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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 12:19:07 GMT
Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this at all.
We purchased a new build home last May on a very small development of 9 houses, the 9 houses on are a small cul de sac type road.
We had a letter last week from the builders solicitor asking if we wanted to buy the land which was marked on a plan( basically the road and a few paths around the houses).
He is selling the land for a quid and has given us all the chance to buy it and then form a kind of company I guess to maintain it. He also stated that if no one buys it he will sell to a management company.
Our obvious concerns about this are if we don’t buy it then when we come to sell will this have an adverse effect as our neighbours will own access rights and we don’t.....or if we do buy it are we going to be hit with bills like putting street lighting in or pipe work.
Has anyone had any experience of this or similar before we take it to a solicitor.
Thanks
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Post by harryburrows on Mar 29, 2020 12:24:57 GMT
Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this at all. We purchased a new build home last May on a very small development of 9 houses, the 9 houses on are a small cul de sac type road. We had a letter last week from the builders solicitor asking if we wanted to buy the land which was marked on a plan( basically the road and a few paths around the houses). He is selling the land for a quid and has given us all the chance to buy it and then form a kind of company I guess to maintain it. He also stated that if no one buys it he will sell to a management company. Our obvious concerns about this are if we don’t buy it then when we come to sell will this have an adverse effect as our neighbours will own access rights and we don’t.....or if we do buy it are we going to be hit with bills like putting street lighting in or pipe work. Has anyone had any experience of this or similar before we take it to a solicitor. Thanks My 1st question would be why haven't the local council adopted the road ?second question why didn't your solicitor flag this up from the searches on your purchase |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 12:37:27 GMT
We can only guess the council either didn’t want the road or they have not been offered it for sale as the builder owned the land, and on the second point I’m not sure that should of been flagged up, surely builders own all land before they build on it so that wouldn’t of been unusual?
It really is a small kind of square tarmac that fits about 10 cars on, is all paved with curbs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 12:40:28 GMT
My main concern is when he got planning permission from the council maybe they put in a clause that the street had to have lighting after a certain amount of time, I kind of hope that isn’t the case because he has been great throughout the whole process but I guess you just never know, it’s just something I have never come across before and wondered if it was a common thing with new build
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Post by elystokie on Mar 29, 2020 13:02:16 GMT
My main concern is when he got planning permission from the council maybe they put in a clause that the street had to have lighting after a certain amount of time, I kind of hope that isn’t the case because he has been great throughout the whole process but I guess you just never know, it’s just something I have never come across before and wondered if it was a common thing with new build Can't you look at planning applications online? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 13:09:30 GMT
Yes but no plans or applications since the houses were built
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Post by elystokie on Mar 29, 2020 13:12:07 GMT
Yes but no plans or applications since the houses were built There haven't been any or you can't see them online? There's no mention of lighting in the original plans? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 13:23:44 GMT
We have viewed them but no mention of street lights at all, the street light thing was just an example really, in a more general way if we own the land between the 9 of us what other costs could we be forced to pay.
Thanks
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Post by mattador78 on Mar 29, 2020 13:41:03 GMT
Another issue is if you don’t own it but then want to do any work on the property sometimes restrictions then get put in
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Post by Etain Tur-Mukan on Mar 29, 2020 13:49:58 GMT
Buy it. Fence it and make your garden massive!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 13:58:33 GMT
We bought some extra land from the Highways Agency for a nominal £1 fee with the caveat that it can never be be built on. It tripled our garden though and we extended into the existing plot so it all worked out well.....
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Post by hcstokie on Mar 29, 2020 14:08:13 GMT
From what you’ve described I think there’s a couple of things to consider. I’ve some knowledge of this but I’d always recommend seeking legal advice.
If the road isn’t being adopted by the council then I’d find out why. There may be costs to maintain a private road (whether by you as residents if you purchased it or via a management company). Generally though I’d expect the main responsibility would be to allow access to utility companies to carry out works and remedial repairs.
From the description in your post I wouldn’t be too concerned about access rights. If the road and pavements service your property then you, as the occupier, will have rights attached anyway, regardless of who owns the land.
The benefit of a management company is that they would take care of all necessary maintenance on your behalf. Without seeing the layout I’m unclear what their involvement may be, but generally they would be responsible for maintenance, communication, and grounds maintenance of any green areas. For any services that they provide they should be charging you ‘actual charges’ based on the costs that they incur. Unfortunately they will likely add an admin / management fee on top. As such, if you went down this route instead of buying the land yourself you’ll likely face an annual charge to the management company. The services provided (or lack of) should determine the price.
If you’re confident that the upkeep of the land can be done between yourselves (or you want to organise services as a group) then personally I’d purchase the land to avoid the service charge. As I say though, I’d definitely recommend seeking independent legal advice.
