Any conveyancers, estate agents, property legal eagles in the house?

...just seen a place which ticks all the boxes. As always, there's a potential fly in the ointment.
The place has a 'garden room' which is fully detached from the main house and adjoins onto a party garden wall. It has clearly been designed as an extra bedroom as has an en-suite bathroom but remains 'unfinished' though to what degree I am unclear. It has mains heating, electricity and water, is plastered and painted to a good standard. It looked in great order but is clearly under-utilised as a general storage area and the agent says it cannot be advertised as a bedroom as it is detached from the main house (it also has a flat roof which is used as a garden terrace). It smelled musty though this could be explained by having been unoccupied for a long time (and thus unheated) but there were no signs of damp.
When I dug a little deeper as to the history, the agent advised that there had been a dispute with the neighbour as the room should never really have been adjoined to their (party) wall. I got the distinct impression that the dispute had caused relations to sour irreparably though to what degree this was fuelling the need for the sale remained unclear.
I came away with the impression that planning permissions had been gained but that some kind of neighbourly dispute had arisen. The fact that it had clearly been designed as a bedroom but had not been used as one and could not be advertised as one was a bit fishy and suggests poor planning of some kind.
This aside, the property was spot on and, even if not used as a formal bedroom, the room would still be massively useful to me,
I guess the only sensible thing to do is bite the bullet and get a belt and braces survey irrespective of the expense and potential loss if things do turn out to be a bit rum.
Any other bits of advice greatly welcomed - there may be discreet (or otherwise) investigations I can make prior to formalising an offer and a survey.
Cheers!
The place has a 'garden room' which is fully detached from the main house and adjoins onto a party garden wall. It has clearly been designed as an extra bedroom as has an en-suite bathroom but remains 'unfinished' though to what degree I am unclear. It has mains heating, electricity and water, is plastered and painted to a good standard. It looked in great order but is clearly under-utilised as a general storage area and the agent says it cannot be advertised as a bedroom as it is detached from the main house (it also has a flat roof which is used as a garden terrace). It smelled musty though this could be explained by having been unoccupied for a long time (and thus unheated) but there were no signs of damp.
When I dug a little deeper as to the history, the agent advised that there had been a dispute with the neighbour as the room should never really have been adjoined to their (party) wall. I got the distinct impression that the dispute had caused relations to sour irreparably though to what degree this was fuelling the need for the sale remained unclear.
I came away with the impression that planning permissions had been gained but that some kind of neighbourly dispute had arisen. The fact that it had clearly been designed as a bedroom but had not been used as one and could not be advertised as one was a bit fishy and suggests poor planning of some kind.
This aside, the property was spot on and, even if not used as a formal bedroom, the room would still be massively useful to me,
I guess the only sensible thing to do is bite the bullet and get a belt and braces survey irrespective of the expense and potential loss if things do turn out to be a bit rum.
Any other bits of advice greatly welcomed - there may be discreet (or otherwise) investigations I can make prior to formalising an offer and a survey.
Cheers!
0
Posts
Your local council may have a plannng hub on their website which would list recent applications, appeals and amendments.
I would if you are serious about it , contact the local planning office/council , and investigate for maybe a £60 ish admin fee .
Cheers
No planning permission puts you at risk of enforcement action from the local authority (knocking it down at worst) unless you can gain retrospective consent, or show that it fits within your Permitted Development rights (sounds unlikely).
Also have a look at the PlanningPortal website for more general guidance on what can/can't be built and where.
There's also the matter of the Party Wall Act, which may be relevant.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/party-wall- ... 6-guidance.
Sounds like trouble.
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... p?t=303994
I have already found the original planning application and subsequent complaint application (not as per original designs) freely available on t'internet. It would appear, planning permission was granted originally then neighbours complained on grounds of: not being used as per original application (i.e. it is being used as a bedroom), footprint is larger than original plan, it is not in keeping with the 'conservation area' status and it impinges on neighbours privacy by overlooking.
Happily, it seems the decision was made to continue approval so long as it was not being used as a bedroom and an additional screen was added.
Happy to send links to these docs by DM to anyone bored or lonely enough to have nothing better to do. Will happily fund a few beers for any willing masochist (paypal / amazon gift)
You also now know that you are buying a house off a [email protected] Is that likely to be the only corner he has cut? I would be wary.
For each planning app you should be able to view all the documents pertaining to the app. It will show you the architect plans and any objections made by neighbours.
I was thinking of you uncovering faults every time you decorated or lifted a floorboard, the lights that keep tripping, the rattle in the plumbing etc
I am renovating a house so uncovering stuff as it is ripped out. If we had Bought it to live in we would have had the proverbial money pit.
So you are passing these problems onto some other poor unsuspecting sod? Nice.
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition
You've mentioned a dispute with a adjoining neighbours garden wall? They can put a raised flower bed, fill it with earth and water their plants.
Regardless of who did what to whom previously the contention remains over the room.
Your paying for the extra room when in reality it's a liability and not an asset. Which is the hard nosed approach but it's what it reduces down to.
Given the dubious nature of usage and ongoing limitations of use for the room and the potential arseache mentioned above why would you want to take this on?
Desmond Tutu
I am not sure if the problem is your inability to read or whether I should have been clearer. So I could clarify or assume you are a judgemental censored and leave you to your inner seething.
i had very similar situation when i bought my place, it had a part converted barn, that had been subject to a planning argument, i told the neighbour i had no intention of dev it, he accepted that, 16years later, i use it as a storage area and training room.
Marin Nail Trail
Cotic Solaris
Although, at the same time be aware that it could be the neighbour that is a pain in the ar$e.
My parents extended their house 10 years ago, everything signed off correctly from the council and yet the neighbours who the extension didn't effect in any way shape or form tried to complain at every stage. They have been c*nts since day one of moving in so it was no real surprise.
This has nothing to do with your extension or situation etc- just a warning that if your stuck next to neighbours who are pinikity/you don't get on with, expect a rough ride at every potential turn down the road.
...which is why i said if he (neighbour) is an idiot... move on :roll:
It's easy to be swayed by finding the "right" house, especially in the current market. But it can be tiring living next to a pair of old f*cknuts with nothing better to do than obsess over every thing you do in your own house. Just because the outhouse was signed off and person responsible has moved on, doesn't mean the neighbour won't have a stick in his craw about it till the day he's dead.
IF the neighbour turns out to be a complete censored then I have a large amp that goes up to 11 and can be turned towards his bedroom wall and a selection of Napalm Death CD's to deploy.
In all seriousness, this is one of those places that is a bit up itself in general - I'd imagine the civic society would stick their nose in at every opportunity if something was deemed to be not 'in keeping' with the area.
Anyway, a barrage of useful advice on this thread so thanks and onwards with the investigations.
At the very least you could use it as a means of negotiating the price down. Our survey revealed a catalogue of cowboy building which got us a large chunk off the price, and which we have over the years rectified properly.
I think if i was convinced it was the right property and i had good advice then i would go for it...
Good advice - thank you. This kind of insurance might be worth investigating.
I've since found out (today) from the District Council have made a Decision Notice Approving the extension with caveat it needs extra screening for the neighbours privacy which has been done. It also means I won't have the risk of having to pull it down. This does not, of course, mean the neighbours cannot and will not pursue a civil case and will have no reason not to do so simply because of a new owner - but it does perhaps give me a chance to go on a charm offensive in the interests of pursuing a peaceable ongoing relationship.