Land dispute!! Cheeky offer?!

[NewHere77]

It has recently come to light due to neighbours pending house sale, that our neighbour has around 20 square metres of land at the top of her garden that legally belongs to our boundary. She has asked us to sign over the land to her for £200.

AIBU to think she is being a CF offering £200 for the land, as I think it likely adds a lot of value to neighbours house? (She initially wanted us to sign over land for free)!

The land adds about a third to neighbours garden and has a pretty view which isn’t overlooked.

Neighbour is playing down desirability of land but has also said that buyers will pull out if land is not included and has said she is willing to go to court to claim land.

If we disagree, she is threatening to use adverse possession claim but neither parties have been in either property long enough to claim adverse possession, although neighbour is talking about getting accounts from relatives of now deceased previous occupants of our house.

Part of me feels bad that we bought the house not knowing the extra land was ours so feels a bit rich asking for more money for it, the other side of me is thinking why should our neighbour profit from land that is not legally theirs. Interested to hear others perspectives and what land could be worth.

Thanks!

It’s worth a lot more than that!! 5-10ks worth!!
amd that’s without any pp on it.

Speak to a land agent and solicitor. Fast.

£200 is an absolute joke! Seek legal advice.

Would an estate agent do a land valuation, if not I’m sure they could recommend someone.

I would want to know the proper value before signing it away.

What does the land registry show, how did you not realise before now that it’s yours?

Surely when you bought the property your solicitor showed you the deeds and plans?

Definitely get in contact with a solicitor. Put property alerts on with land registry so you will be notified of any activity. Is the land unregistered or is it part of your registered title? You can get register copies and copies of deeds from land registry for a nominal fee. The land is worth more than 200!

I would go back to your solicitor and see why he didn’t tell you and check now what’s on the land registry, costs about £6 In total I think.

then approach a land agent to value if you want to sell the land, or tell her you are claiming it back and add it to yours.

YANBU. How has she used it? I’d be reclaiming tye land and putting up a fence / boundary asap.

Sounds like your solicitor (and hers) was negligent. No way I’d sell it for £200. It would cost your neighbour more than that to take you to court. Her sale falling through is not (currently) your problem. Getting an independent valuation sounds like a good start for negotiations.

I think we need a diagram?

What is the physical boundary on the ground like and how long has it been there?

Generally EA won’t value land but there are online tools to do so.

"The average price paid across England in 2023 to date is £11,100/acre, which is the first time it has ever exceeded the £11,000/acre mark. "Record prices reflect the strong demand we have seen for farmland from a wide range of buyers, coupled with a shortage in farms and estates for sale.21”

Unless you are desperate for money I'd outright refuse. Imagine you sell this patch of land, even for a reasonable amount (like much more than market value) and then new neighbours build an ugly shed on it that allows them to sit and appreciate the view whilst you are blocked from enjoying it. (& decreasing the desirability of your home for onward sale in the future)

Absolutely no way I'd agree to this.

If you are tempted then the advice given to someone else recently on here was a multiple of market value applies so 3x say for "ransom strip".

I'd be asking searching questions about why this new neighbour wants your land. The house has changed hands before under current arrangements and I'd be very unwilling to change and certainly not without significant financial compensation.

I do think when it comes to these kind of things you cannot put a price on something like a view or freedom of access that makes your property much more enjoyable.

It's not profiteering to demand reasonable amounts for land and don't be manipulated into being "nice". You could come to regret it.

Now it’s disputed the value has risen exponentially but its intrinsic value is probably very low. How big is it? Would it add value to your home? What do your deeds say? As neighbour is moving I would ask for a nice sum that they can’t say no to, a few thousand as a windfall and they won’t jeopardise their sale over it.

Hi,

Thank you for all your messages so far. It really helps to get your advice and input!

I’ve attached a photo of the boundary. The green is ours and what the boundary should look like in reality. The yellow line indicates the triangle of land that is currently in neighbours garden.

In my previous message I meant that the land is about one third of her garden, not including house etc.

To answer a question about how we didn’t notice when we bought the property.. we are first time buyers and I think we just assumed boundaries were correct. Also there is also thick bramble and nettles at the top of the garden and hard to get a proper look over boundary. Lesson learnt if we ever move!!

How can you not have known this was your land? What sort of solicitor did you use when you bought the property? She's taking the piss by the way. Get the land valued urgently. Her buyer pulling out is her problem.

Seek legal advice £200 seems madly cheap! Get it valued properly and offer them the land for that price.

But your solicitor should have noticed this irregularity regardless of being first time buyers.

@NewHere77 I would be moving your boundary back to where it should be!!! remember, what is a selling point for her is your selling point!!

We’ve just bought land from our neighbour around 12 square metres and paid £25k - both parties were happy with that. It’s yours - you’ve already paid - would you give away a garage?!

we had similar with a neighbour!

definitely don’t sign it over for £200, that’s absurd

We sold a bit of land from our garden to the neighbour around 20 years ago and charged £3k then
we were selling the house and he approached us when the sale board went up

yours would be worth a lot more if it’s making their garden bigger! Speak to your solicitor first - the one who did the sale - and check where you stand legally

do not sign - id get legal advice

i would also for now get your boundary refenced asap while you figure it out

if you were to sell id give her a figure of 25k plus as it means so much to her

cheeky mare

it's your land take it back - it's clearly marked on deeds.

no land is £200- a garden sold recently for 25k!