House Sale - Un-adopted Road

[sandy082]

Hi,

Our house is for sale, and pre-lockdown we had an offer of the full asking price - over lockdown, the legalities progressed and having found somewhere, we were on the brink of agreeing dates of exchange.

However, we were contacted yesterday to say the buyers were withdrawing as the lenders weren't happy to proceed as the roads on the estate are un-adopted.

We live on a "new estate" - our phase is complete (we moved in in 2016) but there are phases continuing on the adjacent estate

Having spoken to the local council, they've said there are discussions to get the roads adopted but nothing in place as yet

It's phenomenally frustrating as clearly there are new houses getting mortgages on un-adopted roads but with nothing formally in place, we fear we may struggle to get a sale

The house we wanted to buy has now been relisted, so we are really disappointed.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and is there any suggestions for us?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[VincentHanna]

An PC shop's online forum is definitely the first place I would thing to ask about this...

I can see why they might be put off though, the first hit on google is this:

The key thing that all unadopted roads have in common is the fact that they are not maintained out of the public purse. Instead, responsibility for their upkeep rests entirely with the residents and/or property-owners. For this to work properly, a degree of organisation is obviously required. This is best handled through a special residents’ association, or even a private company, which collects contributions, organises the maintenance and deals with other issues such as insurance, parking, tree surgery and so forth.

If you are thinking of buying a house in an unadopted road, your solicitor will be able to check whether there is a an active residents’ organisation of this kind, how it works, what obligations it places you under, and how much it is likely to cost annually. Generally speaking, where such arrangements are in place – and are affordable, of course - there should be no cause for concern.

Things are rather different in cases where no such formal arrangements exist – particularly in rural areas, where without regular maintenance, unmade roads can deteriorate alarmingly. Of course, this may not bother you personally, but it could affect the future saleability of your home.

 

[sandy082]

An PC shop's online forum is definitely the first place I would thing to ask about this...

I can see why they might be put off though, the first hit on google is this:

A PC shop online forum which discusses 00's of topics unrelated to PCs themselves?

By that token, no one could ever borrow against a new build house.

 

[builder22]

The roads unadopted where I live....the council empty the bins but that’s it....no gritting in winter etc
Need to pay a factors fee/service charge for ground maintenance etc on top of full council tax

 

[VincentHanna]

By that token, no one could ever borrow against a new build house.

Well no, because it's not mortgage companies who care about this, it's home owners who are selling and people buying.

A bit like a mortgage company won't be too concerned about houses on flood plains, but getting buildings and contents insurance could be a nightmare for the home owner

 

[garak112]

I'd suggest asking on the money saving expert forum as you'll likely get more experts on there.

The lenders are probably spooked because it's been 4 years with no progress. I suspect they'd expect to either see the roads adopted or a management company appointed. It's not given that the local council will actually adopt them so there is a risk here.

 

[Puzzled]

Most new estates aren't adopted now I think, councils don't want to pay for the upkeep.

Perhaps the buyers just wanted a way out.

 

[Efour]

An “unadopted road” is simply a track or road which has not been adopted by a local authority and so the said authority has no responsibility to maintain it. Unadopted roads are fairly common in England and so it is not surprising that solicitors are often asked by concerned residents, whose properties adjoin such a road, “we need to repair the road, who has to pay?”.

Just in case anyone else is thinking WTF is this guy on about ?

 

[VincentHanna]

Most new estates aren't adopted now I think, councils don't want to pay for the upkeep.

Perhaps the buyers just wanted a way out.

Can't really blame them when their financial support from Government has been slashed over the last 10 years or so. They already have tight budgets so adopting more roads isn't really going to wash with the higher ups.

However, if they have an entire new estate all paying council tax you would hope that would be incentive enough.

 

[sandy082]

An “unadopted road” is simply a track or road which has not been adopted by a local authority and so the said authority has no responsibility to maintain it. Unadopted roads are fairly common in England and so it is not surprising that solicitors are often asked by concerned residents, whose properties adjoin such a road, “we need to repair the road, who has to pay?”.

