Entry was 26th June 2009 - about 6 weeks away so we had to get various things underway, including finding an architect as the planning permission was due to run out early in 2010. We didn't want the existing approved design since it was created for a particular client and his special needs, but we thought we might as well speak to the architect who drew up the plans as well as one we had researched on the internet and was based in the Borders.
Choosing an architect is like choosing a partner - s/he must be someone you can work with and whose ideas you respect and who respects yours. Having met both on site we felt we could work best with Keith as he seemed most in tune with our aspirations. At our next meeting we drew up a design brief - the kind of house we wanted, how many rooms, size, eco features, what we didn't want and the all important budget.
Meanwhile, we waited for the offer to be accepted...and waited. I phoned the selling agent who said there was no problem and we waited. The entry date came and went and we continued to wait. Looking round the plot we wondered where the septic tank had been hidden as the particulars stated that one had been installed. We walked up the road a bit and found a builder working on a new house and asked him if he knew anything about the site. He said he'd been contracted to build the house but when the client died he had been left owing a considerable sum which almost put him out of business, so he took the tank away as part payment. This wasn't entirely true, as it turned out the tank had been blown away in a winter storm, ending up in the river some distance below.
Eventually the offer was accepted, but by that time the entry date had passed. We thought that since there was no septic tank we should get a discount on the price and asked the solicitor to negotiate. However, the seller was unwilling to settle for less as there was a mortgage on the property. It turned out that the late owner and his wife were separated and she knew nothing of the site.
We visited the site several more times, walking in the area and hoped it would be ours before too long, even though the entry date was a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, our hopes were misplaced and a couple of months passed without much sign of activity. The seller had chosen different solicitors to the ones who acted for her husband and this led to complications and delay in getting the necessary documents to our solicitor.
As things dragged on into the autumn and early winter it became apparent that certain parties had not done their work properly and other parties were in no hurry to rectify matters. The seller's solicitors even said that they were simply "acting as a post box". Wayleaves/servitudes hadn't been sought for various services from all the adjoining landowners and although this may seem an arcane matter it could prove problematic if you don't have a right to lay an electricity cable across somebody's land to your property.
Weeks passed, months passed. We spoke to the seller to try to get things moving, but we had no leverage, for if the sale fell through the plot would revert to the bank and she didn't seem bothered if that happened. As time went by it became more and more frustrating and stressful. Solicitors acting for other parties were incompetent, unhelpful and uninterested in reaching a speedy resolution. They had screwed up first time round and instead of doing all they could to get it correct they dithered and bungled unprofessionally until eventually we had to pay extra to get the wayleaves we required.
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