Bought a small holding the owners are chopping down the trees.

[justasking111]

Not exchanged yet but the owners offspring are now chopping down the trees presumably for firewood to sell. Do friends have any rights before exchange or could all the trees be gone before they buy it?

Are they being unreasonable to be upset or is it fair practice before exchange?

Rather than pull out of the sale, your friends could revise their offer and threaten that any further felling would result in further reduction

Are your friends as bothered by it as you though, OP? Genuine question and not meant goadily

I would pull out. If they are removing one of the defining features of the smallholding which was one of the reasons why they wanted to purchase it then the deal would be dead in the water as far as I am concerned. They will find somewhere else with better sellers - it doesn't sound like they are in a hurry.

They've acted in bad faith
Ignored threats to pull out
You suspect family issues

= Mad to proceed and asking for trouble

Do your friends know that you have started a thread giving pretty outing details on mumsnet op?

No one has done anything wrong

The owner has cut down some trees
The buyer said “cease”
The owner has not, therefore indicating that they aren’t bothered about the sale
proceeding so have left it with the buyer to decide whether or not they’ll proceed

In any event, dozens have already been cut down. With every day that passes plus the weekend ahead, more and more will go, so the buyers just need to decide for themselves without you in their ear giving your view op, as to whether they want to proceed or Not.

You say they are buying the land for their animals. What animals?

Looks like they are going to fell all the trees to get as much money for them as possible, "friends" need to accept there will be no trees left when they eventually exchange. I'd pull out, sounds like a right headache, who knows what else they could do to cause annoyance

they/ you need to look up felling licences. if the trees are being cut to sell the wood its actually quite a low amount of timber felled before you need one (i can't remember the number of cords). it'll stop them.

But the sellers don’t know how much they want it. Your friend should tell the sellers they are changing the nature of the property for sale so your friend might have to reconsider their offer.

It’s a bit like a normal seller bulldozing their garden whilst the sale of the house is going through - technically they can do it, but the buyer can of course pull out.

I would pull out. They’re being CF.

they/ you need to look up felling licences. The solicitor also needs to ask if they have felling licences and if so for what quantity.

You/they also say they are reducing their offer by .....thousand (in excess of the value of the felled trees) and will reduce it further if more trees are removed.

Why pick this nit??

Some people are interested in the world around them instead of just their narrow little sphere.

Probably, but they don’t really sound like people who do joined-up thinking, anyway, if they’ve struggled to sell this property, finally got an offer and seem to be doing their best to knock that potential sale on the head by continuing to do something the potential buyer has requested them not to via their solicitor.

In fact, might that be what’s happening? That not everyone wants to sell, and one or more of the siblings are trying to sabotage the sale?

A house we looked at five years ago was still full of rubbish and the dead owner’s belongings, including his wheelchair, commode, clothes etc, because (we later discovered when we bought a different house nearby) one of the adult children who’d inherited didn’t get on with the others and was being awkward and sabotaging.

It's so tiresome isn't it? It's every single thread now on Mumsnet, someone nit-picking over something silly.

Look up how to get a TPO- it’s not hard and it doesn’t have to be on your property. Also, the felling license. It’s a shame it’s too late before the weekend, he may take a lot down before Monday.

I think your friend has lost her dream place.

What happens inside that house is non of OPs business (unless she is in fact the ‘friend’)

Your friends only have a couple of options, don't they. They can advise that with the trees gone, they are no longer interested in buying the property and are going to pull out of the sale, or they can state that with the loss of the trees, the property is no longer worth the amount they had offered, so their new offer is £whatever.

There's nothing else they can do. It's heartbreaking to see healthy trees cut down just to make a few bob but while it's still the vendor's - or their parent's - property there's nothing to be done.

2 cubic metres max per calendar quarter can be sold. Out of the 5 cubic meters which can be felled, before a felling licence is required

I'm thinking horror stories like revenge sabotage after sale has closed. Someone doesn't want it sold and while optically it's up for sale, the vibe is not good.

I'd be terrified to own it. Midsomer Murders comes to mind....😮

They have to pull out. I am sorry (lawyer but not property lawyer). This is a nightmare. They are buying something which will be significantly physically different when it is handed over. This is sad but ridiculous. They’d be fools to not pull out immediately.

It's very clear that the friends have been informing OP of what's happening...making it her business. What is your problem? Also, who cares if she is indeed the 'friend'?

.

Sounds like the tree fellers are deliberately sabotaging the land / sale, whatever the reason. The only sensible action is to walk away as it could be a messy, indefinite saga with ongoing trouble.

I certainly would pull out of buying this land - obviously there's some really bad feelings so God knows what else would be done - including after the land is sold. I wouldn't risk the welfare of any animals being put there!

You can't legally fell a tree if it has a tree preservation order on it. Would be worth reporting this to the Tree Officer at their local council. They can receive the images via satellite.
The wood will be of no value,it has to be dried out for a couple of years before it makes good firewood.