Anna C
New Member
Hi everyone
I am a first time buyer who has found a lovely mews house in Oxfordshire. The interior is lovely and there is a garden out freont but there is just one huge question mark on this property. There isn't a back door as there is no back garden (which is fine) but the back windows all have to be frosted due to a restrictive covenant on the property. This has been enforced by a house adjacent to the row of mews houses and all the mews houses I presume have the same restrictive covenant. The purpose is to make sure the owners of the mews houses cannot view the garden out the back which belongs to the restrictive covenant holder. I personally think this is a bit of an infringement on the rights of the people living in the mews houses as it means they cannot enjoy a view out the back windows. It seems very unfair that one household can impose its view on so many others. The interesting thing is that the property I'm looking at last sold in 2008, and it sold twice that year. The first sale was in June 2008 (when it sold for £240k) and the second in August 2008 (when it sold for £185k). As far as I can see from the title register, the first owner must have put the restrictive covenant on the property (this dates to July 2008) and then simply resold it again. What confuses me is the huge drop in price when it resold. Does a restrictive covenant reduce the value of a property by such a huge amount?
Any comments on this would be much appreciated. Would this restrictive covenant put you off buying such a property? Could it be appealed do you think?
Thanks
Anna
I am a first time buyer who has found a lovely mews house in Oxfordshire. The interior is lovely and there is a garden out freont but there is just one huge question mark on this property. There isn't a back door as there is no back garden (which is fine) but the back windows all have to be frosted due to a restrictive covenant on the property. This has been enforced by a house adjacent to the row of mews houses and all the mews houses I presume have the same restrictive covenant. The purpose is to make sure the owners of the mews houses cannot view the garden out the back which belongs to the restrictive covenant holder. I personally think this is a bit of an infringement on the rights of the people living in the mews houses as it means they cannot enjoy a view out the back windows. It seems very unfair that one household can impose its view on so many others. The interesting thing is that the property I'm looking at last sold in 2008, and it sold twice that year. The first sale was in June 2008 (when it sold for £240k) and the second in August 2008 (when it sold for £185k). As far as I can see from the title register, the first owner must have put the restrictive covenant on the property (this dates to July 2008) and then simply resold it again. What confuses me is the huge drop in price when it resold. Does a restrictive covenant reduce the value of a property by such a huge amount?
Any comments on this would be much appreciated. Would this restrictive covenant put you off buying such a property? Could it be appealed do you think?
Thanks
Anna
