Hello. I wonder if anyone can you help or advise me in an unusual and aggravating situation, please.
My neighbouring Methodist chapel adjacent to my garden, was put on the market and bids invited for the purchase by local Estate Agents. My bid was much higher than a neighbours bid by £11k (now visible on Land Reg site) and yet the Estate Agent and local chapel officials gave him the property!
1, Note: the neighbour is a friend of the main local chapel official and has donated money to the chapel in the past.
2, Both the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP are the owners and oversee local church property sales) RULES and The Charity Commission RULES (all visible on line) clearly state 'BEST PRICE' or 'market price' must be achieved for church property sales and a Qualified Surveyor's Report (QSR done by the Estate Agent's surveyor) must then be supplied, verifying this!
3, I brought this matter of 'underselling' to the attention of the TMCP and the TMCP's conveyancing solicitors and the Charity Commission before the sale went through.
However, I was either ignored or told everything had been done legally. I am even still ignored by the local vicar and my MP says it's a legal matter and won't get involved.
Note: Purchasing the chapel would have enabled me to take a strip off its land, which would have enabled me to widen my own roadside land sufficiently to create a new front drive for myself from the village street to my house, -which is currently only accessible from a muddy rear track.
A smart paved new driveway from the village street curving up to my detached house behind the chapel would have increased my house value by at least £50k.
Also I am the only person able to add land for a garden to the chapel -from my own large garden and offer off-road parking for the chapel,- accessed via my new drive, thus turning the chapel into a very attractive and practical family home. This would have greatly benefitted the village by alleviated the on-street parking problem. After converting and renorvating the chapel, the sale would have netted me a £50k to £100k profit.
So, basically, the sly local church official (steward) 'rigged' the auction and chose her friend to get the chapel. The pliable estate agent went along with it and filled in the 'false' QSR stating the chapel had been adequately marketed and the 'best price' achieved. The TMCP would have seen and read the QSR before signing-off the sale -as fulfilling all their rules.
Anyhow, well over two months before the sale went through, I brought all this information to the attention of the TMCP and suggested they re-run the sale. The TMCP more or less ignored me and refused to investigate, saying that the sale is valid and meets all their rules and furthermore they would be sending all my emails to the local stewards and would not be contacting me again.
The Charity Commission I gave the same information to, just took the word of the TMCP and also refused to investigate.
The conveyancing solicitors, who I also gave the information to, just passed the information back to their clients -the TMCP and did nothing more.
However, I haven't yet contacted the estate agents on why they collaberated with the local officials (stewards). So, should I query this with them, even though they will most likely refuse to reply? I haven't contacted them yet for fear of alerting them, which would allow them to cover up any wrong doing.
Clearly there are many people at fault here. So, my question is, WHO DO I SUE and HOW, out of: The sly and greedy local church stewards and friends, The TMCP for being lazy and refusing to investigate, or the Charity Commission for also being lazy and refusing to investigate, or the Estate Agent for making out a false QSR, -thus facilitating the underselling and allowing the greedy church officials to succeed and everything else to follow on and condemning me for ever to using my muddy rear track for access and diddling me out of £50k+? Finally, just how legally binding are Methodist church rules and Charity Commission property sales rules, please?
Any advice would be very gratefully received.
Many thanks.
Infuriated1
My neighbouring Methodist chapel adjacent to my garden, was put on the market and bids invited for the purchase by local Estate Agents. My bid was much higher than a neighbours bid by £11k (now visible on Land Reg site) and yet the Estate Agent and local chapel officials gave him the property!
1, Note: the neighbour is a friend of the main local chapel official and has donated money to the chapel in the past.
2, Both the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP are the owners and oversee local church property sales) RULES and The Charity Commission RULES (all visible on line) clearly state 'BEST PRICE' or 'market price' must be achieved for church property sales and a Qualified Surveyor's Report (QSR done by the Estate Agent's surveyor) must then be supplied, verifying this!
3, I brought this matter of 'underselling' to the attention of the TMCP and the TMCP's conveyancing solicitors and the Charity Commission before the sale went through.
However, I was either ignored or told everything had been done legally. I am even still ignored by the local vicar and my MP says it's a legal matter and won't get involved.
Note: Purchasing the chapel would have enabled me to take a strip off its land, which would have enabled me to widen my own roadside land sufficiently to create a new front drive for myself from the village street to my house, -which is currently only accessible from a muddy rear track.
A smart paved new driveway from the village street curving up to my detached house behind the chapel would have increased my house value by at least £50k.
Also I am the only person able to add land for a garden to the chapel -from my own large garden and offer off-road parking for the chapel,- accessed via my new drive, thus turning the chapel into a very attractive and practical family home. This would have greatly benefitted the village by alleviated the on-street parking problem. After converting and renorvating the chapel, the sale would have netted me a £50k to £100k profit.
So, basically, the sly local church official (steward) 'rigged' the auction and chose her friend to get the chapel. The pliable estate agent went along with it and filled in the 'false' QSR stating the chapel had been adequately marketed and the 'best price' achieved. The TMCP would have seen and read the QSR before signing-off the sale -as fulfilling all their rules.
Anyhow, well over two months before the sale went through, I brought all this information to the attention of the TMCP and suggested they re-run the sale. The TMCP more or less ignored me and refused to investigate, saying that the sale is valid and meets all their rules and furthermore they would be sending all my emails to the local stewards and would not be contacting me again.
The Charity Commission I gave the same information to, just took the word of the TMCP and also refused to investigate.
The conveyancing solicitors, who I also gave the information to, just passed the information back to their clients -the TMCP and did nothing more.
However, I haven't yet contacted the estate agents on why they collaberated with the local officials (stewards). So, should I query this with them, even though they will most likely refuse to reply? I haven't contacted them yet for fear of alerting them, which would allow them to cover up any wrong doing.
Clearly there are many people at fault here. So, my question is, WHO DO I SUE and HOW, out of: The sly and greedy local church stewards and friends, The TMCP for being lazy and refusing to investigate, or the Charity Commission for also being lazy and refusing to investigate, or the Estate Agent for making out a false QSR, -thus facilitating the underselling and allowing the greedy church officials to succeed and everything else to follow on and condemning me for ever to using my muddy rear track for access and diddling me out of £50k+? Finally, just how legally binding are Methodist church rules and Charity Commission property sales rules, please?
Any advice would be very gratefully received.
Many thanks.
Infuriated1