view it again before exchange/completition just incase. It was a coincidence that we drove past and witnessed the change happening and have a chance of resolving this before exchange.

It's still fustrating because this will now delay the process depending on how long it takes to resolve.

As a pp said, how low can someone get to steal of a grieving family. A family who have already lost they parent and now will be bombarded with this unexpected dilemma. I honestly feel for them. </3

OP posts:

godmum56 · 27/03/2025 08:08

AquaPeer · 26/03/2025 11:53

OP your solicitors are going to take forever to start looking at this so there is zero point in delaying asking them to start!

the only thing I would say is again to maybe not get too carried away with how awful they might be. I know loads of people who would take the opportunity of an empty property and having a new fence to steal a few inches. They would just do it as the opportunity arises and hope for the best. If they got caught out they’d just move it back

wow you must move in CHARMING circles!

Northernladdette · 27/03/2025 07:45

beenwhereyouare · 27/03/2025 00:06

I think you've missed the proof obtained using Google Earth.

Show quote history

Well obviously that was posted after I posted this 🙄

HarLace1 · 27/03/2025 00:43

Op any update? I cant believe the cheeky bastards!

StarCourt · 27/03/2025 00:29

start as you mean to go on Op

beenwhereyouare · 27/03/2025 00:10

Alicehatter · 26/03/2025 21:57

I hope the CF wife is on here reading all this, panicking about the big bill they're potentially about to receive to restore the wall!

Not just to restore the wall, but the landscaping they cut down. The new neighbors are outrageously cheeky; they are thieves and vandals in my view.

beenwhereyouare · 27/03/2025 00:06

Northernladdette · 26/03/2025 15:42

You might find he was actually reinstating the boundary where it should be, albeit a bit sneaky. I’ve had a couple of houses of that layout, where the fences jut out after the flank wall at the front and back, in line with the guttering overhang.
Obviously speak to your solicitor, and remember, it’s not your house until completion 😉

I think you've missed the proof obtained using Google Earth.

beenwhereyouare · 27/03/2025 00:02

AquaPeer · 26/03/2025 11:53

OP your solicitors are going to take forever to start looking at this so there is zero point in delaying asking them to start!

the only thing I would say is again to maybe not get too carried away with how awful they might be. I know loads of people who would take the opportunity of an empty property and having a new fence to steal a few inches. They would just do it as the opportunity arises and hope for the best. If they got caught out they’d just move it back

A few inches?

Few is defined as a small number, usually 3 - 5, not the 18 - 24 inches estimated by OP.

Fraaances · 27/03/2025 00:01

They might be doing this to extend or gain access another way. Regardless, it will add value to theirs and take from yours. They’re cheeky fuckers and need a cease and desist.

Hufdl · 26/03/2025 23:27

This happened to friends of ours. It was the house boardering them at the back.
It was a long garden, they took down the fence, build a wall taking 10ft and putting a shed on top of it.
My friends had family illness going on so the sale went through and their solicitor informed them they were aware of what they had done, but they didn't pursue it.

Come some years later they are selling and my friend views the house, takes lots of photos and then tells her solicitor to inform them that they have a boundary issue.

They informed them a couple of weeks in when bidding is brisk.
They come around furious with them that they were being messed about years later.
Bottom line they were told if they wanted to sell they better pay through the nose for it, or take it down and put a fence back up and restore the boundary.
That was the quickest thing to do, so they ended up doing it.
Hopefully it will cost them.
Land grabbing is surprisingly common when houses are going through probate.

4forksache · 26/03/2025 23:06

Fingers crossed for a quick resolution.

rrrrrreatt · 26/03/2025 22:34

Thisisittheapocalypse · 26/03/2025 19:54

I would not proceed until the current sellers resolve the issue.

You bid for and bought a property with X square footage. This is not what you will be getting without an expensive legal fight if you proceed as is.

This is what I was thinking - auction properties are sold as seen and it isn’t as seen anymore. The breach of contract is on the seller’s side, even if it’s not their fault, which must mean the 56 days go out of the window.

If the garden is even 10m long that’s nearly 33ft - losing 1.5ft over the length of that is about 50 square feet of land gone!!!

SeasideA · 26/03/2025 22:18

Take screen shots on Google earth now of the before and after from the boundary lines. This will show what they have done and how much they have taken.

Alicehatter · 26/03/2025 21:57

I hope the CF wife is on here reading all this, panicking about the big bill they're potentially about to receive to restore the wall!

MissHollysDolly · 26/03/2025 21:09

MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 10:02

I'm not sure how to @ everyone at once but thankyou everyone for your replies.

I feel like it's come as a shock as everything was going so smoothly until now.

I've booked a viewing for tomorrow afternoon just to clarify the position before I ring my solicitor.
Although, I'm stressing so much, I might actually end up ringing her today.

I'm aware that as of yet it's not legally my property therefore I can't knock on the neighbours door however the seller can. Thing is though I think I'm stressing because the sneaky behaviour shows what the neighbours are like which also means they may hold this against us and could become a nightmare to live with.

I'm certain they have crossed the boundary as there was a wall that went all the way to the end. They've broken that down and cut some of the bushes of to build they fence. On the title plan the garden boundary is straight from the start to the end.

We can't back of from buying the property because we'll lose the nearly £10k auction fee we've paid.

Go to your solicitor. You’ll have agreed to buy the property … including the bit of the garden the neighbours have essentially stolen. Get them to look at the deeds. It will show where the boundary is.

Bikergran · 26/03/2025 20:41

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

Speak to your solicitor immediately. DO NOT complete until the fence is down or relocated to reflect the true boundary.

Thisisittheapocalypse · 26/03/2025 19:54

I would not proceed until the current sellers resolve the issue.

You bid for and bought a property with X square footage. This is not what you will be getting without an expensive legal fight if you proceed as is.