Pulling out of house before exchange?

[p0ppyx]

I am sure I will get lots of mixed opinions on this. We have been stuck in a chain for the last 7 months and finally got an exchange and completion date for next month. However we have come across planning permission approvals to add parking to a block of flats that is next to the house. There is currently a hedge next to an access way which goes down the side of the house which provides some privacy between the house and the flats and this hedge is to be replaced with 6 parking spaces. The spaces would have to be accessed by driving round our house and the spaces will be directly opposite the front door and kitchen window. This has really worried us about losing privacy and the added noise around our house. We are also concerned this will put people off when we come to sell it as I feel it would put me off personally.

Are we absolutely awful people to pull out at this point? I would feel so awful, our seller has been lovely and helpful through this whole process.

Hmmm,

If the planning is now approved, your vendors would have been consulted. I wonder if they put in an objection?

Am I right in thinking that it used to be your property, access road, hedge, and will now need to be your property with fence, access road, cars?

It does sound as if it would make a significant and material difference to life in your house.

Unfortunately you would always have been hostage to fortune since it’s their land and they could do anything the could get pp for.

If this changes your decision about wanting to buy the house, so be it. It’s not god need but it happens.

I think you need to set aside whether or not you are being “awful people”. If after reflection you feel this is something you can’t live with then you are within your rights to pull out.
It may be awful for the rest of the chain, but this is the system in England. The water that you - and they - are swimming in.

I wouldn’t think twice about pulling out,you should have been told about this way before now!

6 houses is a lot of vehicle movement especially if it also accesses their houses. We have a lane behind our house with 4 houses. The increase in movements over the 30 years is incredible! Dont forget amazon, supermarket and other deliveries!

There’s no way I’d go ahead with the purchase given this development. I can’t believe anyone would want six parking spaces right in front of their front door and front window. I don’t think at all that you’d be unreasonable to pull out.

Did you Google and find it online? We were told last time we purchased that the standard conveyancing local authority search generally only gives info about the property you are purchasing, not info of planning applications for neighboring properties. Always worth doing your own research.

Opaque window film? You wouldn't lose much light.

But if you don't want the house, withdraw. Waste of stamp duty otherwise.

I’d be asking your solicitor if the seller meant to disclose the planning and if so, if there is any recourse?

I’d ask to view the house again to try and visualise exactly where the parking will be and how big rather than imagining based on memory.

I suppose it also depends a lot on if you think you can find somewhere better and if you could face another potential 7 months (or longer!) of waiting for exchange/completion!

You can’t continue with a house purchase because you think it would be mean to pull out! You have to make the right decision for you.

It’s down to the solicitor as this would have been discovered as a result of the searches.

Even if the seller didn’t disclose, I don’t understand why this hadn’t been flagged up on local searches?
If it’s planning that has just been submitted in the last few weeks then fair enough, but then the seller wouldn’t have known either!
You can definitely mitigate this. Plant new hedges.
You could be cheeky and ask for a price reduction.
When it comes to selling, your viewers won’t know any different, they won’t have seen it now

Ask yourself if you’d still have made the offer if it had been a year on and the new set up with the parking was in place.

If the answer is no then don’t think twice about pulling out now.

How did your solicitor not find this out? It would have been on the council planning portal.

YANBU to pull out as you would never have made an offer on a house in the middle of a car park but you should be asking questions of your solicitor and, moving forward, make a perusal of the planning portal part of your house hunt. We cancelled a viewing after finding out that the lovely big garden in the pictures had been sold and had PP for a 3 bedroom house.

If PP is being sought, the direct neighbours are sent a notice, so they definitely will have known.

I think you need to think if x% of the price means you could’ve with that , suggest that , tell the estate agent it’s not up for negotiation. If there’s no price that will fix it walk away now .

I would pull out.

For the people saying that it’s just a few parking spaces and to build a fence, it’s not though is it? It’s a block of flats. so the OP is going to be subject to major building works next door for the foreseeable future. We’re talking months/years if building overruns.

I get that people think it’s wrong to pull out of a purchase, but the reality is that a house is one of the biggest purchases you will make in your life. Nobody should feel forced into continuing if it’s not right, and it’s clearly not right.

The vendors should have declared from the outset, I don’t doubt they were lovely. And deceitful…

When was the planning permission granted? If it was pre the sale I wouldn’t feel bad about pulling out, as I’d assume it was hid from me as they would have been notified.

The block of flats is already there. The PP is to add parking for it.

OP, the notes on the Sellers Information form not only make it clear that you need to disclose any planning issues you are aware of that affect nearby properties but also that you should provide additional information if you become aware of it during the conveyancing period, so there is no excuse for not being told about this so long as they could reasonably have been expected to know. And I'd be astonished if they weren't notified.

Is the PP definitely current/granted? Is there any chance you've found something that didn't go ahead or has expired?

What was is the land used for currently?

Don’t feel bad, feel angry. They could have disclosed this earlier and saved you in conveyancing and survey fees as well as wasted time. They were hoping you either wouldn’t notice or you’d feel so committed to the purchase you’d overlook it.

I’d be glad to find out now! If the house is already dark and you’d need a big fence then I’d pull out. Dark houses are really not pleasant to live in.
Imagine one of those parking spots has a motorbike owner or boy racer exhaust pipe.
You could have someone working shifts who has a really loud voice and loves to talk on their phone to and from their car…..
You could have six lovely people parking there cars there for years without issue, then one person move house and it’s all downhill from there….

Sorry if this is dramatic but I’d go with my gut and pull out. Being unsure and going ahead - I’d hate having to blame myself for letting my worst fears happen.

Not necessarily. There may be a notice posted on a lamppost instead. Searches should have shown it pending and op could have done their own search of local planning database. Unless there is an increase in use ie. Conversion to hmo, it might be a benefit not to have those vehicles parked on the road. Are there any conditions on the approval to mitigate impact on the property next door?

How did you find out about this planning permission, and how long ago was it granted? Would the vendor have already know about this when you made the offer?

To be honest, if I really wanted the house I'd approach the vendor and say that things have changed and you are now only prepared to pay £X thousands less than your previous offer otherwise the deal is off.

On the other hand... who wants to look at a row of cars & a block of flats instead of a nice green hedge?

It should be in the searches.

I just had my meeting to go over search results earlier and they mentions their is currently no applications for or approval of any planning changes in the area.

Either your solicitor completely missed it the first time round, or is late to the party. Whichever way, I would not be pleased.