Vendors Breaches Contract

ladydriver1

Hey All,
I having problems and wouldnt mind some advice please!!

Myself and partner are in the process of purchasing a site. We were supposed to complete last October and a few days before the closing and after drawing down the first stage payment, the Vendors Solicitor noticed a discrepancy in the maps. The neighbour next door actually owned a strip of land down the side of our site which was going to seriously affect our Planning Permission unless we basically got it back as our garage and driveway is to be built on this 10ft. The Vendor has been “trying his best” to sort this with the next door neighbour but 9 months later and 9 mortgage payments later (as we drew down our first stage payment) we are still not much further on.

The neighbour has been saying all along that there is no problem is signing it over and they have no problem they don’t want the little strip etc etc but yet we are still where we are now.

In the past 9 months I have bent over backwards myself trying to sort this matter, we had site meetings with the neighbours we agreed to do everything they wanted to move this matter on so we could move on with our lives but they just kept us on the long finger every time. In the end I wrote to the Land Registry myself querying this little piece and to see who actually owns it as the OS Map showed the Vendor owned it but the LR Map showed the neighbour owned it to which the Land Registry wrote back and said they were automatically going to make an amendment to the maps as it would seem the neighbour has had the boundary fence up for so many years now she has lost her rights to this strip of land. When the family got wind of this they threw in an objection and we are back to square one now.

The Vendor is paying their legal bill and also giving them a few bob for this strip yet they keep delaying it. After the objection from them they decided that they wanted a boundary wall built the full length of the site circa 50 metres long before they would sign it over. We had agreed this previously with the Vendor that we had no problem contributing 50% to a wall but did not want to take part in the construction as we do not own the land to which the Vendor was agreeable, now the Vendor is completely objecting to building this wall in order to close the deal with us and said that we can build the wall ourselves. We have served him with a completion notice which expired 3 weeks ago. Now it seems to me that the Vendor who is saying he has tried his best to complete this matter is the one actually delaying the matter now in that he won’t agree to build the wall and wants me to build this wall on land I don’t even legally own!!!!

Am I correct in stating that I can actually take this matter to Court now as he is in breach of the contract in excess of 9 months and still failed to complete after the completion notice?

There was nothing in the contract to state we would have to build a wall along the boundary in the first place (yet we are still willing to contribute 50% towards the construction of the wall to move this matter on)

The Vendor has said he will give us 2k toward the wall and no more and we have to build it which is so frustrating as who would build a wall on land they dont even own yet??!!!!

In my opinion if the Vendor just agreed to build this wall with the adjacent land owner it would be signed over in a coupe of days the wall construction could start and we can close the deal and everyone is happy?? Yet he is starting to make this so difficult that I am actually almost on my way to Court with him for breach of this contract - am i nuts to think this is actually happening or am I correct in the above?

So sorry in advance for the rant abotu this I am just so distressed about it, it has gone on so long and now the vendor is causing the problems - what a nightmare!! :mad:

D3PO

for legal advise you need to talk to your solicitor.

if its such a pain why not forgoe the little strip of land and have your architect redesign your plans. You dont own the land yet so you couldnt have put in planning permission for it.

sounds like the most practical solution to me.

ladydriver1

Hi there, thanks a million for your reply.

Obviously when we were purchasing the site we were purcahsing same subject to Planning so we received Planning on the site...I have no problems putting in a new application but am sure these neighbours will now probably object to it. I have offered to go this road many months ago and they said there was no problems in transferring it from them yet it is still not done!!

I think they are PO'd that they never objected to the first application and are now just trying to make life difficult....

I am just wondering has anyone else ever had the same kind of problems and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your response.

D3PO

Im sure you have covered this off but Im going to ask anyway. If the vendor has applied and been granted planning permission have you checked as to weather it is still valid if you purchase the site ?

Many times that isnt the case. Sorry I know its off topic a bit I appologise

ladydriver1

Hey no probs, we are purchasing the site suibject to PP which we applied for and received in our own names, once permission was granted to us we were then able to go ahead and purchase the site apart from the problem now with the neighbours boundary. We cannot close the deal or continue on with anything until this is rectified, i would apply for PP to make amendments but am afraid they will object to it...

ladydriver1

contracts etc are signed since before we applied for PP and when we got it we were ready to close and have been now for 9 months!! Thinking of taking this to Court with the Vendor now for breach of contract.

astrofool

What is the bank's loan currently secured against? Who holds the deeds? Sounds pretty bizarre that you could draw down the mortgage without gaining title.

ladydriver1

Hi There Astrofool, well obviously we had to draw down the money to purchase the site and pay for it in order for the transaction to complete but this is the problem - it still has not completed and we have been paying the mortgage on the amount drawn down to complete the purchase of the site...

astrofool

Normally the funds would be drawn down to a solicitors holding account and only released when deeds have been signed/handed over etc, and then the deeds get lodged with the bank as security for the loan.

From what you're saying, you have a 200k loan secured against nothing, is the money still sitting with your solicitor? Could you not pay back the loan with the principal, and then pull out completely? The hit you'll take in interest/solicitors payments will likely be less than the value of the site has dropped by in the 9 months since the draw down.

I would pull out of this as quickly as possible, let the vendor sort it out, then go back with a low ball offer (if you go back at all).

What's going on sounds like absolute madness and you're just flushing your money away.

Victor

Why can't you complete the transactions and build the wall yourself, as you will then own the land and will be building on your own land.

D3PO wrote: »

You dont own the land yet so you couldnt have put in planning permission for it.

One only needs the consent of the owner to apply for planning permission.

ladydriver1

Astrofool, thanks for your response. The money was released by the Bank to our Solicitor, it has been in his account ever since as we cannot complete the transaction - we have just been patient waiting for this matter to finalise but it has now gotten so out of hand.

I am thinking of just paying back the bank as the money has not been spent yet and taking the Vendor to Court for Breach of Contract.....obviously i dont want it to come to this but it is gone beyond a joke at this stage.

Victor, thanks a mill for your response. Apparently the neighbour next door will not sign over this little strip now until the wall is built therefore I think I would be nuts to agree to build a wall on land I do not even own yet and I think this is a matter for the Vendor in order to complete the transaction with me...the transaction cannot complete until the maps are correct as if it does then my Solicitor cannot give good marketable title to the bank hence the 9 month delay, it is a bit of a nightmare really.

Thanks again for the replies guys