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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to continue running away from this house purchase?

395 replies

Quandaries · 08/10/2020 20:55

Follow-up to www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4041606-AIBU-to-walk-away-from-this-house-purchase

Don’t even know where to start.

I’m a little worried that what I’ve posted so far makes me recognisable but what I’m going to post makes the sellers from hell recognisable so I’m not sure of the best way to go about it.

OP posts:
BentBastard · 17/10/2020 01:12

"Fuck off" moment

AdoreTheBeach · 17/10/2020 08:56

Interesting point made by billy. I was thinking back to our various house sales and I do not ever remember anyone coming out to the house other than the surveyor. Certainly no one from our solicitors office when we bought and no one made any appointments to see our garden when selling, other than visit from surveyor. But that visit is quite early on in the process so if they’re checking the boundaries too, in OP’s case, that should have been found out a long time ago about the garden issue.

Coffeeandaride · 17/10/2020 11:21

Bought 6 houses in my life so far and never has solicitor/representative checked the site or boundary. Only ever asked us to confirm the map is correct.

BentBastard · 17/10/2020 11:29

I bought 2 years ago and sold a year ago. Both times very small boundary issues were raised.

Howlooseisyourgoose · 17/10/2020 11:58

Wow all of the people saying there will be better house for you (can’t remember if I was one but think so) had no idea how right they would be! Wink

UltimateOwl · 17/10/2020 12:48

You've no idea how much this has tickled me OP

MaggieFS · 17/10/2020 21:21

Each time I've bought, one of the first things the solicitor has asked me is to confirm the boundary as marked in red on the land registry plans matches MY expectations based on what I've viewed. That's it. No more checks than that.

ODFOx · 18/10/2020 10:45

They are such cheeky fuckers that it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the garden was, in fact theirs all along but have decided to fence half and sell it separately as a building plot.
Either way, excellent response OP. Brava !

prettybird · 18/10/2020 12:56

When we bought our house (albeit 20 years ago), the solicitor drew our attention to the fact that the Land Registry showed the boundary for the two houses (big Victorian villa that has been converted horizontally into two houses) and that it was only the narrative that said that the back garden was split in half left and right. (In fact, even the hedge/trees that had been put in at the time of the conversion split the top half had been taken down to create a lawn across both "properties", and the bottom half was a combined drying green for both properties, with 2 poles in "their" half and two poles in "our" half). Front garden was defined as communal, as was the drive. She never actually visited the property - we had to describe to her why we were happy with the arrangement.

TooTrusting · 19/10/2020 12:53

I'm another one for wondering why your solicitor and/or surveyor missed this. It should have been obvious from the sales particulars that the description of the garden size was wrong and didn't match the title plan. Not sure if the surveyor would see the title plan but the solicitor certainly would.
The sellers aren't the CFs here, are they? Wasn't it an inherited house, in which case the dead relative is the one who has fenced in the land? After 10 years I would have thought there is a case for adverse possession, but that's for the seller up sort out before any sale.

redastherose · 19/10/2020 21:47

Conveyancers don't routinely visit properties they are buying for clients. The usual practice is to send the title plan to the buyers and ask them to carefully review the plan and advise if it varies in any way from their understanding of the boundaries from their inspection of the property. They may now also review the aerial photographs on google to see if there is any obvious discrepancy. In this instance neither the OP nor her solicitor saw the plan despite much chasing so they had no chance to discover the issue.

SunshineCake · 20/10/2020 20:14

🏡

TooTrusting · 21/10/2020 10:44

Why on earth didn't the solicitor view the title plan? They were on the verge of exchange! The title plan is the first thing you get, along with the Land Registry title entries. It costs £2 or £3. Any solicitor who doesn't get the title plan is 100% negligent. I'd venture to say it would be unheard of. I can't recall OP saying her solicitor didn't get a title plan.

Babs1937 · 21/10/2020 16:36

@TooTrusting

Why on earth didn't the solicitor view the title plan? They were on the verge of exchange! The title plan is the first thing you get, along with the Land Registry title entries. It costs £2 or £3. Any solicitor who doesn't get the title plan is 100% negligent. I'd venture to say it would be unheard of. I can't recall OP saying her solicitor didn't get a title plan.
But how would the solicitor know whether the title plan was anything like the actual garden without going to see it ?
BentBastard · 22/10/2020 10:00

Aerial photography, as a pp has mentioned.

Our solicitor picked up a very small discrepancy this way. It is possible without a visit, albeit maybe not all solicitors do it

TooTrusting · 23/10/2020 00:22

Band the solicitor should check the sales particulars against the plan and send it to the sellers for comment. If the garden is half the su4 it should be it should be obvious. This is the problem with today's cheap conveyancing, it's often not nearly thorough enough. If OP had bought it this would have been negligence.

TooTrusting · 23/10/2020 00:23

Aerial photos are great if you know or suspect an issue. They wouldn't be obtained as standard.

Womencanlift · 23/10/2020 06:17

@TooTrusting

I'm another one for wondering why your solicitor and/or surveyor missed this. It should have been obvious from the sales particulars that the description of the garden size was wrong and didn't match the title plan. Not sure if the surveyor would see the title plan but the solicitor certainly would. The sellers aren't the CFs here, are they? Wasn't it an inherited house, in which case the dead relative is the one who has fenced in the land? After 10 years I would have thought there is a case for adverse possession, but that's for the seller up sort out before any sale.
No the CF buyers have moved into an inherited house so this was their original home. So yes they are indeed CF’s
chloe6184 · 23/10/2020 06:55

Surely any discrepancy over garden size wouldn't have been picked up on aerial photos because the cf owners had actually fenced in the councils land? So the garden would look as if it was the correct size?

redastherose · 24/10/2020 10:31

@chloe6184 it's the comparison, you should be adept at reading plans if you are a Conveyancer so a difference of a small area might not be easy to spot but half a garden would be very obvious.

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