Tower Block Was Built Behind Our Property: A Case Study

Buying a property at auction should not be any more risky than buying a property in the conventional way. If you have done your research and, as is always advised, viewed the house before bidding for it there should be no problems that arise. However, unfortunately that is not always the case. Homeowner Alison Rayners* explains.

“My husband and I had seen property auctions on the television and were amazed at some of the bargains the buyers were able to get. When we decided to buy our first property we thought using an auction might be the right way to go about it. We had a deposit and a good mortgage lender and we both have good jobs so money wasn’t that much of a problem but we thought if we could get a bargain, why not?

“We spoke to an estate agent about what property auctions might be taking place in the area. He advised us to look at two auction houses. We contacted them and were sent a brochure for each showing the upcoming auctions and the properties that will be on offer in each. We saw a number of properties we quite liked and one in particular that was just perfect!

”We had been advised by our estate agent to view the property properly before attending the auction which we did. It was perfect for us. We were planning on starting a family so we wanted a big garden where we could entertain friends during the summer for now and where our children could play in the future. This house had a fantastic garden and big patio doors so the kitchen and living room - which were open plan – were really light and airy. I can’t stand stuffy, claustrophobic, dark rooms so this was perfect for me. I knew straight away I wanted us to put an offer in and thankfully my husband felt the same.”

The Auction

"On the day of the auction I was so excited! We arrived at the auction house with our deposit and thankfully our bid was accepted. I was so happy! We signed all the necessary forms and I couldn’t wait until we could move in. When that day came it all went smoothly and we spent nine happy months in the property. Then one day I was informed, through the local paper, that a tower block of luxury apartments was to be built on the field directly outside my back garden. Apparently building was to commence in less than a week after the plans were originally reported a year ago!

"I was so annoyed that the owner must have known about this before we bought the property and had not informed us. However, since we did not ask about the planning issues in the area we had no case. The block was built thus seriously reducing the amount of light into my house. I am so disappointed but there is nothing we can do.”

The introduction of Home Information Packs should prevent this situation happening as the packs contain information of planning issues in the area but to be on the safe side, always make sure you ask about issues like this before putting in a bid.

*Names have been changed