NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE

[MummyToBeAgain1]

Hi

I need some advice please.

We're buying a semi detached property and due to exchange and complete in a week or 2.

Over the weekend we drove past the property to find a fence being built between our garden and the property on the right. I suspected they had come in to our garden at a glance so drove past again yesterday.

The fence had fully been up and clearly it crossed in to our garden (to be). I've attached a quick drawing which shows what I mean. The red line is the fence the neighbour has put up.

Just for some context this is a auction property as the owner has died and the children wanted a quick sale. This means that we have a deadline for completition which makes things more stressful.

What do we do now?

Tia

I would think there’s a get out clause so you will get your £10k back as the property is not as originally advertised when the hammer fell.

My daughter had this, but only noticed after completion. Had to compromise in the end as could not fund costs. If h
they had known before, would have pulled out. Surely you cannot lose 10k if they cannot hand over the whole property you have bought. As previous p have said pressure is on vendors

Ring solicitors and tell them the boundary dispute has to be resolved.

Then make a cup of tea.

I would rather “lose” £10k than live next door to people who have stolen from me.

check this.....you bought the property at auction based on the information that the seller and auction house published including any plans. I believe. but am not sure, that if that information changes before the house becomes yours then the purchase MAY become void. Don't wait for another viewing, contact your solicitor NOW.

Land grab. Well done for spotting it in time.

Talk to your solicitor and the auction house - there may well be a get out clause for this. Be aware though that the dispute has potential to cost you more than £10k. Now the neighbour has done it once, even if they take it back this time I'm afraid they could try it again at any point. You could just wake up to it happening again any morning.

You may not own the land yet but absolutely you can knock on someone's door and ask to speak to them if you want. They may say no of course.

I wouldn't do this.... its not yet your problem.

Ring solicitors asap. These are CFs who are not banking on you taking action, or just taking action too late

Fair enough. OP said she was aware she couldn't talk to them. I was just pointing out that she can, not suggesting that she should.

I wouldn't delay. You know the neighbour has taken the land, talk to your solicitor today.

See what your solicitor says, but I would also be tempted to talk to the neighbour. Not in a "You've stolen my land" way, but just fake it as an innocent inquiry about the change. I'd want to guage their reaction and what sort of people they are. They've already exhibited some top tier CF behaviour.

The land issue could be a short term issue you can get fixed. But your real issue could be that you're stuck next door to horrible neighbours for decades.

Run is my advice, you will never have peace of mind living next to people like this.

Pursue the 10K by all means of course but I can imagine a future you where you would happily lose 10K to not have to live next to these people.

Did any former disputes with the neighbours come up during the background checks?

I’d leave it to the solicitor but I’d start house hunting immediately. I’d never buy a house with even a hint of bad neighbours.

Hopefully you're on the phone to the solicitors now. This is something that you can't delay on - especially given the auction costs.

If your circumstances allow you to pull out I would seriously consider it. These neighbours don’t sound like the sort of people I want to live next door to.
Saying that, perhaps the fence is on the boundary line but your diagram doesn’t suggest this.

I think I'm stressing because the sneaky behaviour shows what the neighbours are like which also means they may hold this against us and could become a nightmare to live with

Reasonably so, @MummyToBeAgain1, especially as you're now certain they've been sneaky - it's correctly a solicitor problem right now, but could easily become yours

Similar was tried with my late, exMIL's place, but luckily the village grapevine enabled that to be shut down before it could become an issue
Here, unfortunately, the issue already exists so frankly I'd look elsewhere

Edited to add I also agree about checking whether the auction house can still charge you if the boundary dispute wasn't declared; I'm no expert but thought such infringements had to be?

Gosh, I’d pull out immediately and warn the sellers - imagine living beside these people!!!!!

Welp, on MN we really hate a CF neighbour 😂

I'm baffled as to why your photo is blanked out with a SENSITIVE CONTENT warning on it.

Does that happen on every photo now, just in case it is sensitive? That's not a very sensible method of protecting us, if so.

@MummyToBeAgain1 follow @SoonTheDaffodilsWillBeOver ’s advice - back to your conveyancer/solicitor. Neighbour probably thinks they can get it done on the quiet without having to ask the (deceased) owner.

The TA6 form in your legal pack asks about boundaries including whether a boundary has moved or been moved. It also contains wording to the effect of “If you later become aware of any information which would alter any replies you have given, you must inform your solicitor immediately. This is as important as giving the right answer in the first place.” So the seller is duty-bound to disclose this new information. Definitely one for your solicitor.

Don’t talk to the seller or the neighbour, let the solicitor sort it out. It’s their job and they should already have the land registry documents showing exactly where the boundary is. Ring them now so they can get on the case. If the property is empty then the seller may not be aware this has happened - the sooner they know, the sooner it can be sorted.

This is a Red flag to me.I have over the years had Neighbours who Park outside my house, Block my Husband's car in on his driveway.Drive over our path to park their car on there driveway.I used to always give them the benefit of the doubt! But sadly we live in a very selfish entitled society.If I was in your position,I would take a couple of photos,then straight to your solicitors. I really feel for you! I would not feel ok to be living next door to Neighbours with that attitude.Go with your gut feeling!

^ this. The auction fees need checking as well because you bought something but it isn’t as stated now is the main point. Keeping this in mind may reassure you about the auction fees. Anyway you need proper legal advice not us Mumsnetters!

I wouldn't contact the neighbour at this point, but the vendor (through your solicitor) . As pps say this is now no longer the property you bid on, and at the very least they should give you a price reduction, so this is definitely their problem. I suppose in theory the vendor coud retrospectively sell the strip to neighbour to recoup some of the loss but yes, this is an issue between the neighouring landowners ie the vendor and the neighbour.

Actually I kind agree with this too

Chancers