Need some advice re a property purchase

[suebfg]

We're in the process of buying a modern house but have discovered a clause in the deeds that means we have to get the consent of a third party before we can extend the house in addition to the normal planning regs.

We only want this house if we can extend it. I was a little anxious about the whole plannings regs anyway, now this third party consent thing is making me think it's a risk too far.

I'm also a little worried that the work we want to do is going to end up costing more than what we have budgeted. My experience of builders is that it always costs more, not less.

What would you do? Should we just wait for a house which is the right size? Thing is we've been renting for ages now and need a house where our family can settle.

Any advice welcome.

Any advice out there please - I'm really stressed out about this

Can you make it a condition of your offer that you will only proceed if this 3rd party permission is granted? Who is the third party anyway - is it someone like a neighbour who may be difficult, or a freeholder who might be less bothered. I think that some investigating as to who the 3rd party is, and how bothered they might be, is probably worthwhile.

all depends on who the third party is.
The builder who built most of the houses on my road put a convenant (is that the right word?) into all the deeds, but he is long gone now so everyone just gets on with it!
As for the money thing, well yes, it always costs more than you think it will, but it depends if you can afford it and how badly you need the extension.

It's an organisation that has taken over from the original owner of the land on which the houses were built - so not an individual.

But I guess we could come up against neighbours as part of the usual planning applications.

We can afford the extension and it would be a necessity for us. It's more of a a question of whether we would then be paying over the odds for the house - the numbers are just about stacking up but if the work comes in more than was budgeted, then it starts to look expensive.

And if we can't extend, then we've just wasted a shed load of money.

You need to get your solicitor to dig into this for you and explain your options.

Also, have you thought about knocking on a few doors in the road to see if anyone else has encountered the problem, or been able to extend? There was a concern raised when we bought our last house about rights of access, but when we talked to other residents in was clear it was a total non-issue.