Are you buying a country property for the first time?

07/02/2011

By Guy Hollamby, Partner and Head of Residential Conveyancing.

For many families it is the most important house move you will ever make and, it often comes with a major change in lifestyle as well. You may have been enjoying life in London on two incomes with no school runs to worry about!

But family life beckons and you seek a greener, calmer environment to bring up your children. You will be considering new and probably longer journey times to work. Commuting to London and proximity to airports may be high on your list of priorities. Future education options for your children and journey times between home and school will have been considered. How isolated are you prepared to be to enjoy the rural life?

This is a common profile for many of the buyers we act for moving into Kent and Sussex. Some of you may know the area and are moving back towards family. Many of you do not. You may be moving from abroad.

Once you have found your dream house there are many issues you should think about. You and your surveyor are our eyes. What should you be looking for? What questions should you be asking the sellers? What should you be telling us?

Access

You may be buying down a country track. Do you have a right of way? Who owns the road? What contributions will you need to make? Who will carry out the maintenance? Who else has a right of way?

Private drainage

This may be new to you. What sort of system is it? A cesspool or a more modern treatment system? Is it on your land or do you need access onto a neighbour’s land? It may be a system that has an overflow to a watercourse. If so does it comply with Environment Agency requirements?

Water supply

Although it is rare you may have a private water supply. If you are connected to the mains how far away is the main connection? It could be very expensive to repair or renew your private pipe. Does your supply cross neighbouring land?

Fuel

Does the property have an oil supply or perhaps LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas). If so who is the supplier? How often is the tank filled? What will the seller do about the fuel in the tank? Will they want to charge for the remaining oil? Will they fill the tank before they leave?

The extent of your land

You may be buying a lot of land. Do check the boundaries and find out what the land is used for. Has it been purchased separately? You do need to be careful about the planning use of the land. If some of the land has agricultural use, any plans you have to extend the garden, or build a swimming pool or a tennis court, may be thwarted.

Are there any grazing agreements or informal arrangements with a local farmer? Are there any footpaths across the land?

Do make sure that your dream of a rural existence is not fraught with problems. Ask the right questions and make sure you tell us what you have discovered so that together we make sure you enjoy many happy years in the country.