Neighbor built too close to my land — now they need my consent. Should I use this as leverage to buy the house cheaper?
Hey all, I’m in a bit of a pickle and trying to figure out the smartest move.
A couple of years ago, a neighboring landowner asked for my written consent to build his house near the edge of my land — the agreement was for 5 meters from the border. The land strips are narrow, and I wasn’t planning to build anything there, so I agreed.
Fast forward: the house is now built, but it turns out they placed it just ~1.3 meters from my border — much closer than agreed. Now they’re coming back asking me to sign off on this post-construction so they can legalize the building (get it “put into use” / “commissioned” / obtain an occupancy certificate).
From what I understand, they probably can’t sell it or get it registered without my signature, since it doesn’t comply with distance rules. It’s already up for sale, but I assume banks won’t issue loans for it in this state.
Here’s the twist: I actually wouldn’t mind owning the house, I was planning to build in the area anyway, and this would save a lot of hassle. But they’ve priced it at €300k, which is totally unrealistic - similar homes nearby are selling for €200k max.
So my question is:
Would not agreeing to sign give me enough leverage to push the price down significantly (say, 30-40%)?
The way I see it, they either:
- Pay me off to get my signature,
- Sell me the house at a realistic (discounted) price,
- Or face the prospect of having to rebuild or modify the house to comply.
Am I thinking about this right? Anyone with experience in this kind of thing?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1kn6ohf/neighbor_built_too_close_to_my_land_now_they_need/
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