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Hello all, I hope someone can help us somewhat with this awful situation we are in.
We found our dream home in Scotland and were successful with our bid. One of the main questions we had regarding the property, which has a large chunk of land, was 'is there an agricultural tie?' We asked the agent and they came back to say no, definitely not. Fast forward over two months after being given the information that there is no tie and we had our offer accepted, small mortgage in place and were almost home...exactly one week before we were set to get the keys to this dream property, money moved to our solicitor, entire house packed, changes of address made to many companies, redirection of mail sorted, removal van booked etc...The agent rings to say "we have found there is an agricultural tie." After a few moments shock and the agent giving a poor apology, she goes on to tell us that they have already put in a planning application to remove this restriction and gave us a suggestion from their own solicitor. As the mortgage we arranged is not valid, we could have a retainer and effectively pay the cash amount we have ready for this property purchase and then pay the rest once our current property has sold. And if the planning department won't lift the restriction, then they would wave the amount which was on retainer.
We had no real understanding of what an agricultural tie really meant, we thought you might have to have some sort of small holding, keep animal or grow veg. But we did not know you have to in fact already be in agriculture. So although in the first instance we would have taken the route of having a balance on retainer, our solicitor pointed out that we could in fact have to move out if the restriction were not lifted. Leaving us with a property which would be worth less than what we paid for it and also it would be very difficult to sell the property with that tie.
So thankfully our solicitor advised us not to go ahead and explained all of that to us before we ran with our hearts towards this property which might have been the most costly mistake.
But we are left feeling quite heartbroken by this, we are living in a house full of cardboard boxes, in limbo wandering if the restriction can be lifted so that we can still purchase. The buyers of our house are patient, but sad that this has happened. Surely the agent in charge of listing this property, who gave us the wrong information that it had no agricultural tie have broken some sort of law here? We feel so stressed and hurt by this and have had an awful time trying to cancel everything. We just don't think this is right at all, is there any advice on which course of action we should take, if any? We are currently writing a letter of complaint. All our friends and family are disgusted and so saddened for us, they cannot believe an agent would allow this to happen. What course of action is best in this situation please?
We look forward to your thoughts on this.
We found our dream home in Scotland and were successful with our bid. One of the main questions we had regarding the property, which has a large chunk of land, was 'is there an agricultural tie?' We asked the agent and they came back to say no, definitely not. Fast forward over two months after being given the information that there is no tie and we had our offer accepted, small mortgage in place and were almost home...exactly one week before we were set to get the keys to this dream property, money moved to our solicitor, entire house packed, changes of address made to many companies, redirection of mail sorted, removal van booked etc...The agent rings to say "we have found there is an agricultural tie." After a few moments shock and the agent giving a poor apology, she goes on to tell us that they have already put in a planning application to remove this restriction and gave us a suggestion from their own solicitor. As the mortgage we arranged is not valid, we could have a retainer and effectively pay the cash amount we have ready for this property purchase and then pay the rest once our current property has sold. And if the planning department won't lift the restriction, then they would wave the amount which was on retainer.
We had no real understanding of what an agricultural tie really meant, we thought you might have to have some sort of small holding, keep animal or grow veg. But we did not know you have to in fact already be in agriculture. So although in the first instance we would have taken the route of having a balance on retainer, our solicitor pointed out that we could in fact have to move out if the restriction were not lifted. Leaving us with a property which would be worth less than what we paid for it and also it would be very difficult to sell the property with that tie.
So thankfully our solicitor advised us not to go ahead and explained all of that to us before we ran with our hearts towards this property which might have been the most costly mistake.
But we are left feeling quite heartbroken by this, we are living in a house full of cardboard boxes, in limbo wandering if the restriction can be lifted so that we can still purchase. The buyers of our house are patient, but sad that this has happened. Surely the agent in charge of listing this property, who gave us the wrong information that it had no agricultural tie have broken some sort of law here? We feel so stressed and hurt by this and have had an awful time trying to cancel everything. We just don't think this is right at all, is there any advice on which course of action we should take, if any? We are currently writing a letter of complaint. All our friends and family are disgusted and so saddened for us, they cannot believe an agent would allow this to happen. What course of action is best in this situation please?
We look forward to your thoughts on this.
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