To want to buy the house but only with the land?

[Sp3849]

So we went to view a house we loved. A rural farmhouse with small parcel of land however on viewing realised it has another parcel to the side of it with caravan on. Asked the agent who it belonged to and they were vague. So before we made an offer I knocked the farm next door. To mainly discuss the access track that runs over thier land and they told us that small parcel of land next to the house with caravan was actually owned by the house In question. The grandchildren of lady who had lived thier (now deceased) frequently partied there. We then went and had a nose and there were beer bottles etc everywhere. I then referred this back to agent who then came back with that the family wanted to keep that part of the land to continue to stay in the caravan a few times a year and share the houses water supply (a well). We have gone back and said we would happily buy the house for the guide price and pay additional 15k for land which is approx 1/3 acre but won't consider buying it without it. My primary concern is that 1. Grandchildren could still party there and 2. What's stopping them renting caravan out etc? It is our responsibility to maintain track etc which they would also need to use to access caravan. Also where would they go to toilet etc. It is currently linked to house electrics which obviously it would be disconnected. I worry it could cause alot of issues. They are still yet to respond to our offer (made 8 days ago) they have had no other offers. Why are they taking so long to respond its driving me insane. Should I ring and put a deadline on the offer? Are we being unreasonable with concerns?

I Honestly wouldn't have known if I hadn't done a bit of digging around.

Yes, you would, because things like rights of way etc are exactly what the conveyancing process is designed to sort out.

There's nothing wrong with you asking (though it sounds as if you could be undervaluing the land), there is nothing wrong with them saying no. But overall you're probably better off continuing to search.

Hi OP - you've definitely dodged a bullet there. Good luck with the new search

My prediction is that they will not sell the house as once the searches have taken place - the caravan and access will always come up and the vast majority of people will not find this acceptable.

It's always harder when there are multiple vendors - they rarely ever agree until it's been on the market for ages and then the penny drops

Please report back in the new option - sounds like a better prospect.
We had similar when we were searching for a self build option. Find a place that was great we were keen but it fell through, we were gutted. Then up popped a random alternative which was 1000x better! Now we're in that place and so so much happier as it had everything the other place did and more, for less money. Meant to be sometimes.

@Platax

I Honestly wouldn't have known if I hadn't done a bit of digging around.

Yes, you would, because things like rights of way etc are exactly what the conveyancing process is designed to sort out.

There's nothing wrong with you asking (though it sounds as if you could be undervaluing the land), there is nothing wrong with them saying no. But overall you're probably better off continuing to search.

True, but it's frustrating that the OP could have agreed a price, had a survey done, started searches and incurred a fair whack of costs before finding out whereas has it been said from the outset it would have been more straightforward.

Of course if you buy the access road from the farmer and sever the electrics and water, they end up with a worthless piece of land with no access or services. (Just in case other house doesn't work out).

unsync Err - no. As said upthread the owners of the caravan plot could possibly/probably claim rights to use the track based on long-term usage.

Also, no-one can just 'cut' access to someone else's water and electricity. Since the plot for sale and the caravan plot look to currently be in the same ownership, the current house/caravan plot owners will presumably have had legal title to both, for both sites. As others have said, unpicking/redistributing all that could be legally complicated - and impossible if the existing owners don't agree. To say nothing of the shared access track, as above.

I'm absolutely not defending the current owners, but I think they are being a lot more canny than some posters here give them credit for.

Good call OP.

They sound duplicitous.

Best of luck with your next viewing.

Great update. Good luck with the new viewing.

They will probably sell successfully to someone less astute than you. Who will then regret it for decades to come.