The all new buyers/sellers waiting room (x 6!) thread

[Champere]

Welcome across everyone!

We’ve got six nights until we move and the insomnia has set in!

It’s taken us three threads to move and I hope this thread is the one I graduate on….

Best of luck to everyone! May your agents be truthful, your conveyancers responsive, your lenders generous and your chain reasonable!!

Ask your solicitor to explain in plain English what is being asked. That's what you are paying them for. Don't try to answer anything you don't fully understand as the enquiries form part of the final report so it's an important part of the legal process.

Get your solicitor to explain the meaning of the covenant. They are very common and often don't make much sense in today's context. It sounds like something may have been breached - possibly when an extension was added or some other remodel. If it was done years ago, you may not know anything about the history. In such cases, it's normal to buy an indemnity policy to cover it. They are usually valid in perpetuity so future owners will not have to purchase one. They are not expensive so you probably just have to suck it up. It's silly and a money-making exercise for insurers, but is deemed easier than trying to change the law I guess.

Thanks @Gekko21 will do ! I now understand why it takes so long

I hate those forms. When you're selling you tie yourself in knots trying to answer honestly and fully, and turn the house upside down looking for paperwork you may or may not have ever had. And when you're buying, they come back saying, "can't remember", "check with neighbours", "paperwork lost", "don't know", "don't know", "don't know".

I answered most of them with documents ! 19 in total ! One of them i havw no idea what is on about can i answered i dont know ? What happens if u answer that ?
The question is

c) Please confirm whether the seller has proper easement rights to use the accessway towards driveway (provide documentary evidence
The driveway is by the road ? Not sure what that means again
d) Please confirm whether the driveway was constructed at the property after 1st October 2008. If so, please advise if the area is less than 5 square meters, or if the material used was porous, or supply planning permission. Please also confirm whether a dropped kerb was installed. If not, on what basis is legal access obtained over the pavement. If so, when was it installed. Please supply planning permission for the installation and a license to cross the pavement with a vehicle.

How would i know that ? There was nothing about the driveway when we bought it the driveway is within the properties boundaries

I still haven't exchanged and the hold up is that the solicitor just submitted the deed of covenant to the freeholder on Friday we were supposed to exchange last Wednesday. If I was the seller, I would not be paying the solicitor they have been abysmal from start to finish.

Oh I had your question D - I just said that we have made no changes to the drive and it is in keeping with the style and materials of other properties on the street. .... they didn't come back to me so assume that was accepted!

@Ilikewinter thank you i think i will reply the same as i have no idea really 🤪
I wonder if we all get the same enquiries 😅

Update on this the seller hasn't paid her solicitor for the deed of variation and this is slowing the whole thing down. Apparently the solicitors can't get hold of the seller.

So environmental searches came back saying that the property is built on top of infilled land ‘unspecified pit’ 1800’s to 1938.. surveyor out on Friday.. ground stability risk identified on the search. Extremely low flood risk if that helps! I’m going to presume this was taken into account when they built the houses on top and of course a survey will show up any movement?? What should I do if anything?

Ok so i asked the layer what do they mean with this question

c) Please confirm whether the seller has proper easement rights to use the accessway towards driveway (provide documentary evidence

The lawyer said

2 – Did you receive any confirmation when you bought the property regarding the legal rights to use this accessway?

The house is a regular semi detached with a driveway at the side and a garage at the end
. There is a gate to the backyard from the driveway and there is no rights of access to anyone except the owner of the property. What documentary evidence they need ??

I'm wondering if there's something in your title deeds about use / ownership of the access to the driveway meaning you don't have the right of access you think you do. Have you been given a copy by your solicitor?

ETA: I'd ask your solicitor if there's something doubt you have access rights. Throw it back to them!

Yes i have the title deeds . I mean is the road where the land ends so technically someone can block it is that what they mean ?

Potentially

Still NO exchange and not the sellers solicitor asking for completion on Monday despite the original completion date been Wednesday. I'm so so so close to pulling out

@MotherOfRatios isn't that the same everywhere ? 🤣 i mean what can i do ?

Wow ! Thats very soon if you still haven't exchanged maybe they want to do it same day ?

I would email back with the question in your comment and maybe mark the pictures.

I can't complete on Monday the money from the bank is released on the Tuesday

What exactly do they mean by 'accessway'? Do they mean the bit where you drive across the path before getting onto your land, or part of your land?

When was the dropped kerb installed? Maybe that's what they're getting at in a roundabout way! (Just ask a straight question, for god's sake!)

@NoWordForFluffy i have no idea when the kerb was installed there was nothing when we bought it so i am guessing the previous owner didn't do it either ? He bought it in 2000 and we bought it in 2016 . I hope they are satisfied with out answer

The garage looks like it was built with the house, so would the dropped kerb always have been there? Do you know when it was built?

I think we are ready to exchange and I also think we have a rental. However, a house that is on the road of the house that fell through is coming on and I'm going to view on weds. I'm sure it'll be over our budget but I've been lead to believe it's been tenanted for years and let to students so I'm hoping it's actually a wreck so we can afford it.

It's our dream road. Now I don't want to sign a rental agreement as we will almost definitely make an offer just because of the road and if we were lucky enough to get it (and it's tenanted I'd look at an air BnB) as we could rush the sale through.

I don’t know whether it’s a similar thing, but we once had a house where there was the drive, then pavement, then a grass verge, then the road. The grass verge was the easement apparently and historically had been the property of the lord of the manor. No one had any idea who that might be.

The council were talking about us paying 10% of the house value if we sold because of this easement. We got a solicitor and nothing further happened.

It was build in 1971 .
There is no grass is literally dropped curved then the driveway . We have replied as best as we can lets see if they accept it 🤷🏻‍♀️