Seller apparently doesn't own their garden any more...

[Darkerdowndays]

We viewed and made an offer on a house a few months ago, and at the time the seller casually mentioned that only half of the garden was actually on the house deeds, but that it did belong to the house and they'd had exclusive use for 20 years, were happy to provide evidence so we could get it added to the deeds, etc.

Our solicitor has now asked the seller for details and they've completely changed their story, claiming they've actually only maintained that land as part of his job, and that it's belonged to a local trust the whole time I'm gutted and incredibly frustrated; a decent garden is a big deal for me, and I don't know if we'd have made an offer without it. But the market round us seems to be absolute rubbish at the moment, there's literally nothing else we like within our budget. Not sure if we should pull out and stay in our current house (and let our poor buyers down), or let the cheeky buggers get away with the lie and proceed with the purchase, both feel like rubbish options at the minute.

If the garden is important then pull out. Unless you can contact the trust directly and get some kind of arrangement.

get them to sort it out first if you're prepared to hang around for a very long time. Is the house priced for a smaller garden or the full plot? also - what do the estate agent's details say? you've incurred costs based on their description - is it accurate?

Surely reduce your offer price to reflect the lack of garden advertised? They have tried to fleece you imo op.

Move out and rent while you check out the trust? Get the sale in the bag and if this house doesn’t come off you will be in an excellent place as a buyer.

Pull out or drastically drop your offer.

You’ll be affected when selling the house as well by the lack of garden.

I'd get your solicitor to speak to the trust, if there is a deal to be done, the seller pays for it. If there is no deal to be done and you still want the price, the seller needs to drop the price to reflect the smaller footprint.

@MatildaonaWaltzer The estate agents details just say "garden", there's no indication of size unfortunately (because I'd love for them to pay for the ludicrously expensive survey!). Hard to say with the pricing, the house is fairly unusual so there's nothing else in the way of comparison in the area.

@GiraffeNecked my husband is keen to do this, but our solicitor says they've had dealings with the trust in the past and they're often stubborn and protracted. We'd probably have to make a decision on the house and then sort out the garden once we owned it, which seems risky.

@frazzledasarock hadn't thought about other people being similarly put off. It's already a bit of an odd property that had been on the market 6 months before we offered, worry the small garden might make it unsellable!

You pull out. This is a giant turkey. It’s not selling in a botany market and hasn’t got the garden you were attracted to.

I’d pull out of the purchase, they are dishonest and have tried to rip you off.

They’ve had years to apply to this trust to buy the land, why didn’t they do so if it was so easy ?

Don't buy a house and garden you don't want because of your buyers. You apologise to them explain what has happened and that you will carry on looking but you understand if they also pull out when/if they find something else.

Why were you wanting to leave your current property?

When my DH (then DP) sold his flat the buyer wanted a longer freehold on the lease. Buyer made it part of the sale, DP had to pay for it himself in order for buyer to proceed with purchase.

Get the seller to sort out a legal arrangement with the trust regarding the garden.

I’d pull out otherwise it sounds like s massive headache.

Would you still buy the house if it only had the part of the garden not owned by the trust? If it was fenced off?
If you can't get anything in writing from the seller, it might be worth approaching the trust directly and asking if you would be able to continue using that land .
The problem is, that could take a while even in non- Covid times. Is it National Trust? Is there anyone around you can speak to?

What sort of local trust? Would they want access to it for maintenance if it's a wildlife site, for example? Could your solicitor ask whether the sellers have tried to purchase the land previously (and failed)?

If the photos of the garden showed a fenced in area that suggested the whole thing came with the property, then Id be telling the EA that you are seriously annoyed about all the money and effort you have ploughed into a house that wasnt as described.

Selling it on will be hard so unless you love the house, Id pull out.

What's actually on the deeds re the garden? Any informal arrangements the seller has had in place should be ignored & your offer reduced/withdrawn accordingly. My house is old & unusual and surrounded by parcels of land managed by two different estates so our solicitor was very thorough about who owned what & ROWs etc. It was all fine apart from we can't keep pigs in our garden apparently

Sounds like he's nicked the land from him employer. He presumably doesn't want them to find out.

If the house is a bargain, or you can negotiate a massive reduction, I would be tempted to buy it and do absolutely nothing about the issue (including not having any arrangements in the sale). After 12 years you would have adverse possession- seems pretty likely if this has been the situation for 20 years.

Check that the trust is not a public body (i.e. government funded) as then it's 30 years.

^If the house is a bargain, or you can negotiate a massive reduction, I would be tempted to buy it and do absolutely nothing about the issue (including not having any arrangements in the sale). After 12 years you would have adverse possession- seems pretty likely if this has been the situation for 20 years.

Check that the trust is not a public body (i.e. government funded) as then it's 30 years.^

Great advice

This sounds like a can of worms . I would look for a fair price reduction or pull out .

'adverse possession'......surely that law has been abolished, some years ago. Any lawyers about ?

Sounds like a good reason to drop your offer to the level appropriate for the real size of the garden

Clicked send to soon ... I know someone who used the land at the end of their garden for years and years - they didn’t expect that land to ever be used by the rightful owner - but it is and was subsequently developed ( with other land ) and became a small close of overlooking houses

What do the deeds show?

I’d either drop the offer or pull out. Presumably the trust land won’t be built on but could be used by other people so consider how you’d feel about being that close to it. Be honest, would you have viewed and offered if the garden that belongs to the property was fenced in?

@oldmotherriley

'adverse possession'......surely that law has been abolished, some years ago. Any lawyers about ?

It’s been replaced by a ten year one. I don’t know all the details.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land