GC Meadows

Exactly what I was going to suggest. The Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 was repealed last year but there are other remedies http://www.boltburdon.co.uk/blogs/estate-agents-update-end-of-the-property-misdescriptions-act-1991/ I used it twice to get Trading Standards to sort things out.

I'm wondering whether the land is already registered, or if first registration will follow this sale? (although notices and cautions can precede first registration, but you can normally find them using an online search of the Land Registry's records).

What did the estate agents have to say about the river prior to you submitting an offer? It might be time to start making notes.

That's along the lines of what I was thinking, that a much larger area of land containing some worthwhile fishing was sold and the rights retained over the entire area, so when it has been subsequently divided into smaller parcels they are still covered by this blanket retention of rights regardless of whether it's a river, stream, or tiny watercourse on the land (and would presumably even cover a plot that doesn't have water on it whatsoever).

 

When we have been away on holiday and picked up the local newspapers for the area there are often pages advertising properties with rivers running at the bottom of the gardens etc and it usually says in the Estate Agents details for those properties as to whether there are fishing rights for that particular property as an attraction for prospective buyers who are keen fishermen/women to buy the property as it is in their best interests to sell the property's specially in places like Scotland

Have you still got the Estate Agents details for the property Zigs as any details about fishing rights might or might not be in them,depending how quickly they wanted to sell the land.

I do hope you get this problem solved quickly so that you can enjoy GC

 

Ta for the input good people

Pretty much made my mind up now, don't want a bit of land where someone has access at any time and can bring as many of their guests as they want.

The business I was going to start involved keeping trailers and shredders there, so if I can't lock the place up it's a non starter

I've still got the estate agents literature @Kandy, there's nothing about the fishing rights on it at all.

Going to argue the toss about costs with the solicitors tomorrow.

From my point of view they should have told me about this before I put the bid in. I've wasted 5 months and lost interest on £10,000, so i'm not happy

 

I'm inclined to agree, but who exactly is guilty though? The estate agents are nothing more than agents handling the sale. That's why we hire solicitors to guide us through the whole process, including all the searches. If the estate agent knew, and didn't say anything, then they are guilty, but if the vendor didn't tell the estate agent, then the vendor is to blame. Of course it is equally possible that the vendor didn't even know. Of course they should have, but what if they bought (or inherited) the land and didn't question anything?

If it was purely a matter of principle, I would ask the solicitor to take action to recover costs, but then I'd be worried that that would be a new instruction, with a new set of costs, and the possibility of not winning, which puts Zigs further out of pocket.

 

The vendor knew,it was a right going back generations which its maybe the reason it took sooooo long for their solicitors to come up with the land registry deeds, hoping that by the time I found out, i'd be too far comitted to back out?

 

It's such a shame Zigs that nobody has done their homework before putting the ground up for sale.

My family has a saying when making major decisions....if in doubt don't do it! It's always stood us in good stead. Something else will turn up should you decide against it and quite often that something turns out to be a better find.

 

My family motto has been to point behind their head before hitting them

 

If they're that dodgy, unless it's in the legal pack, I would start looking at other things such as whether that vehicular access from the road is new, and if so did the vendor obtain the necessary consent from the Highway Authority because if not you/others will have to apply for permission to form a new vehicular access onto a highway, plus if it's a classified A,B,C road (is it red or yellow on the OS map?) you will also require Planning Permission

Have a look of Google Streetview and Satellite and see if they show there was a vehicular access there a while back, and if not then check with Highways to see if it had consent (I've done this previously by phoning the area office for a quick check, although without a precise address you might need to email them a location plan). Do this regardless of whether you intend to proceed, it will cost you nothing and may help obtain redress if there's 2 more significant omissions.

If it's a newly created entrance, the fact that it's a muddy entrance with no drop kerb indicates that it hasn't been constructed as required, so remains an unauthorised access regardless of whether it has the necessary permissions. Any PP granted would also contain conditions, which if not met could lead to action by the LPA. Any work in constructing vehicular crossovers normally needs to be carried out by contractors approved by the Highway Authority. If it's an existing access checkout the need for PP due to 'intensification of use of an existing access'.

If the estate agents knew that the fishing rights to the river didn't go with the land being sold, and absence of fishing rights being mentioned in the sales particulars/brochure would have been a good indication of this, they would have known that somebody else held them and most likely would of had access to exercise their rights. Did they enquire, and if not, why not?

 

That was very useful Scrunge

I saw your post while I was out today and took action. Google street view shows just a footpath, so it is new. Did a search for planning permission, no aplication from anyone of the vendors name since 1989, and that wasn't about access.

It is a B road.

Got on the phone to my solicitor and asked her if she knew anything about it, she didn't and said the only way she could have known was by doing a local authority search (thought that was what I was paying for)

Told her i'd done one and it took less than a minute

I asked about recovering costs from the vendor but she said it was caveat emptor.

Wonder what the law society will have to say about this

 

HUH !! surely not !! As you say, what are we paying for when we are "guided " by legal advice?
Jenny