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Original poster

NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE

867 replies

MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 09:29

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

Sensitive content
NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE
OP posts:
Original poster
MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 17:02

@Beachhutlover
Yes, I'm SO grateful we realised prior to exchange.
So sorry about your situation though - what a nightmare - that could have easily been us.
How are they with you now?

I would never think of taking someone else's posession regardless of how small or big. No normal person would unless you're a entitled, greedy t*.

OP posts:
mommatoone · 26/03/2025 17:02

Sneaky fuckers! I bet they are chuffed to bits thinking no one will ever know.

Original poster
MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 17:04

@moanafan
I most definitely will be posting updates on here as and when I have one.

Honestly, prior to posting I was thinking to leave it till after completition so we don't delay the sale.
The advice on here has been fantastic - I'm so grateful!

OP posts:
Original poster
MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 17:05

@mommatoone
Exactly what DH said! Especially, with how quickly they did it and disposed all plants/rubbish.

OP posts:
ElbowsUpRising · 26/03/2025 17:07

Surely tearing down a wall and plants is criminal damage? Certainly the plants as they’re not his. The wall I guess may be

ButterCrackers · 26/03/2025 17:09

MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 17:04

@moanafan
I most definitely will be posting updates on here as and when I have one.

Honestly, prior to posting I was thinking to leave it till after completition so we don't delay the sale.
The advice on here has been fantastic - I'm so grateful!

Don’t complete without legal advice - it’s like buying a car with four tyres but then getting a car with a missing tyre and part broken. Your solicitor should deal with the situation. The auction will have a terms and conditions. The seller has to put this right and get their land back and put right the damage with the neighbours paying for this. It’s criminal to break others property.

SpringIsSpringing25 · 26/03/2025 17:10

I hope this isn't too much trouble for you to get sorted! And I hope that going forward they're not a complete nightmare!!

OneFineDay13 · 26/03/2025 17:12

simpledeer · 26/03/2025 10:29

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.

You would rather lose 10k are you serious?!

Flouncysock · 26/03/2025 17:16

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 17:18

@Flouncysock
We backed of that one at the early stages - thankfully the seller hadn't found a property to buy so took it of market. We found this new property last month that we're both happy with!

OP posts:
DuckieDodgyHedgyPiggy · 26/03/2025 17:21

FrenchandSaunders · 26/03/2025 09:44

Love the fact your diagram had a 'sensitive warning' message 😁

Yes! Maybe they think that if you squint, it looks like a Picasso drawing of boobs, or something? You've got to have some imagination though.

EaglesWings · 26/03/2025 17:24

lessglittermoremud · 26/03/2025 16:30

Sounds like they’ve tried to take advantage hoping no one would notice or care.
We brought our house as an auction lot as it had been repossessed by the bank, our next door neighbour has their fence about 1.5 ft into our garden, rather than where it should be, and it runs the length of the garden.
It has well established bushes against it, so when we realised we queried it, like you we had already paid a substantial amount of money.
Apparently the family who had lived here before were great friends of theirs and weren’t bothered so they had put the fence in at the angle that best suited them and didn’t ask for a contribution for the fence.
We’ve let it go because relations between us and them are slightly frosty, they seem to begrudge us being here and their friends being ‘forced’ out
However if they had done the fencing whilst we were at the start of the process of buying I would have absolutely challenged it, I think by us not bothering to do anything it’s created an impression we’re bit soft and the neighbour has done other CF things on a minor scale ever since then….

I agree with this, don’t let it go. How you handle this first piss take is important!

We ignored some minor messing with the boundary fence and shrubs, hedges, unfortunately what this means is that my elderly neighbours see us as a soft touch and move things at will.

Now if I spot it there and then I challenge it, but otherwise they make sneaky changes and when I eventually realise and challenge they insist it’s been like it for 20 years…….they cover their tracks by making it look aged and long-standing.

DuckieDodgyHedgyPiggy · 26/03/2025 17:24

Something like this happened at our old house. On the day we moved out, the neighbour was on our shared area putting up a shed to claim it as his! It turned out that someone had made a mistake when drawing up the plans, so he got away with it.

