Conveyancing - due diligence question??

[dave_s13]

Just moved into our new house which backs on to open farmers feilds....which is nice.

We just found out today there is a plan to create 5 mini football pitches to the right of our property, approx 500yds away. This includes erecting a temporary structure for changing facilities and a small area for car parking.

This means that instead of complete peace and quiet of a sat/sun afternoon we will get the noise of youngsters playing league footy matches. Brilliant

The issue is we were told this by our new neighbours, the solicitor didn't mention anything at all and I am reasonably sure it would have affected our decision to buy this house. This development has been in the planing stages for 4 years (due to strong objection) so should surely have come up in the searches???

What the fvvck did I pay my solicitor for and what do you think is a reasonable explanation?

[Jasandjules]

Yes, it should have come up in the searches. Ask the solicitor what happened.

[MrChips]

I had something similar in that the fields that we look out over, are due to be developed as part of a strategic development plan.
It didn't come up at all during the purchase of the house, and from what I can gather this was due to the fact that no specific planning application had yet been submitted. It was however a well known and publicised council strategy.
Of course, i'm also partly at fault for not picking it up (the plans were available at the council offices).

We took it up with the solicitor about 6 months after moving in, but were told that as no planning application had been submitted then it wouldn't come up during any of their work?

Has a full or outline application been submitted for the area concerned?

[SJobson]

Planning applications for nearby properties, and not the one you are buying, will not come up on your local search. Some things are within your remit - finding out about the local area is not the solicitor's job; he is simply looking at your property.

[havoc]

SJobson said:

Planning applications for nearby properties, and not the one you are buying, will not come up on your local search. Some things are within your remit - finding out about the local area is not the solicitor's job; he is simply looking at your property.

As someone who is now looking to buy, how would you find out about stuff like this in the area of a house you like?

[dave_s13]

havoc said:

SJobson said:

Planning applications for nearby properties, and not the one you are buying, will not come up on your local search. Some things are within your remit - finding out about the local area is not the solicitor's job; he is simply looking at your property.

As someone who is now looking to buy, how would you find out about stuff like this in the area of a house you like?

Knock on doors and ask the locals.

When questioned on this my solicitor simply stated nothing came up in the searches within the HIP. Which they didn't, nothing I can do about it.

I'm mellowed since though and realised it actually won't be that bad. I use to live just down the road from the car auctions. The sound of the odd footy match pales into comparision

I feel very sorry for the residents further down the road though. they've had 10yrs of tranquility and now face a busy footy feild directly behind their back gardens. A bit $hit that really.

Edited by dave_s13 on Friday 21st May 13:30

[davepen]

havoc said:

how would you find out about stuff like this

Go on to your local authority .gov.uk site.
Go to planning and look for the local plan and planning applications.
Both are usually available as maps.

Of course the local plan could be rubbish - especially as John Prescott isn't a minister now.

[SJobson]

Read the local paper, speak to regulars down the local pub, get to know the area, that sort of thing. It's up to you to decide whether you want to live in a particular place; a solicitor will only be able to tell you whether the house you've chosen has any problems, not that you've chosen to live in the middle of a sink estate.

[touching cloth]

It is true that a Local Authority Search will relate to the property itself, however for most places I have bought I have received detailed information on local planning applications within the vicinity of the property I am buying (a "plan search" I believe) along with the thoughts of the solicitor on any that concern him - I am not clear on a solicitors "obligation" to include this in their usual searches but mine always have and I have to say I thought it was pretty standard practice.

[SJobson]

touching cloth said:

(a "plan search" I believe)

That's a proprietary search by a third party called Plansearch, not something offered by a local authority. Landmark Information Services, which offer it, come up with new ides for searches all the time, all designed mainly to part you with money for something common sense or free databases will otherwise provide. They even have a new product due soon to search for WWII bombs; I kid you not. The accuracy of the results will be interesting to see... ETA: it seems it's now available - Clicky.

Anyway, it's a proprietary search from a business and as such, not a standard search on a conveyancing transaction.

Edited by SJobson on Friday 21st May 14:15