Ransom Strip Nightmare!

[Willowcat77]

So my house sale fell through because the solicitor discovered a ransom strip in my back garden which encompasses the vehicular access to the road and where I park my car.

Neighbour who sold me the land kept this section aside under his name and never said a thing for all the 11 years we've had it. Now we are selling he is asking us for £5000 to own the strip and says we are parking on his land!

We're selling due to divorce so losing my buyer was a massive blow. Estate Agent thinks I should pay neighbour the money because losing the off road parking and access to the garden would devalue the house too much. We are a mid terrace house so the land and vehicular access is important.

I asked the neighbour for clarification but he has not responded for 2 days and I fear he is planning to increase his ransom price, he has past history of being very greedy and money grabbing 🙁

Don't know what to do now. I feel so cheated but apparently what he did was totally legal. Tempted to tell him to fuck off and take the house off the market but it's the only asset from my divorce and it would mean my ex would get everything because I have already moved out.

Anyone else had a similar situation? Any ideas how I should proceed? I'm a part time charity worker so can't afford a legal battle and the House is only worth £160,000.

5k? I'd pay it asap and have done with it.

I agree - pay it and resolve the situation once and for all. Did you not have a solicitor when you bought the other land? They should have spotted the issue. Having said that, if you've been passing and re-passing over his land for 11 years, have you established any rights over it?

@wowfudge That's interesting re rights due to established use...is that a thing?

I do want to pay him but he's gone all silent on me for 2 days after I asked for a plan of exactly what he is selling me. Worried he is going to try to squeeze even more money out of me. When I bought the extra land off him originally 11 years ago he doubled the price once he realised I was interested in buying it off him!

I suspect 11 years may not be long enough, but it's worth asking your solicitor. Is the land fenced as part of your property at all?

It's possible he's playing a game and not telling the truth of course. Surely a plan showing what you were buying was submitted to the Land Registry together with the TR1 form?

@wowfudge Yes, the land is completely fenced off and part of my garden.

I just assumed it was all mine when I bought it. I've seen and chatted with neighbour loads of times over the past 11 years. Until now He's never once said a bit of my garden is still his !

I think you need 10 years to establish adverse possession so if you thought all the land you bought was yours and fenced it all it I think he's on a sticky wicket. But I go back to my question about what happened when you bought the land and registered it as yours? Where is the plan showing what you bought?

Have you actually checked with Land Registry?

Because if that is the case, then your solicitor when you bought it 11 years ago should have spotted that quite clearly. You may have a case against them if they did not make you aware.

I've studied my original Land Registry document and can now see there's an anomaly. At the time I just assumed everything was okay, it didn't occur to me that he'd do anything like this. He knew I wanted it for access. He said the only way he'd let me cross his land for access was if I bought the land off him, so I did. And now 11 years later he wants me to pay all over again!

Following..as I can’t see how he can do that...unless the land you bought didn’t include this small piece

OP what did your conveyancing solicitor say about this when the sale fell through, if you had any chance of establishing adverse possession surely they would have suggested this. Did you have a solicitor when you bought the land (assuming this was a separate transaction from your house?)

Your neighbour sounds like a nasty little shit btw.i hope you sell to someone really antisocial, just to annoy him

Adverse possession is 10 years but it’s not straight forward process.

Do you have any original documents from the sale of land stating the full sale and access, is it obvouis he did this via deceit?

Did you fence it off straight away? If so download google earth. Some areas have 10-12 years of back dated satellite images which may help your cause.

Neighbour sounds like a right #%*! Hopefully karma exsists.