I return! (photos)

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 01 Jan 2007, 13:09

Hello all, by heck its been a long time I must say, but me and my OH are in the house now and we are expecting broadband shortly, using my folks connection at the moment for Uni research and such!

The best thing about the house, is the removal of a fence panel, concrete post and a gate, oh and an iron gate, some old very solid rebar concrete boundary posts and a little picket fence.........all so I can get the car down and more importantly get the Citroens down for servicing

Update regarding the Company Fiesta, its still a bit knackered in terms of its constant shuddering/juddering, has been back to the dealer numerous times without prevail, they just cant find the fault and its only just ticked over 12k miles, so once Im back at work, were starting proceedings for the lease company to buy the car back and give me a new one.

Hopefully these pictures will work

So in the next fex weeks, I shall hopefully once more become a regular, it stops the social contact with the gf

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 01 Jan 2007, 14:08

Welcome back..

Ermm.. If you remove the rest of the fence and use the grassed area to park on, it may prove to have two huge benefits..

One:- More space for you to park etc..

Two:- Given time you will gain regal right to the land and can then prevent some 'developer' from putting a block of flats there!!

.

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 01 Jan 2007, 14:18

One Step Beyond....Ahead, I mean.

I'm currently typing up a letter to the council to query the possibility of purchasing that little bit of land to the left (about two fence panels in width) as it will give me better entry and exit to the drive and allow a passenger to get out at the same time.

Although whatever the price (if it were a few hundred no problem) we cant really afford to buy it just yet but its handy just to have an idea whether or not its a YES or a NO.

The drive still needs a little work but Im just holding out from doing anything until I send my letter off. I need to buy some more slate bits to level the drive off so their are no holes for the wheels and eventually move the existing fence panels over to hopefully the new boundary, whenever that may happen and then buy some wide gates for the front.

When the warmer weather starts, going to plant some bushes in to form a hedge at the front of the house for a little more privacy, we've not been in their 2 months yet but I have my plans

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 01 Jan 2007, 15:16

who didnt put the washing up away
regards malcolm

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 01 Jan 2007, 16:25

We bought a strip of land alongside the house- around it was council land which they didn't bother to maintain....and what a palaver buying it was!! It cost £50 just to ask if we could buy it-luckily they said yes, and then it was a couple of hundred to apply for change of use, then the solicitors fees...and it took for ever!!

Your council may be different, but ours charged £100 per square metre, and we extended the mortgage to pay for it. All in all it cost around £7000 but it was worth it as we now have a much bigger garden and it boosts the house value by a lot more than the cost of the land....and also provides somewhere to keep old cars!!

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 01 Jan 2007, 19:51

By heck thats a lot of money, going on standard fence panels its about two wide and about four fence panels in length.

The council doesnt seem to be that crap, I managed to get a refund after they sent me a court hearing for not paying council tax although its on Direct Debit and all that (it was between moving houses, the apartment, my gfs mums while the mortgage came through), they never kept their address's up to date, so letters were sent to the wrong address etc etc.

Well that was all sorted, payed the fine, and got the fine refunded to me after I expressed a very unhappy letter to them.

Post by **CitroJim** » 01 Jan 2007, 20:29

Welcome back mez!

Missed you

Wondered where you had been...

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 02 Jan 2007, 09:45

Aye, its been a while.....but be happy in the knowledge that I never stop trying to convince someone to buy a Xantia, or continue to tell my BIL that I would much prefer the Xantia back than this Fiesta!

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 02 Jan 2007, 17:07

I think asking councils anything is a big mistake.

If you dont draw there attention to it they wont even realise what you have done

Personaly I would have moved things and kept stumb.. "Sneaky is best" sometimes.. lol

.

Bananaman · Post by **Bananaman** » 02 Jan 2007, 19:14

There is a little thing called Adverse Possesion, it means if you use the land in such a way as no one else can use it (eg, fence it off, put a gate on it & padlock it - after 11 years its legally yours and you just apply via your local land registry to have it put in your name - I did this with a strip of land off our front garden.
It does of course mean that at any time during the next 11 years anyone can tell you to bugger off, but its a risk worth taking IMHO

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 04 Jan 2007, 23:08

Im not quite sure at taking risks, but one thing is for sure is we have internet at home now

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 04 Jan 2007, 23:37

If the land is apparently unowned I think the procedure is to register a possessory title to it - whereupon you have a title that is good except against someone who has a better one. This doesn't sound much use but in fact it means that anyone else has to prove that he has a prior good title to it - which basically means producing deeds. Since just about everything has been registered since the 70's its unlikely.

After 12 years you can apply for a title absolute - which means you have a proper title to it.

You can search plans and get copy documents from the Land registry website - some fees may be required but they are not much.

I'm sure several hours searching on Google will produce loads of info.

The process is legitimate - and is designed to ensure that the country isn't littered with little bits of land which have been forgotten about buy bad conveyancing and plan drawing.

Should the land become of importance - ie you wish to build or something before its absolute it may be possible to get an insurance backed guarantee which may not be desperately expensive. Obviously it'll be cheaper for a 10 year old possessory than one thats 3 weeks old.

If you want to sell in the interim - you sell your house with its good title - and the possessory as well. Obviously its location and risk will affect the price - ie if the access is over a possessory title its a problem - if its the geranium bed - its less.

Please check everything I have stated above - its many years since I did this for a living - thankfully.

uhn113x · Post by **uhn113x** » 05 Jan 2007, 14:35

citronut wrote:who didnt put the washing up away
regards malcolm

Don't worry, Malcolm, he'll have to shift it before he can wash off a gearbox casing in the sink!

weety · Post by **weety** » 13 Jan 2007, 00:28

in the dim and distant past i used to work for the land registry (first job i do apologise) when the surveyors go out they tend to make assessments based on what they perceive is the age of the fencing that your 'new' bit of land has been fenced in with.....