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Development sites in Staffordshire can be hard to come by, particularly small scale sites suitable for housing which already have the benefit of planning permission. Competition among would-be buyers can be fierce and the person who emerges victorious will usually be the first to make an asking price offer and to agree to complete within the seller’s preferred timescale.

It is against this backdrop that we were recently instructed by a newly formed development company, who were keen to acquire their first site in Stoke-on-Trent and who had managed to get the owner on board provided they could exchange contracts on the transaction within four weeks.

This was a fixed deadline that could not be moved and if missed by our client would have resulted in the deal they had negotiated falling apart and in the site being offered up for sale at a forthcoming auction, which a number of other local developers were expected to attend.

The stakes were therefore incredibly high, as was the pressure on our resident property lawyer Anees Khan who was given responsibility for getting the deal over the line.

As Anees explains:

“Carrying out the checks needed to ensure that a buyer can confidently agree to proceed with a property purchase, by entering into a legally binding contract, is a process that we would normally expect to take between two to three months. Consequently, completing this work inside of a month is no easy feat and is something that requires a great deal of focus, commitment and determination.”

Fortunately as a residential conveyancing specialist with over ten years’ experience, Anees has the skills and knowledge needed to get transactions completed in a short period of time and to also confidently navigate any unexpected bumps in the road, which came in handy in this case when we encountered a few issues we were not anticipating.

Potential Problems

The issues we were faced with included the existence of:

• a restrictive covenant which appeared to prohibit use of the site for anything other than a garden;
• a restrictive covenant prohibiting development of the site without the consent of the original land owner;
• a public footpath which appeared to run through the middle of the site and on which no buildings could be erected; and
• an outstanding mortgage covering the site and an additional area of land also owned by the seller, which they did not appear to have the funds to entirely discharge.

How the issues were resolved

Resisting the temptation to panic and advise the client to walk away, Anees focused his attention on studying the various documents and plans that had been produced in order to determine whether the site was in fact as burdened with restrictions as it seemed, whether the suggested location of the footpath accorded with official records and whether a deal could be done between the seller and their mortgage company to extract the site from the mortgaged area.

By taking this carefully considered approach, Anees was ultimately able to establish that:

• the restrictive covenant governing the use to which the site could be put actually applied to the additional land owned by the seller; 
• the restrictive covenant requiring the original land owner’s consent before any development works could be carried out was no longer enforceable, as the original owner was a company which had long since gone out of business;
• the public footpath did not in fact run across the site but rather followed a route outside of the site’s boundaries; and
• the holder of the mortgage was agreeable to removing the site from the terms of its wider legal charge, which meant that it could be sold mortgage free.

Sealing the deal

Armed with this information Anees was able to give the client the green light to proceed and as promised they were able to exchange contracts inside of a month, which means that the site is now theirs and the proposed development can go ahead.

This was a fantastic result which demonstrates the ability of the Step Legal conveyancing team to handle complex matters within a short timeframe, and to not be phased by potential problems which other less experienced lawyers may perceive as insurmountable.

It also demonstrates our willingness to go above and beyond to get the deal done and to ensure that there is no stone left unturned when the going gets tough to ensure that this happens.

Commenting on the matter when the transaction was concluded, the managing director of the client company said:

“The service I received from Anees was absolutely first class. He understood the need to exchange contracts within the agreed timeframe and worked tirelessly to ensure that this happened.  He pushed the seller’s solicitors to provide key documents as soon as possible, commissioned searches to ensure the site was sound, asked probing questions when potential problems cropped up that could have scuppered the deal and ensured that everything was in order before giving us the thumbs up to sign on the dotted line.”

“As the head of a newly established company buying its first development site, I had expected the process to be incredibly stressful.  However, Anees’ calm manner, regular progress reports and ability to explain things clearly meant that the process actually felt relatively straightforward, despite it obviously having been quite complex and challenging.”

“Anees is an incredibly knowledgeable, diligent and professional lawyer and I would have no hesitation in recommending his services to anyone else thinking about buying residential land or property.  This is especially true if, like us, you are a first time buyer or property developer who needs their hand holding and the comfort of knowing that someone has well and truly got your back.”

Do you need our help?

If you are planning to buy or sell a residential property and would like to find out how we can help, please contact Anees on 01270 254064 or email aneeskhan@steplegal.co.uk.

We offer a fixed fee service and can support you in a variety of matters, including:

• the purchase of a newbuild property;
• the purchase of a shared ownership property;
• the purchase of a buy to let property;
• the purchase of an auction property;
• a residential remortgage;
• a transfer of equity;
• an equity release; or
• any other type of residential conveyancing matter.