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A neighbours daughter recently purchased a house.
The house backs onto a local park.
After moving into her house it suffered defacement by unknown individuals who had climbed the fence from the park and sprayed graffiti on her house as well as trampling her flower borders.
She went to the police who said they would 'investigate' but didn't hold out much hope as there is no CCTV in the area.
During her conversation with the officer, it came out that the previous owner had made several complaints to the police and park authorities about being subjected to harassment from youths using the park, and that on several occasions the previous owner had been involved in altercations over the fence with people using the park - complaining about their behaviour. in close proximity to the house.
My friend's daughter is now worried that she may be subjected to further unwelcome behaviour as the past experiences of the previous owner appear to imply they suffered regularly from such episodes.
She now feels she will not be comfortable in the house in future (particularly as she lives alone) but cannot afford to sell it as she struggled to find the money to cover purchasing it.
I seem to remember that when we recently sold our house we had a questionnaire from our solicitor that asked specifically if we were aware of any past/present issues which may affect any owner's enjoyment of the house.
Is such questioning standard practice during conveyancing, and if so what are the implications if a seller does not answer the questions truthfully and as a result withholding information that should have been available to a purchaser to consider before purchasing the property - as appears to be the case in this situation.
The house backs onto a local park.
After moving into her house it suffered defacement by unknown individuals who had climbed the fence from the park and sprayed graffiti on her house as well as trampling her flower borders.
She went to the police who said they would 'investigate' but didn't hold out much hope as there is no CCTV in the area.
During her conversation with the officer, it came out that the previous owner had made several complaints to the police and park authorities about being subjected to harassment from youths using the park, and that on several occasions the previous owner had been involved in altercations over the fence with people using the park - complaining about their behaviour. in close proximity to the house.
My friend's daughter is now worried that she may be subjected to further unwelcome behaviour as the past experiences of the previous owner appear to imply they suffered regularly from such episodes.
She now feels she will not be comfortable in the house in future (particularly as she lives alone) but cannot afford to sell it as she struggled to find the money to cover purchasing it.
I seem to remember that when we recently sold our house we had a questionnaire from our solicitor that asked specifically if we were aware of any past/present issues which may affect any owner's enjoyment of the house.
Is such questioning standard practice during conveyancing, and if so what are the implications if a seller does not answer the questions truthfully and as a result withholding information that should have been available to a purchaser to consider before purchasing the property - as appears to be the case in this situation.
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