UndermyShoeJoe · 26/03/2025 17:25

Cheeky fuckers at the highest. Waiting for a grieving family to sell the property to try and land grab.

KateShugakIsALegend · 26/03/2025 17:35

Apologies, not RTFT. But if you pull out now, might you get your £10k back?

You are not doing this on a whim - things have changed since you bid. It is now a property with an active boundary dispute.

Abra1t · 26/03/2025 17:37

moveoveralice · 26/03/2025 15:02

Not controversial, just stupid.

Why on earth would anyone let a neighbour get away with a sneaky land grab, no matter what the size!

Show quote history

IF you wanted to sell the house in the future, you would have to explain on the mandatory legal form that there had been a boundary change and expect some questions from conveyancers.

SpoonyCat · 26/03/2025 17:40

They don't look like they have gained a lot. It seems like a lot of effort to go to for such a small space. Might they be planning to build something on it?

BeaLola · 26/03/2025 17:40

Do not talk to them , do research on whether there have been any neighbour disputes, let your solicitor sort out boundary dispute and that you want financial compensation for the shrubs/plants cut down and dispised of that were belonging to the property you are buying and the fir demolished wall and they are paying to have wall rebuilt to your specs along the correct boundary

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 26/03/2025 17:43

@MummyToBeAgain1 its now going to cost the neighbours even more!! they will also have to reinstate the garden wall to the way it was. that wont be cheap!!

snotathing · 26/03/2025 17:45

FYI - that side of the boundary wall is ours which has been confirmed by the seller.

Great. That makes it simpler. Now the seller just has to sort it out with the neighbour before you'll exchange. It's not your fight.

ChessorBuckaroo · 26/03/2025 17:49

MummyToBeAgain1 · 26/03/2025 11:14

Right, spoken to DH who said to check if we can view the property today - booked for 1pm. As soon as I'm out of there - I'll be calling our solicitor straight away and then feet up and a cuppa! And ofcourse, I shall update on here!

I feel like I'm anxious just incase I've got it wrong hence why I want to visit the inside of the garden and also take some piks aswell for our solicitor as proof..

As the house is empty - I doubt the owners children are aware of this new fence.

I know the children did come back to the property a few times over the last few weeks to pick up stuff but I suspect they're done now.

Here's my theory - I'm assuming they may have had a informal chat with the neighbour. The neighbour who knew the house was up for sale as there's a house for sale board up but nothing more. The sellers children may have also mentioned that this would be they last visit as they done with what they had to do.
Light bulb moment for the neighbour who thought fantastic time to put up the fence whereever I prefer. The sellers won't know and buyers will know when it's too late.

Unfortunate for the neighbours - we're obsessed with this property and the location and so excited that we drive past atleast once a week so ultimately caught them out.

Concur with your theory. They have definitely tried to pull a sly one.

As others have said OP this is not the property that was advertised when you paid the 10k, so your solicitor will have a field day with this one.

CountryQueen · 26/03/2025 17:49

They aren’t going to put it back quickly, that’s an almost impossible task now they’ve disposed of everything.

They have gained a whole side access, A 21 metre path! Lovely. I’d honestly start preparing myself for disappointment here. These are not decent neighbours.

TheWolfHouse · 26/03/2025 17:56

Boundary disputes can be a real nightmare. There is a website called Garden Law which has forums full of people battling with their neighbours over boundaries. It’s similar to Mumsnet in that there are plenty of helpful knowledgable posters but also plenty of snide posters making stupid comments.

Moveoverdarlin · 26/03/2025 17:57

I would be fuming OP, as I’m sure the sellers will be too when they find out. I wonder if they know the neighbours well, things could get very awkward. If they are spread all over the UK, the last thing they want is to have to come back to the property and sort this out, I’m sure they are thinking ‘only a week or so and the house will sell and we’ll get a nice juicy lump sum.’ Little do they know a shitstorm is about to erupt.

Spring025 · 26/03/2025 18:14

Wow they thought they could widen their access the back garden by just sneakily taking some of your land? They are CF's of the highest order!