Purchase of 14 acres of Agricultural land: 13.35 on the OS map

Hi Folks,

Any thoughts on this issue would be appreciated - I'm buying 14 acres of Agricultural land with a view to obtaining planning and building eventually. A deal has been agreed and we are now at the stage of signing contracts. The detail of the deal was 205,000 for 14 acres at a price of 14,642 per acre.

An ordanance survey map was supplied which shows the size of the property to be 13.35 acres which set alarm bells ringing. We have asked our solicitor to investigate however he is saying that the difference maybe due to road frontage (which hardly covers over half an acre) and that it may not be worth pursuing.

Any advice?

Re: Purchase of Land

I do not think that it will make much difference to you if it is 13.5 or 14. You saw what you were buying and you were happy with it so go ahead with the deal. You own half way out in the road so this would account for the difference.

Re: Purchase of Land

Whatever you were shown when you made the deal is not part of the contract. The only thing you're buying is what's on that map, so if you're not happy with it, don't sign contracts until you clarify it. Take the map and check the boundaries yourself with what you were shown, check it with your surveyor if you have one. Any reasonable vendor shouldn't have a problem explaining the difference to your solicitor very quickly if it is road frontage.

Once you sign the contract, you've accepted the map is correct and can't afterwards try to change it if there's a mistake. It may well not be worth pursuing to the point of losing the sale, but you must be clear about the price and boundaries before you sign. An extra 0.65 acres is worth a small delay I would think.