Bank decline qualification of title..

Dublin21

(Not sure if this is best suited here or Legal advice so feel free to move!)

So trying our hardest to purchase a house for the last 4 months!
In now what we thought were the final stages and our bank has just declined a qualification of title raised.

The house is a terraced house that has a shared alleyway with the neighbour which is used to access the 2 back gardens (coal alley I believe they were back in the day!)

They are declining because we cannot guarantee an application for right of way will be made. I.e. we can say we will try do it but we cannot guarantee the neighbours will sign the form. Bank are not happy with this.

Ive been onto the PRAI who confirmed that no one else in the same folio (a number of houses, some ex council) have registered a mutual right of way and as we legally own half (it is in the boundary of the house) they do not see the benefit. However unfortunately their opinion holds no legal ground.

Solicitor is surprised by this and going back and forth with pictures etc but its not looking good.

Has anyone had a similar situation and if so how did you manage to get past it??

We were considering trying to get the neighbour to put something into writing for the bank but that's a long shot. I know if some stranger knocked on my door asking me to sign something I wouldn't be quick to do so....

Rabbo

Banks are becoming more and more difficult in relation to proper title, rights of ways, etc. This is a result of the many properties that were taken over where they found that solicitors hadn't checked the paperwork properly.

If the vendor is unwilling to deal with this, you will have to approach the neighbour if you want this sorted out quickly. Make sure you have all the paperwork and maps ready for signing before you approach so that there is minimal hassle involved for them. Most reasonable people would be forthcoming if you explain the situation clearly to them and make sure that they insert and that it is just a paperwork exercise as an establised right of way already exists. Also, if you are offering a reciprocating right of way, it's obviously in both of your benefits.

Dublin21

Hi Rabbo,

Thanks for your reply.

Can I just ask are you saying that we will effectively have to register a right of way Before we close or will the bank take a drafted letter from the neighbours to say they will consent after the closure?

I would obviously be hesitant about spending the money to register the right of way before we bought the property incase anything else fell through..

Thanks again

Gasherbraun

We had a similar issue, when we bought last year, with a shared right of way between ourselves and the neighbour. It was actually a common feature to most of the houses in the area.

As Rabbo outlines we had to get our (potential) neighbour to sign something drawn up by our solicitor which they willingly did since it just formalised a long established 'casual' shared right of way. Our neighbours were thinking of selling and could see the merit in clearing potential issues for them when they came to sell.

I should mention that the issue was raised by our solicitor but we had no involvement with a lender so that is a difference with your situation OP.

Rabbo

Dublin21 wrote: »

Hi Rabbo,

Thanks for your reply.

Can I just ask are you saying that we will effectively have to register a right of way Before we close or will the bank take a drafted letter from the neighbours to say they will consent after the closure?

I would obviously be hesitant about spending the money to register the right of way before we bought the property incase anything else fell through..

Thanks again

I'm not sure if the bank would accept a letter. Ideally you should have the right of way agreement signed. If the vendor unwilling to get this done, it will be up to you if you want finance from the bank. . Your solicitor will advise in the cost of this

Dublin21

Hi,

Our solicitor has already advised costs but said initially this could be done after closing (which from a budget prospective is better for us!)

The bank also seem to be OK with us getting this done once closed but then they contradict themselves in saying that they need a guarantee.. What exactly is a guarantee if its not an actual right of way document?
We tried querying this with the banks ourselves but they unfortunately were not very helpful.
''
The Bank is not agreeable to proceed unless we receive confirmation that an application will be made upon purchase''

I've asked our solicitor what she thinks about drafting up a letter for the neighbours so just waiting on the reply.
We are reluctant to apply for the right of way as we have not closed yet and should anything else cause the deal to fall through we would be down an awful lot more than we will be if we had to pull out now..

Rabbo

Your solicitor is best placed to advise.if you do decide on approaching neighbours, I'd suggest sweetening them by offering to pay full costs of agreements and maps and also, obviously, providing them with a reciprocating right of way. Make sure they understand that they would require it in the future themselves if it ever changed ownership