[Declan]

I have just bought 6 acres from a bank that was repossessed form the clown that blew it all on fancy houses. Its all signed and sealed. Land registry map all through. The dwelling house in the same field as the land I've bought has also been repossessed by a different lender. It is now sale agreed but no money has exchanged between the bank and the buyer.

Before the new people move in I wanted to put up my new boundary fences as they say good fences makes good neighbours. So i checked my map and have found that approx 0.5 of an acre that I have bought- and is inside the red line on the land registry map is actually within their property- it takes in their rear garden, septic tak, dirveway at the back of the house and a large part of their double garage!!

What do I do- if i do nothing then i have been short changed and and do not have the use of the land that i bought. If i go in and put up a fence it will spoil the sale of the dwelling- indeed i fear that the house will not be able to be sold beacuse it would look very bad having a new fence across the yard at the back of the house.

There is no dispute as such- my solicitor has advised that i bought the amount of land on the map and now i dont have access to that amount. It has all come about by the fact that the previous maps that the solicitors did were not checked by he lending banks . Should i hold the selling bank to ransom over this- and if so if the house is elling for £150k what should i charge them for this ground. Any advice would be much appreciated as my head is really messed up over this.

Declan

[Frieslandfilly]

Hi Declan, oh dear, I dont know much about the legalities of this but you must be able to get either the bank or the solicitors to take responsibilty for thier error, sounds like someone has not done thier job properly, as for the eventual new owners, best to get it sorted asap as it will def cause friction.

Dawn

[Hilarysmum]

10 years ago friends of mine found out that the acre they had bought with their house was not in fact legally theirs.  The previous owner had just fenced it in and used it, then sold it with the house.  They are still suing the solicitors!

[bazzais]

Its sounds like you'll first have to double check that the land you bought was indeed the parcel of land that was for sale and was owned wholly by the seller.  Its possible if the land is old that it had not been registered before and the boundaries may have been drawn up wrong.

If it turns out you do own the land then you will probably have to grant them access and use of the land because they have had previous use.  Within the boundary of my land I have two other properties, they have legal rights to access their properties across my land, they have legal rights to access their septic tanks and have them in my land - I cant charge a 'rent'

It does sound a little strange, I'd be prepared for the fact that this might not be an opportunity to make any money - you may have to just settle for a reasonable boundary for both of you.

Baz

[doganjo]

You're own lawyer should be sorting this out - that is what we pay them for!!!!!

[Brucklay]

I've had first hand knowledge of this sort of thing so will chip in my penny, and try and make it simple (not easy)

1. Landowner sold plot to Mr x
2. Mr x put in road and bore hole and put on market
3. We bought from Mr x
4. Got a visit from Mrs y to say corner of our land was hers
5. It was on our title deeds - but after 6 months of solicitors dealings basically an error had been made by the Landowner, Mrs y got the corner on her deeds, submitted to land registry and accepted, even though this was an error and was meant to go with our plot

We gave in - couldn't stand all the hassle and just wanted everything sorted out - which the Landowners solicitor did drawing up new title etc. What a pain - I guess yours is slightly different so maybe you'll have better luck.

[lachlanandmarcus]

When we bought our place the Land registry (it was first registration) gave us about 5 extra acres of the hill behind.

Unlike some of the people in these experiences, we went back to the registry and pointed out their error; the plans were then amended.

The question is in this case, is it a simple land registry error, in which case they are responsible (and do) pay compensation to affected parties (ie you to compensate you for only having 5.5 instead of 6 acres). Or is it misrepresentation by the previous owner (ie they were selling 6 acres but only had 5.5. to sell)? Or misappropriation of land by the neighbour of the previous owner? (ie the 0.5 acre belongs to your seller but was half inched into next doors property, in which case you would have a  case to have it back, but prob have to grant an easement to the buyer of next door for their services etc and then claim compensation from next door for the decline in value caused by not being able to use your 0.5 acre.

[Declan]

The one chap owned the house & garage on the one plot of land of about 1.5 acres. He also owned the 5 acres that I've bought. He had the two parcels mortgaged to 2 different banks but the house doesn't actually fall entirely within the land registry parcel that has the dwelling mortgage on. He lost both these and about another 6 properties to the banks.

I bought the 5 acres from one of the banks. When I went to mark out the boundary in accordance with the land registry map it extends well within the physical boundary of the dwelling's site- cuts through the garage, skims just past the house and includes the entire rear garden.

Should I/could I say to the bank that they must pay me for the land I've lost if I keep to the physical boundary already on site or, as my solicitor suggests- I am within my right to erect a fence along the land registry boundary and wait for the bank to approach me with a solution as the house is unsellable if I dont give/sell this land back to them. I've checked the whole possessory title issue and it seems that it doesn't come into play as the bank doesn't own the property 12 years so they can't claim to own it based on having possession of it for the required time.

Bearing in mind its not often you could have the banks on the backfoot. 
 

[Helencus]

Of get your solicitor to approach the bank and take it from there. What do you have to lose ? You won't have any of it if you don't.

[Hilarysmum]

PLEASE   please please get as much out of the banks as you can.  One up for the small (holder) person

[morri2]

Hi!  This should have been thoroughly checked before you bought the land.  Your solicitor is at fault here.  Having worked for 15 years as a property conveyancer I am amazed this type of thing still slips through the net!  Go back to your solicitor (which is again an issue, did a solicitor or legally qualified person deal with this case, or was it a 'clerk'?) and demand to know what has happened.  You can PM me if you want to know anything specific.  I've been out of the business for a few years, but I'll help if I can. 

[doganjo]

That's exactly what I said five posts ago!  Go back to your solicitor and don't accept an additional bill from him either!

[knightquest]

Yep, go back to the solicitor.

AND Shaft the bank if you can 

Ian

[Declan]

I don't really see where my solicitor has gone wrong. I bought the land and because Ordnance survey doesn't have their maps updated the new house and garage in question are not on it. Both he and I are of the same opinion- its tha bank that has messed up- i've bought up to the red line on the land registry map therefore i have ownership of all within the red line.

I've let the estate agent who is selling the property know. They said they would tell their client( the bank) and we will take it from there.
Anyway I am going to try to shaft the bank- I have nothing to lose have I??

[doganjo]

But keep your lawyer in the loop, he is (or should be) on your side.