NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE

Apologies, not RTFT. Could they buy it from you?

If they are going to be horrible, fast forward two years and you might wish you could pay £10k to be out of there

Well, actually, you have some comeback. If, for example, the fireplace has been listed on the fixtures and fittings list (which is a legal document), and the vendors have taken it with them, you can demand its return. Likewise, if the neighbours help themselves to part of the garden, you can dispute this too post exchange/completion — the deeds show the boundary line(s) and that’s the land you’re buying, despite where the neighbours have decided to encroach.
That doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to check though, as you say.

If you haven't exchanged contracts yet - the fact is that part of the property you are planning to buy has been stolen. You are not unreasonable to require that the current owner obtains full possession of the property before you exchange contracts.

But I thought that the terms of an auction are that you are deemed to have exchanged contracts the moment the final hammer falls in the auction, and that part of the fees for participating in the auction include insurance because even if the house burns down on the auction day, you are still obliged to buy at the agreed price (and then claim on that insurance)

So it comes down to what is the actual contractual status?

but that assumes that the legal pack is giving correct information?

Perhaps the NDN bought this strip of land from the vendors.

You can speak to the neighbours though and ask them about the new fence line. You can also show them the deeds for the house you are buying and query the location of the new fence if its obviously wrong. If the neighbours deeds are different they should be willing to show you. If they refuse or are difficult you at least know who you will be living next to. Sometimes if people have lived next door to an unmaintained property for a long time then there can be a back story - they may have had to put up with a lot. There is nothing wrong with meeting the neighbours for a chat before you buy. Just leave the legal stuff to the solicitors but see if you can get any info out of them. Its going to be much quicker for you to talk to them than wait for lawyers to write to everyone.

Are you sure you haven't exchanged already? Usually with auction properties, you exchange the minute the hammer falls and that's why you have to read the legal pack really clearly as you have exchanged. Completion is then normally 28 days after the hammer falling although this can be negotiated in some cases for longer.

I'd also think there would be other signs you may pick up on when visiting the property, as to whether the neighbours will make your life miserable. There are different types of bad behaviour. I think I'd rather live next to someone who tried this than someone who smoked weed all day or made an unreasonable amount of noise. I might not leave valuables out where they could get at them (though a person who tries to shave a foot or two before property changes hands won't necessarily be the same type to swipe things with their own two hands), but I doubt they'll try to move the fence when you're on holiday. It's not like you wouldn't notice as soon as you returned home!

Awaiting the updates this afternoon!

Hmm, looks like my username might apply to your new neighbours!

This type of complete shenanigans would drive me crazy OP! Get tape measuring and keep us updated, I’m invested now!

I was thinking more if their reaction was going to be absolute shock or something more resigned.......

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

@MummyToBeAgain1
They do sound like chancers... But , that said, where I live our neighbours long ago and before we moved in , did similar.
We couldn't do anything because it was too long ago .
I'm truth it did sour relations as it makes access to our garden difficult.
But over the years this was the only problem and we are on cordial terms .
It may not be too bad living next to them.
And , if a loss of 2' wide strip wouldn't impact you much maybe the vendors could sell it to them and knock that amount of your purchase.

Except that this is an auction property, which means that the OP has exchanged. Exchange happens on the fall of the gavel.

Unless this is one of those ridiculous modern auctions. In which case the OP may not have exchanged, but will have paid a hefty fee of
many thousands of pounds. This fee will be lost if the OP doesn’t complete within the set deadline.

Me too please!! 🍿🍿🍿

NOthing helpful to add except get to a lawyer ( or conveyancer) soon as and sorry but I can only give your diagram 1/10 because I can't work out what the 3 fat fingers in the right hand corner are. Good luck

Absolutely.

This is exactly why everyone should do a check pre-exchange, to ascertain that everything is as you expected and as declared in the various schedules.

Too late once you have exchanged / completed to find that the vendors have ripped out the original fireplace and taken it with them, a catastrophic bathroom leak has caused the kitchen ceiling to collapse or the neighbours have helped themselves to part of the garden or drive.

You already know all about them. They are thieves.

FWIW estate agents' details don't form part of a binding contract either and have disclaimers to say so - which is probably just as well given the rubbish so many spout

The "binding" part comes as a result of searches, declarations the vendor has to complete and so on, the trouble being that not all vendors tell the truth
Luckily though OP's spotted this before it's all gone through, so it can hopefully be sorted or failing that she can just walk

Edited to add I see OP mentioned it's a property which needs renovation with vendors scattered all over, so an auction makes sense in those circumstances

This

how the sellers react to the problem will tell you a bit too!!

Get your 10k back because the land is no longer intact.
Don't proceed with the sale. These are not people you want to live next door to.