Just in case anyone else is thinking WTF is this guy on about ?

haha thank you

 

[Greebo]

Personally I can see why that would be an issue for a the buyer. Clearly there isnt a scheme and residents group in place for paying for the road upkeep and the new owners would be asking to commit to an unknown compared with buying a house in the next road along with none of these issues. it doesnt take much to put some people off a house purchase. I have come across lots of issues over the years.

 

[InvaderGIR]

Well no, because it's not mortgage companies who care about this, it's home owners who are selling and people buying.

A bit like a mortgage company won't be too concerned about houses on flood plains, but getting buildings and contents insurance could be a nightmare for the home owner

OP already stated that the lender (ie mortgage company) don't want to proceed due to this, not that the buyers decided not to proceed due to it so actually it is the mortgage companies that care about it also.

 

[VincentHanna]

That's what they've said yes, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

But who knows, Mortgage companies are *********. We had a mortgage agreed "in principle" once having submitted payslips and bank statements, and then the mortgage company said no after we made an offer on a house and was accepted.

Caused a lot of hassle as we were renting at the time and had given notice to the landlord and he had a new tenant due to move in, so we had to scramble around to find a place to rent and have been stuck there for 7 years.

 

[Greebo]

OP already stated that the lender (ie mortgage company) don't want to proceed due to this, not that the buyers decided not to proceed due to it so actually it is the mortgage companies that care about it also.

I missed that. But I can see it being an issue to more lenders under the current climate

* So there is a risk that everyone stops paying for repair and the road just deteriorates.

* There is a risk that those that pay may demand payment from, and sue, those that don't - resulting in costly and complex legal action.

* There is a risk that either of the 2 examples above could result in the property becoming unsaleable - meaning if you default on your mortgage and the lender repossesses, they (the lender) would be stuck with a) the problem and b) a financial loss

Across the country there are 1000s of roads like this, and the vast majority of them are no problem. The residents just amicably and infomally maintain the roads as & when.

But mortgage lenders hate risk, and in recent years have become increasingly risk-averse.

 

[krooton]

OP already stated that the lender (ie mortgage company) don't want to proceed due to this, not that the buyers decided not to proceed due to it so actually it is the mortgage companies that care about it also.

Yep, the mortgage company is thinking of the future salability of the house they using as balance for the money they are lending.

 

[Randomface74]

I bought a new house 7 years ago and the roads still aren't adopted yet.
There are plenty of sales occurring though, doesn't seem to stop things here.

 

[Haggisman]

Well no, because it's not mortgage companies who care about this, it's home owners who are selling and people buying.

A bit like a mortgage company won't be too concerned about houses on flood plains, but getting buildings and contents insurance could be a nightmare for the home owner

Of course they will be concerned, otherwise they wouldn't (in most cases) insist on various solicitor's searches being performed (one of which includes - unsurprisingly - flood risk). If they lend you £200k for a house on a flood plain and then it floods and because of this the house & land are now worth £50k then guess who has to pick up the bill if you default?

As Greebo has rightly posted, if for example the roads are not maintained at all, and in an extreme case become so damaged/overgrown that they are impassable, the house is going to lose a significant chunk of value.

 

[moon man]

I Live on an unadopted road, more a dirt road on our hill side, private sewerage meens ultra low water rates, and 20 quid a year to empty tank, pot holes, we have a neighbour with a dumper truck and tractor, we just chip in Afew quid, bins means a walk down the hillside but hey ho

 

[Surveyor]

I Live on an unadopted road, more a dirt road on our hill side, private sewerage meens ultra low water rates, and 20 quid a year to empty tank, pot holes, we have a neighbour with a dumper truck and tractor, we just chip in Afew quid, bins means a walk down the hillside but hey ho

Which is great until something goes wrong and you have to chip in bigger bucks, on a new tank for example.

 

[peterwalkley]

Very surprised the lenders baulked at this. Same was the case when I bought my current house, my Solicitor did his due diligence and flagged it up to me, but also pointed out its very common for it to take a while for Councils to formally adopt roads on new estates. Building had finished a few years before, but, from memory, it was only a couple of years after I moved in that the formal adoption happened.

I suspect they drag their feet a bit with new estates for the financial reasons already listed above, but also to ensure any issues caused by the builders doing a crap job in the first place come up within a few years so that the builders get the pressure to fix it: instead of the council picking up the bill for poor workmanship.