Hope this helps a bit!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 14:17:51 GMT
From what you’ve described I think there’s a couple of things to consider. I’ve some knowledge of this but I’d always recommend seeking legal advice. If the road isn’t being adopted by the council then I’d find out why. There may be costs to maintain a private road (whether by you as residents if you purchased it or via a management company). Generally though I’d expect the main responsibility would be to allow access to utility companies to carry out works and remedial repairs. From the description in your post I wouldn’t be too concerned about access rights. If the road and pavements service your property then you, as the occupier, will have rights attached anyway, regardless of who owns the land. The benefit of a management company is that they would take care of all necessary maintenance on your behalf. Without seeing the layout I’m unclear what their involvement may be, but generally they would be responsible for maintenance, communication, and grounds maintenance of any green areas. For any services that they provide they should be charging you ‘actual charges’ based on the costs that they incur. Unfortunately they will likely add an admin / management fee on top. As such, if you went down this route instead of buying the land yourself you’ll likely face an annual charge to the management company. The services provided (or lack of) should determine the price. If you’re confident that the upkeep of the land can be done between yourselves (or you want to organise services as a group) then personally I’d purchase the land to avoid the service charge. As I say though, I’d definitely recommend seeking independent legal advice. Hope this helps a bit! Thank you, this all seems to make sense |
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Post by mattador78 on Mar 29, 2020 14:24:36 GMT
Or buy it yourself and rent the parking spaces to your neighbours, wouldn’t make you popular but when all this is over I think we will all need any extra cash we can get lol
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 14:29:00 GMT
Or buy it yourself and rent the parking spaces to your neighbours, wouldn’t make you popular but when all this is over I think we will all need any extra cash we can get lol If I did that I’m sure I would wake up one day and all my doors and windows boarded up so I couldn’t get out, may make me a few quid but I prefer saying good morning to my neighbours and them saying it back instead of squaring up to me every day  |
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Post by harryburrows on Mar 29, 2020 15:03:46 GMT
From what you’ve described I think there’s a couple of things to consider. I’ve some knowledge of this but I’d always recommend seeking legal advice. If the road isn’t being adopted by the council then I’d find out why. There may be costs to maintain a private road (whether by you as residents if you purchased it or via a management company). Generally though I’d expect the main responsibility would be to allow access to utility companies to carry out works and remedial repairs. From the description in your post I wouldn’t be too concerned about access rights. If the road and pavements service your property then you, as the occupier, will have rights attached anyway, regardless of who owns the land. The benefit of a management company is that they would take care of all necessary maintenance on your behalf. Without seeing the layout I’m unclear what their involvement may be, but generally they would be responsible for maintenance, communication, and grounds maintenance of any green areas. For any services that they provide they should be charging you ‘actual charges’ based on the costs that they incur. Unfortunately they will likely add an admin / management fee on top. As such, if you went down this route instead of buying the land yourself you’ll likely face an annual charge to the management company. The services provided (or lack of) should determine the price. If you’re confident that the upkeep of the land can be done between yourselves (or you want to organise services as a group) then personally I’d purchase the land to avoid the service charge. As I say though, I’d definitely recommend seeking independent legal advice. Hope this helps a bit! Thank you, this all seems to make sense Be very wary of management companies. There are some that buy apartment block freeholds and levy extortionate annual fees for management, this also makes the property virtually un saleable . You will need to agree with the neighbor's to do it yourself. Agree an annual contribution into a sinking fund to cover future repairs and maintenance. |
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Post by hcstokie on Mar 29, 2020 19:02:26 GMT
From what you’ve described I think there’s a couple of things to consider. I’ve some knowledge of this but I’d always recommend seeking legal advice. If the road isn’t being adopted by the council then I’d find out why. There may be costs to maintain a private road (whether by you as residents if you purchased it or via a management company). Generally though I’d expect the main responsibility would be to allow access to utility companies to carry out works and remedial repairs. From the description in your post I wouldn’t be too concerned about access rights. If the road and pavements service your property then you, as the occupier, will have rights attached anyway, regardless of who owns the land. The benefit of a management company is that they would take care of all necessary maintenance on your behalf. Without seeing the layout I’m unclear what their involvement may be, but generally they would be responsible for maintenance, communication, and grounds maintenance of any green areas. For any services that they provide they should be charging you ‘actual charges’ based on the costs that they incur. Unfortunately they will likely add an admin / management fee on top. As such, if you went down this route instead of buying the land yourself you’ll likely face an annual charge to the management company. The services provided (or lack of) should determine the price. If you’re confident that the upkeep of the land can be done between yourselves (or you want to organise services as a group) then personally I’d purchase the land to avoid the service charge. As I say though, I’d definitely recommend seeking independent legal advice. Hope this helps a bit! Thank you, this all seems to make sense You’re very welcome, happy to help. As HB says, it’s wise to be wary of some management companies but some are reasonable. I think that companies such as this have to pass on actual charges to their customers nowadays (I may be mistaken), so with the exception of the admin fee any other charges should be able to be quantified and apportioned equally between the residents. However, if a company did take it on they’d likely charge you an estimated cost for services within the first 12 months whilst they establish what the actual costs are. |
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Post by farmsj on Oct 26, 2020 9:55:27 GMT
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Post by flea79 on Oct 26, 2020 15:21:07 GMT
We have viewed them but no mention of street lights at all, the street light thing was just an example really, in a more general way if we own the land between the 9 of us what other costs could we be forced to pay. Thanks you would also need some public liability on the land, as an insurance broker i see these requests a lot.... |
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