Buying a house - Next door roof 'trespasses' our boundary

[Dr Murdoch]

We have found our 'dream home' as it were, we hope to stay in there for many years. The solicitors called me this morning and said that it appears that the dwelling next door has its dormer roof extending into our roof. Said solicitor said that the owner may well have agreed to this as it wasn't a problem, however he went on to add that this may cause me a problem when we sell.

This extension was built in circa 1988.

As far as I can figure out, its the owners of the extended house which has an issue as they would need my permission to maintain their roof?

Apart from that, can anyone explain of any other pitfalls, or is the solicitor just doing his job by mentioning it?

Hopefully you can see the picture below, you note the red tiling of the dormer extends over the side of the yellow brick boundary

[Dr Murdoch]

Thanks chaps, its the reassurance I was looking (hoping) for!

[Dr Murdoch]

Thanks V8RX7

Can't quite zoom in enough, but the overlap looks like a metre.

[Dr Murdoch]

V8RX7 said:

What's the history because it looks like an extended single house, not a semi.

However if it is as you describe then I know enough to know that you need professional advice on all the potential issues.

Maintenance, insurance, liability - how it was built re fire risk etc

Its basically an annex on the side (see photo below), this was built in circa 1960 and the dormer was built in 1988. In terms of land registry they are two separate dwellings.



I was just about to instruct a surveyor to undertake a full survey (£1.1k), i'm holding off at the moment or would it be best just to get them to do it and advise accordingly? I'm not sure what other professionals I can call upon?

Also, we hope to buy the annex at some point, but clearly this cannot be considered a certainty....

Edited by Dr Murdoch on Tuesday 21st August 17:39

Edited by Dr Murdoch on Tuesday 21st August 17:42

[Dr Murdoch]

bristolbaron said:

Without fully understanding the layout of both, do they have a side window looking out to your garden?

They do, buts its frosted (believe its in the planning conditions)

[Dr Murdoch]

Deesee said:

Negotiate a large discount, a flying freehold type purchase is not ideal.

If you require a mortgage let the lender know ASAP, as they might not like the arrangement, (as might not anyone whom you may be selling too in the future).

Best of luck

Thanks. We paid the lender £200 to undertake a survey, should they have picked up on this?

[Dr Murdoch]

Deesee said:

You may need professional help/assistance if your heart is set on it, but don’t let your heart rule your head!

Well we are set on it, been tracking it for 9 months and we only put ours on the market to get this house. No others have caught our eye.

Mrs M would like to press ahead. What professional advice is there beyond Solicitor/Surveyor? Someone clearly dropped a clanger 30 years ago when this was given permission.

[Dr Murdoch]

Deesee said:

I’d check that is actually got planning or within regs first.

On the planning app should be decent scalable drawings, make sure is as it should be.

A decent solicitor should be able to give you the ins and outs once you have that information.

Don’t make someone else’s problem yours unless your remuneration from it makes it worthwhile.

Or just buy the annexe two and merge the titles!!

Thanks Deesee, its appreciated.

I'm just looking at the Law Society Property Information Form, the seller has stated/answered 'No' regarding whether any part of the propertyprojects under an adjacent property. Similarly 'is the seller aware of anything that might lead to a dispute....' was answered with a 'No'.

[Dr Murdoch]

Nope as far as i'm aware it 'adjoins' our roof rather than invades, but without a survey/inspection myself I do not know.

I'm only going on what can be seen on the photos above....unless I go for a full blown survey.

p.s Thanks Deesee, I'll see what my solicitor comes back with tomorrow!

[Dr Murdoch]

It appears to have been built/designed to avoid a gully. maybe aesthetically it looks better as well as it blends in.

[Dr Murdoch]

V8RX7 said:

I'm intrigued what your buying criteria is, that the best answer was "this house"

Schools, area, size of house, 'feel', garden, driveway, garage.

Thanks for all the responses so far, I'm putting together an e-mail to my solicitor now. If anyone has any specific questions that I should ask please feel free to post!

Thanks again for all your help chaps

[Dr Murdoch]

I believe it became separate entity in 1960, the dormer was approved in 1988. Apologies I thought it was built in 1960, but it appears much earlier.

Begs the question whether it was raised as an issue for those buying/selling the annex within the last 30 years.

Edited by Dr Murdoch on Wednesday 22 August 10:36

[Dr Murdoch]

Title plan 1966

[Dr Murdoch]

Quick update:

Sent my solicitor this yesterday:

In a nutshell we both want to try and make this work.

1. However, should we tell our lender of this situation (even though they have undertaken a survey)?
2. Can we bat this back to the sellers/solicitors court and make it their problem to resolve?
3. Worst case, could an agreement be considered by all three parties (us, 9a and 9) to share the cost of remedial work to ensure that this issue is nipped in the bud and that this sale goes through without further delay? (I'm thinking of terminating the roof at the boundary line and creating a gully for drainage)
4. Are there any other viable options that allows us to buy the property but covers our backs? Indemnity insurance? Flying freehold agreement?

Lastly, we have the sellers direct contact details and have in fact previously met the seller in person. If it would help by us speaking to the seller directly please let me/us know.

And the reply:

"The issues are either not resolvable or are not easily resolvable."

Slight (v slight) glimmer of hope, I'm due to speak to him later.