Establishing House Boundary

[^woody^]

If you are a religious man, reflect that the moving of your neighbour's landmark is specifically forbidden in the bible.

Which religion?

 

[JohnD]

Judeo-Christian.

Probably all Abrahamic, I don't know.

See Deuteronomy 27 and 19

 

[Nakajo]

But god told me to do it.

 

[blup]

The boundary position might be clearer if your neighbour's land has registered title.

Blup

 

[charliegolf]

Boundary lines on deeds and Title Plans are not definitive unless subject to a determined boundary agreement. The Land Registry website reinforces this point over and over.

 

[^woody^]

But they are indicative, and are generally easy to determine where the logical boundary is intended to be.

 

[Doug99]

I've viewed the house and the only other issue I have is an extension of the kitchen/diner. It is a large room 6.15m x 6.38m which would have required a steel beam installation. How do I go about checking that the work has been overseen by building regs and certified? The house is vacant and the estate agent just shrugs her shoulders. I'm tempted to make an offer subject to formal contract which will include those checks, but I would rather make my own enquiries as I have been advised a mortgage would not be possible without certification.
Cheers All

 

[jacko555]

My local authority lets you search for building regs for an address...
Have you checked yours/the authority where the house is?

 

[Doug99]

Thanks Jacko, my local council only offers online visibility of planning apps not building control info.
Just called council building control who have confirmed work at the address in 2017 has not been signed off.
As I am not the owner they would not go into details whether it refers to the steel work but I have put in a formal request by email if I could obtain a copy of the report.
The house has been vacant for over 6mths so I'm also raising the matter with the agent.
What I do want to avoid is spending lots of ££ for a conveyencing solicitor to conduct the searches only to be told in 6-8 weeks its a no go. I need to know now!!
Basically I will walk away if not certified............. shame as it is a nice house and ticks all the boxes .......lots of boxes

 

[jacko555]

If it ticks that many boxes, negotiate a hefty discount for the estimated cost of building regs approval and remedial / demolition and rebuild?

The lack of regs will come up in any sale, and, the seller will know this. Most buyers will walk.

If you are willing to deal with this potential headache this'll bring, you could get a bargain...

[Edit]
Especially if the adjacent field / view could be a housing estate soon. That'll also detract from the value and come up in a Land Search.

Hit 'em hard, or, walk. They may agree

 

[blup]

Boundary lines on deeds and Title Plans are not definitive unless subject to a determined boundary agreement. The Land Registry website reinforces this point over and over.

They are more a helpful starting point than a physical boundary intentionally moved for gain though.

Blup

 

[mrrusty]

They are more a helpful starting point than a physical boundary intentionally moved for gain though.

Hmm, but only to a degree. On every recent OS map, and on our registry plan our boundary with next door is straight, but the original old fence/hedge was kinked by about 1m in our favour, and photos from the 50's clearly show the kink in the hedge at that time. A small developer next door was going to install a new fence according to the plans and "take the 1m back", but thankfully didn't take a lot of persuading that the old fence was the correct line for his new fence. The truth of it is that the extra bit of land the kink gives me is probably original to when the house was built, but going way back a strip from our plot was probably "given away" to next door further down our plot to create the kink.

LR shows general arrangement but is fairly useless for determining the exact position of the current boundary.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Build a wild life pond and put some newts in it. No-one is building anything near it.

Andy

 

[Doug99]

I'm going to make an offer 'subject to survey', but I understand that the survey is usually for the benefit of the mortgage lender. When they discover that the steel work has not been signed off, how can I avoid them walking away?
A detailed survey would be needed as it has been left vacant for 9mths and hopefully establish any cost of additional works, which would then be put to the vendor with a reduced offer.
I've emailed the local building control to ask what they mean by the steel work being 'not signed off'. Is it a staged process? If all the calculations have been authorised and installation inspected, would these all have individual 'sign offs' before formal certification?
I'm keen to get things moving as the property is deteriorating and can only get worse as the bad weather moves in.
Grateful for any pointers
Cheers All.

 

[Doug99]

.