Case Studies
Hidden Agenda:-
Mr W was buying the last plot on a small development which had otherwise been built out by the seller. The private access road through the development ended alongside the plot that our client wished to buy and on the face of it could be included in the sale. However this was not the case and no logical explanation was offered by the seller for retaining what was in effect all that would be left in his ownership. Our enquiries revealed that the seller had failed to disclose that he had approached the owners of an adjoining property and was hoping in future years to sell to them a right of access over the private road so that they could develop up to ten properties on their own very large rear garden. The proximity of the access would have had a significant effect on our clients use of their property and considerable impact on its value. Our clients were able to withdraw from the transaction in time.
Planning Conditions:-
Mr G foolishly bought a rear garden as a plot for a new build without waiting for the planning permission to be granted. We did not act on the acquisition but were subsequently instructed when he needed to obtain a mortgage over the land. Unfortunately the planning permission required that part of the land retained by the Seller had to be a visibility splay and also that the Sellers own access had to be closed for highway safety as it was too close to our clients new access. We had to advise Mr G to enter into further negotiations with the Seller to purchase some more land from him and to agree to a shared access arrangement. He was at the Sellers mercy and had to pay another £15000.00 for this.
Mr G foolishly bought a rear garden as a plot for a new build without waiting for the planning permission to be granted. We did not act on the acquisition but were subsequently instructed when he needed to obtain a mortgage over the land. Unfortunately the planning permission required that part of the land retained by the Seller had to be a visibility splay and also that the Sellers own access had to be closed for highway safety as it was too close to our clients new access. We had to advise Mr G to enter into further negotiations with the Seller to purchase some more land from him and to agree to a shared access arrangement. He was at the Sellers mercy and had to pay another £15000.00 for this.
Ransom Strip:-
Mrs M decided that she wanted to split her large corner garden to form a building plot and apply for planning permission for a 3 bedroomed house which she obtained. However, she did not appreciate that although her house fronted on to an established main road adopted by the local authority the side of her property was adjacent to a road only recently adopted by the local authority as a new small estate had been built there. The problem was that part of the road gaining access to the building plot appeared still to be in the ownership of the builders and formed in effect a small but non the less vital ransom strip-the unwary can be caught out by this and a sale was lost!
Mrs M decided that she wanted to split her large corner garden to form a building plot and apply for planning permission for a 3 bedroomed house which she obtained. However, she did not appreciate that although her house fronted on to an established main road adopted by the local authority the side of her property was adjacent to a road only recently adopted by the local authority as a new small estate had been built there. The problem was that part of the road gaining access to the building plot appeared still to be in the ownership of the builders and formed in effect a small but non the less vital ransom strip-the unwary can be caught out by this and a sale was lost!
Restrictive Covenant :-
Mr and Mrs C were in the process of buying a plot that was part of the garden of an existing property. The title was subject to a covenant that stated that only one dwelling could be erected on the whole of the property and accordingly the erection of an additional house in the garden was going to give rise to a breach of the covenant. The Sellers Solicitors had failed to notice the covenant when they were first instructed in the sale and when we brought it to their attention they advised their clients that because of the age of the covenant it could be ignored. This was incorrect as the breach would not arise until construction of the house commenced at which time the party having the benefit of the covenant could have taken injunctive proceedings to stop construction whilst their claim was settled at the expense of our clients, the buyers. The Sellers through their Estate Agents tried to persuade our clients that our advice was wrong. The Sellers eventually took advice from another firm of Solicitors who confirmed that our view was correct. The original Solicitors were then dismissed and the Sellers negotiated a release of the covenant for £45,000.00.
Title Split:-
Mr and Mrs R had a house with a large rear garden and wished to build a second dwelling using development finance. The lender was insistent that the land on which the new house was to be built had to be in a separate title at the Land Registry but their family Solicitor advised that they could not transfer part of their property to themselves as the Land Registry would not accept such a document - the Solicitor dealt with property matters occasionally but this was not his specialist area. We advised Mr & Mrs R how to solve the apparent dilemma.
Title Split:-
Mr and Mrs R had a house with a large rear garden and wished to build a second dwelling using development finance. The lender was insistent that the land on which the new house was to be built had to be in a separate title at the Land Registry but their family Solicitor advised that they could not transfer part of their property to themselves as the Land Registry would not accept such a document - the Solicitor dealt with property matters occasionally but this was not his specialist area. We advised Mr & Mrs R how to solve the apparent dilemma.
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