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!

NB. Your neighbour should pay for the survey as they are the ones who want to buy the land from you. It is quite usual,practice for the potential,purchaser to pay the vendors fees in cases like this so you shouldn’t be out of pocket. Remember you are in the driving seat here so they need to make it worth your while to sell.

My partner wants to sell and I’d love to keep. The view backs onto Woodlands and would have more control over sunlight from overhanging trees etc and it is just a lovely view.

We are in east mids so may get in touch with pp about survey once I’ve had chance to speak to my partner. It’s a hilly garden going up at the back.

You need to start by putting in writing that you are aware of the incorrect positioning of the fence (?) and that they have been using your land as part of their garden, but as they are now selling you would either like the boundary to be moved back to the correct position or if they wish to purchase the land so it can be included as garden in the sale of their property, you will get a surveyor to value it.

If they then decline to buy it at the valued price then you (they?? Whose fence is it?) will move the boundary fence back to the correct position as per your deeds (enclose a copy for them).

£200 ?!?! Cheeky f*ckers!!!

Good god don’t sell. They aren’t making more land. Give your husband 200 pounds and tell him to shut up. What an idiot.

I would advise you to speak to a solicitor about this.

I think that the Law Society would count it as coming under the Housing, Property and Neighbours heading in the legal issues menu on the Find A Solicitor database.

https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

It will knock money off your house price too. I would keep it, and get a solicitor to do the paper work.

seek a qualified solicitor advice - really don't advise any letter unless done by a solicitor

don;t sell

DH is a surveyor and he said you would be better keeping it yourselves however ask for at least £200-£300 a square meter if you decide to sell.

By offering to buy the land, she's fucked over any claim she may have had to adverse possession, because she's acknowledged that she doesn't own it.

‘Selling part of a property can be more complex than selling the whole thing.
If you have a mortgage it will be secured on the whole of your property and you will need your lender to agree to release and discharge the land to be sold from that mortgage.’

The latest valuation for garden land is approx £1526 per SqM.

If your mortgage company permits a sale of part of your garden, then its value is far greater than a measly £200

mortgage company don't let you sell off the garden

• they aren't outright owners

it's 1526 per sq m - you can't devalue a mortgaged property. You're not selling a door.

Agree with ZenNudist. The only thing that really matters is who is the actual owner legally. If it is you, of course you must get a good price for it IF you want to sell it. The fact you did not know it was yours is irrelevant provided it is still yours and neighbour has not acquired it through adverse possession. You can get it professionally valued if it is yours and you want to sell it. But I'd be wary, particularly if it could be built on - either sheds etc or sold on as part of a building plot.

Move the fence back to the correct position.
Send a letter recorded delivery - Dear Neighbour ,

thank you for confirming that the fence between our properties is incorrectly positioned and does not reflect the true boundary . Thank you for your offer to purchase the land for £200 which we do not accept . Should you wish to increase your offer In writing we will consider it.

Your DH’s position is entirely moot OP - he may want to sell but he may not be able to due to mortgage. NDN wants to buy @ £200 she may not want to buy at the true value.

It’s up to her to get a surveyor as the purchaser. Her loss of buyer is her problem - she should have got this sorted out before sale.

if they build a house on that piece of land - would you lose light?

Control over woodland and light is very important. My poor neighbour the people behind have trees that have grown so much they cut out all sunlight at the back, her kitchen and bedroom at the back are in semi darkness and little can grow in their shade

I’d just take it back

I'd ask why they are talking about including land that is not theirs in the sale of the house. They know it's not theirs or they wouldn't be offering to buy it.

The fact that they had basically threatened/tried to bully me into giving them the land would make me keep it.

the other side of me is thinking why should our neighbour profit from land that is not legally theirs.

Listen to this side!

Just remembered if you contact their estate agent informing them that the land is yours they're obligated to inform the buyer of this. I'd put it in writing.

Quite. I wouldn’t entertain this for a minute. The only thing you need to do is make moves to take the land back.

I think we will need to bite the bullet and pay for a survey

You're right, you will, but as you say the cost will be more than covered once you sell

This happened to my late, exPILs; they actually put a wall up to reclaim their own land and the builder next door got a bunch of mates to knock it down again at dead of night. That one finished up in court and with the costs he probably spent more than if he'd just bought the land in the first place