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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

New neighbours

667 replies

Plannergirl9 · 10/06/2020 12:12

Sorry this is a long one. TLDR: Essentially we were gifted land from ex-neighbour when they died. New neighbours who bought her house has told us we must sell it to them.

A bit more backstorey. Our elderly neighbour lived next to us until they died in late December. She had a side bit of garden like an allotment that we used to help her with (hatched area on diagram). Unbeknownst to us she gifted us that area of land in her will. The rest of the house and land was to be sold and the money given to charity.

After the will reading we have had the land registry changed to confirm we now own the land. The house was put up for sale late January. In mid February we received a letter from a solicitor asking that we sell the land to the potential buyer of the house. We emailed back saying no we won't sell. We then heard nothing more from any solicitors. House was then sold during lockdown.

The new neighbours moved in on Monday. Yesterday they came to our door asking for the name of our solicitor so the land purchase can take place. We told them we were not planning on selling the land and that we told their solicitor that. The new neighbours didn't take it well. Apparently they only bought the house on the provision that they could buy the land and this was agreed with us via their solicitors.

The new neighbours got quite loud and angry about us apparently misleading them and left to speak to their solicitor. They seem to think we legally need to sell them the land as there was a written (email) contract between them and their solicitor who confirmed to them by email prior to the sale of the house that we would sell the land.

Aibu to a) not sell the land even though we technically didn't buy it and b) that the fact their solicitor has mislead them is not our problem?

Neighbours land is in red.
Our land is in black and the hatched area is the land they expect to buy.

New neighbours
OP posts:
Bargebill19 · 10/06/2020 21:10

Our neighbour died a few (2/3?) years ago. They too had a family will reading - every single one of them was disappointed to learn it was all left to various charities.

damnthatanxiety · 10/06/2020 21:17

Out of nothing but sheer nosiness OP, who did she leave the rest of her estate to if she had no family?

prettybird · 10/06/2020 21:21

In MIL's case, there wasn't a will reading per se as she'd left it all supposedly to be split amongst her kids (but excluding one sibling which you can't actually do under Scots Law Hmm) and the siblings (bar the estranged one) had seen the will before she died (they were supposed to have seen it before then but that's a whole different story Hmm).

What sounds great about the OP's neighbour is that she got all her ducks in a row before she died and didn't leave any complications. She couldn't foresee mad new neighbours Wink

Cismyfatarse1 · 10/06/2020 21:22

It says charity in the OP.

ItsNotAGameOfSubbuteoMatthew · 10/06/2020 21:22

You've done a MN diagram (thank you!) but I'm curious to know how many metres by how many metres the extra bit of land is please?

Cordial11 · 10/06/2020 21:26

Cheeky neighbours! Hope they don't cause trouble for you going forward. Idiots !

Squirreltamer · 10/06/2020 21:26

For some reason I thought of the neighbours summoning their father like this....

New neighbours
GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 10/06/2020 21:27

@damnthatanxiety

Out of nothing but sheer nosiness OP, who did she leave the rest of her estate to if she had no family?
Charity. It said in the OP.
GinWithASplashOfTonic · 10/06/2020 21:30

Just gobsmacked

That email reads as hypothetically thinking about contemplating the thought of selling the land. What a load of bollocks

caramac04 · 10/06/2020 21:33

Who voted you are unreasonable? Must be your new neighbours, no one else would surely?

OVienna · 10/06/2020 21:33

You shouldn't ring the dad but my word, I wish I could. If only I could fake a Scottish accent. I would love to hear the ur-CF holding forth.

"They are prepared to pay a FULL thousand pounds for the land. You do appreciate this is a generous offer for 1915."

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 10/06/2020 21:34

I know you really shouldn’t but I do kinda want you to phone her dad just to see what he says...

Cocobean30 · 10/06/2020 21:39

@Squirreltamer they don’t have the charisma to match Douglas Grin

Yugi · 10/06/2020 21:43

I wouldn’t engage with them in any way. Just shut them down any time it is mentioned with ‘You need to take this up with your solicitor’.

Blahblahblah12345 · 10/06/2020 21:43

I agree with a previous poster. If you dont ring him I'm betting he will turn up at your house!! I wouldn't phone though and if he turns up shut the door on him. It's your land end of!

I do hope it gets sorted though and you dont get nightmare neighbor's.

GalwayGrowl · 10/06/2020 21:45

Bet you get a visit from Daddy!

MulticolourMophead · 10/06/2020 21:50

@ostinato

OP, I would look into registering an interest in the plot on the Land Registry. This will mean you get an alert if anyone tries to alter the title. It’s a good thing to do when you own a property outright as there have been cases of fraud where people have managed to effectively steal title by processing a fraudulent sale, and as there was no mortgage lender involved it wasn’t noticed in time. Just a thought as this whole situation is very fishy.
OP, reading this through, I think you are wise to disengage.

But as I'm not alone in thinking the solicitor is bogus, I'd strengthen your side and consider the following.

  1. Set up an alert as suggested, in case there's an attempt to change the title for the land.
  2. Make sure you take good photos, and copy Google Earth details to show the land as it is now.
  3. Keep a copy of all the emails, letters, etc. Yours, theirs, the bogus stuff, the correspondance with the original solicitor asking if you were selling, everything. And a copy of all the Land Register stuff.
  4. Double chack the fencing is secure.

At present, while it's something amusing to us, these people have already shown they are not above faking something, and may well do something more serious.

Esspee · 10/06/2020 21:56

@NoClarification. I know of a Scottish house sale which went through in two weeks last autumn.

It probably helped that both buyer and seller used solicitors in the same practice and the property had almost been sold just a couple of weeks before but the first buyer pulled out.

Noshowlomo · 10/06/2020 21:56

Good luck OP. Daddy will probably make an appearance tomorrow!

Zaphodsotherhead · 10/06/2020 22:02

@OVienna

No, I didn't buy the chapel. I didn't want to find that my offer had been accepted and then the neighbours didn't in fact want to sell part of their garden, and I didn't like it enough to chance it.and worry about it later. If I'd loved the place I might have approached the neighbours and asked whether they would sell or not.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 10/06/2020 22:03

It sounds as though they have been ripped off by someone. Stick to your guns, repeat it is your land and that you have no intention of selling.

Still1nLove · 10/06/2020 22:03

.

RumpoleoftheBaileys · 10/06/2020 22:10

Just to repeat the obvious - that email was not sent by a qualified lawyer.

Made me laugh though.

MorganKitten · 10/06/2020 22:14

I’d ask for the lawyers number... watch it be the same as her dad...

BettyButtercup · 10/06/2020 22:20

Am I the only one who doesn't know what a 'peppercorn' amount is?

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