Boundary issue over No-Man's-Land at end of garden.

As I stated Vanilla debate and agreement is the best method, but if no agreement is reached then one side will presumably want to take action or just let the matter go on the long finger. Given the value of property today it is likely that someone will take action. You state that it is not normal but believe me from my experience it is and it has been always better to rely on at least a Junior's opinion before making a judgement to proceed and issue or at least to assess any defence, holes, queries, concerns etc. It is laughable as I have seen it in business were a solicitor will go head strong in to a problem only to flounder at the end when he has brief a Barrister, then the mistakes or weakness start to surface and your told, “we’ll lets see if we can do a 50/50”. Here most land disputes are over the Circuit Court limit of 32K; given today's land values you’re into High Court territory. Unless I am grossly mistaken High Court is for the Seniors and you would be very foolish to take the opinion of a solicitor if you are planning to take the matter all the way into the High Court as that is a different arena. In this case I would not recommend a Senior as it seems to be a very small parcel of land but generally speaking anyone who is thinking of taking this route should be made aware of the full risks and the costs involved, something that solicitors do not often convey very well as they tend to be over positive. I personally am wary of solicitors who advertise a jack-of-all-trades within their practice, a specialist solicitor in land law is hard to find. Three Senior’s nominated our guy and it proved invaluable as he was well versed in the business end of the industry – the court.



In relation to the opinion, yes it would be relative to the subject matter and the value but if you pre agrees costs with Counsel before hand you can keep control of the costs.



Thanks you all- Remember each case on it own merit

Vanilla said:

Any opinion obtained would also be relative to the value of the property. In this case, I doubt if obtaining any opinion is merited.

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We're talking about an area of ground roughly 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a tennis court. Not much, but enough to considerably enhance the average three bed semi's existing plot.

D.

ps. I'm referring to the ground at the end of our house and the neighbour's house. The entire plot of no-man's-land is considerably bigger.

generally speaking anyone who is thinking of taking this route should be made aware of the full risks and the costs involved, something that solicitors do not often convey very well as they tend to be over positive

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As I said, in this case no opinion is merited- this is a common and garden s.49 or first registration application which many solicitors, myself included, do every week. I certainly wouldnt get counsels opinion. Every solicitor must advise their client of the cost involved at the outset, and the risks? Well, either you are successful or you are not. If someone objects to the application and has good grounds for it, you then have a choice of pursuing it with the risk of a court action- but you could very well just pull out at that stage, because it wouldnt be worthwhile.

Three Senior’s nominated our guy and it proved invaluable as he was well versed in the business end of the industry – the court.

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I really don't understand the above- are you saying that three senior counsel nominated your solicitor? Goodness, thats very odd. I would have thought it would be the other way around...

"I really don't understand the above- are you saying that three senior counsel nominated your solicitor? Goodness, thats very odd. I would have thought it would be the other way around..."



I don’t mean to blow my own trumpet but you are either in the know or you aint. In my business dealings I have dealt with numerous solicitors both for myself but mostly other people's and to be honest there are a large proportion (like any other industry) of them who consistently under perform, delay paperwork, get details wrong and lack specialisation and experience. I not being specific to this case, but when you are arguing over a couple of million or a few hundred thousand you don’t just get any Tom and Dick to do the job. You need a specialist who has a track record in the area and a history of success also, I know I am deviating from the original post but the point I am trying to make is that solicitors like any other industry has good, bad and bloody marvellous people in the fraternity, but most people just seem to think that once you go to a solicitor its job done. The idea is to be better than the other side Vanilla.



Also "If someone objects to the application and has good grounds for it, you then have a choice of pursuing it with the risk of a court action- but you could very well just pull out at that stage, because it wouldn’t be worthwhile."



I agree and the person to make that decision is the client and the guy who would be steering the ship in Court, at the business end - The Barrister.

Indeed, you are obviously 'in the know', if you have three senior counsel picking your solicitor for you...