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

Yes and there’s no use getting confrontational by threatening to withdraw to a vendor who is likely acting in good faith and has no idea this has happened.

The other thing to note, and I’m sure your solicitor will tell you is that once you complete you might lose any evidence of the previous boundary. The current sellers, assuming they have some personal knowledge of the property and its history will be able to testify to the fact that the boundary was where it was placed previously for x number of years. Whereas you will only know that to be true since you first viewed. That’s really important when looking at adverse possession and boundary disputes. You want the vendors motivated to resolve this (and at their own expense).

This.
I need to work with them but at the same make sure things are getting done.

Fair enough - I thought everyone had ignored you so far!

So many posters telling the OP to just contact the solicitor because she doesn't own the house yet, +1 and in the meanwhile the solicitor has done FA. Ours was incompetent but I was shocked that @Strictlymad had to find and send the enviromental reports by herself!!

If you don't hear by mid afternoon monday, I'd be chasing again though.
The auction house should have a policy for a lot being not as described in the legal pack and should be able to tell you what that is. Your sol has had plenty of time to sort out what her next move should be and to give you that information and a timescale. The EA should be able to tell you who is now handling the sale.

I don’t disagree but would give the solicitor some grace as Fridays are mad with completions.

which is why I said mid afternoon monday.

I wouldn’t give them any chance!
I would be on the phone today reminding them that you are supposed to complete on x day and you need this dealing with urgently.
Make a real nuisance of yourself.

This is worth repeating.

This is on the vendors to sort.
They offered up X at auction to be sold...not X-10% of the site.

If this is tge case you have been mis sold something.

Itvis on the vendor to ensure you get what was agreed.
All the adjustments to the property need to be recorded by video and photos.

This is surprisingly common.

It is quite common - although not with the sort of behaviour displayed by the neighbours in this instance. We have a joke at work that when you retire you get a motorhome and start a boundary dispute. It seems to be popular amongst retired folk, presumably because they start to pay more attention to their garden and the value of their assets.

Only seeing this now OP. Your solicitor needs to be urgently raising this query with the solicitor for the vendors. I won't lie though, unless the neighbour puts their hands up this could get messy and you will have to make a call whether you want to go down that road.

I'd do my damndest to contact the vendors as the chances are, they have NO idea about any of this and are completely unaware there is a problem. Once they are, its likely they who will be the squeakiest wheel!

I’d be speaking to the agent, making your solicitor aware of the potential for delay. But it will go solicitor- vendors solicitor - vendor whereas both you and the vendor can speak directly with the agent cutting out two middle men.

I would expect the vendor will approach the neighbours directly.

There is a potential Criminal Damage issue so Plod could get involved if the vendors make a complaint

Don’t talk daft.

The shrubs?

The police aren’t going to get involved over shrubbery.

This sort of sh’t happens more often than you’d think. I outlined down thread what happened at the end of last year just as we were about to sell. But I’ve just remembered a year earlier we were trying to buy somewhere which was vacant. But neighbours reported suspicious activity on the property and filmed another neighbour chopping a tree down with a chainsaw and pouring weedkiller all over the garden. We went for another viewing (having made an offer), just to survey the damage and it was appalling! And because there was criminal damage the police WERE involved. We withdrew our offer. Nutters!

Not even daylight shrubbery?

Just let the vendor take the first steps OP. Don’t take ownership of the issue. Let them figure it out. You’ll just tie yourself in knots and contradictions if everyone goes in all guns blazing.

I'm not saying that they will but they might as clearly an offence has been committed.

There is clearly an element of luck involved, also of course its the sort of thing that can trigger a feud which they may well want to nip in the bud

I literally can't believe this thread. It's madness.

This is what should have happened. The minute you found this out you tell your solicitors.

As a matter of urgency - meaning THE DAY YOU TOLD THEM - your solicitors should have written a letter to the vendors solicitors setting out the facts and saying as you can see we have a number of legal problems here (1) the neighbours have damaged and destroyed property (plants etc) that was part of the sale (2) purported to move the boundary line. My clients have an agreement to buy X [agreed land and property]. The position now is that [subject to what you want] your clients need to re-instate the boundary line immediately either by agreement with their neighbours or obtain a injunction ordering that to be done. This needs to be done by [date] because of the agreed date of completion. If this is not done, then one of two situations will arise, either your clients cannot complete because they are not selling the same sized property that was agreed or your client will significantly need to reduce the price and agree to indemnify my client for the costs of litigation against the neighbours and any compensation. [they would never agree an indemnity, but its just to underline the scale of the problem].

Then the vendors solictors also acting urgently tell the vendors and get on the case.

The vendors (if they know the neighbours) speak to them in the flesh and go 'WTAF put it back you maniacs asap' otherwise we will sue you to high heaven and get an injucntion because we need to complete by x day.

The crazy neighbours either agree to put it back or refuse.

The the vendors either have to sue them and get a court order or decide not to bother - which then means you either agree a new sale price to reflect the changed property or pull out.

Whatever the position , this is not a 'I'm on holiday' 'I'll get back to you next week' kind of situation.

The main thing to understand is that the vendors who are the children of the person who lived there before are in a much better position to deal with the neighbours now for all sorts of reasons (including the fact that as it stands you have no title) than you will be after completion. The pressure of the sale is something that can be used to instill urgency with the neighbours and possibly get a court order. Once that goes you have a much bigger problem because the urgency goes.

Except the solicitor has had since 26/03, a week and a half ago, to respond and has been given plenty of reminders. She can't use the "Friday" excuse for all the start of this week!

would give the solicitor some grace as Fridays are mad with completions.#

I completely disagree with this. This is an urgent situation. It requires action the same day. If the solicitor can't do it herself, she needs to delegate it to someone else. At the very least, the vendors solicitors should have been formally informed even by phone call immediately.