Hi Guys,
We bought a run down house in Melbourne north eastern suburb 2 years ago with a plan to build 2 units. After 18 months of negotiating with the concil, we were granted the town planning permit by Darebin Council (really unhelpful council with bad attitude!). A few months later we obtained the building permit.The bank has granted us the funds to build the 2 units BUT the water (Melbourne water) authority rejected our building request and refused to grant us a PIC. The reason being is that there is an EASEMENT running across our property. This easement is NOT shown on our certificate of title. According to the water authority, we (the owner) must contact the water authority as well as the title office to see if there is any easement on the land. Unfortunately we have no case but ourselves to blame.
HOW CAN THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS???…Sadly we’re lost 2 years of hard work and over $30k ….
Just warnings to everyone else out there looking at building; check with the stupid water authority as well as the certificate of title!
Regards
ptnOriginally posted by ptn:The bank has granted us the funds to build the 2 units BUT the water (Melbourne water) authority rejected our building request and refused to grant us a PIC. The reason being is that there is an EASEMENT running across our property. This easement is NOT shown on our certificate of title. According to the water authority, we (the owner) must contact the water authority as well as the title office to see if there is any easement on the land. Unfortunately we have no case but ourselves to blame.
Did your solicitor do a full search of all titles and agencies when you were purchasing this property?
I am not in Victoria but I would imagine that this detail would have been revealed with a full and comprehensive search by them.
Have you been back to the solicitors and asked if their searches reveal such matters. You may need to be a little sneaky here as they may have some degree of liability. It could also be that they are in the clear too.
You can always try and see if the MWA will rescind the easement. This success (or not) could well depend on the reason for the easement and also your willingness to find a solution rather than apportion blame.
Have you tried to approach MWA with how can I solve this problem? type of contact.
Derek
[email protected]
http://www.pis.theinvestorsclub.com.au
0409 882 958
Skype – derekjones2113Hi Derek,
Thank you for your concern.
Firstly, I posted this warn in the help section not to ask for help but to advice (even the experienced) investor about the potential risk during development. As I believe most experienced investor would check the help section learn further or with the interest to help other.
To answer your question, I believe the conveyancer normally contact the water authority to see if there is any outstanding bill rather than a direct check to see any easement unless instructed to.
I’ve checked all that I can and will contact Darebin council to advice of the bad news on Monday.
Regards
PtnThanks Ptn for posting this information.
yes it good to read these type of posts and learn from other people’s experiences.
all the best in your next venture.
Originally posted by ptn:To answer your question, I believe the conveyancer normally contact the water authority to see if there is any outstanding bill rather than a direct check to see any easement unless instructed to.
That does seem strange.
When we purchased our current block which we have since built on we were required to sign a clause indicating that there is a power authority easement on our block.
When we refinanced to a different lender 5 years ago we were asked about the easement and whether we were aware of it.
From this experience it clearly indicates that there is facility for easements to be highlighted in property transactions. Which goes back to my main point – did your conveyancer do all searches?
Derek
[email protected]
http://www.pis.theinvestorsclub.com.au
0409 882 958
Skype – derekjones2113I am really sorry to hear what is happening to you.
I think the solicitor or the conveyancer should go through all the easements on the title with the client. As a precaution a lot of solicitors make the purchaser sign the page of the contract where the easement is shown just in case they can be liable. Some vendor solicitors disclose this in the special condition of the contract.
Also in some cases the easement is shown by the purchaser’s search. There is a possibility that the solicitor/conveyancer has not done all the required searches.
Did you buy the property with the intention to develop? Did you disclose this to the solicitor/conveyancer? Then you may have some claims agains the solicitor/conveyancer as these matters affect the property.
This shows the need always to research what you are doing very carefully. I would suggest that if you are wanting to do your own development then you should appoint from day one a town planner who are experienced with getting permits through. Likewise you need a solicitor who understands about developing. Most conveyencing people do not have the knowledge or the skills to assist you. You must think of this as a business and the people who you hire can help you make or break a deal. They could also have checked all the documents and authorities before you purchased the site. I would suggest that your speak to Alistair Perry, who is often on this site. His family business Perry and associates and a large town planning company.
There number is 03 9662 1999If you are wanting to develop but wish to have someone help you then you cannot go past dealing with Michael Yarney from Metropole. I have know Michael for a number of years and he knows there stuff. You naturally pay for their services and you do a town Planner. But you have to ask the question by doing it yourself how costly has the exercise been?
Nigel Kibel
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Hi guys,
Thank you for your reply. In our pursued quest for answer, the conveyancer said that it’s the water authority has failed to notify land office of the updated easement and should be liable; his job was to ensure that all outstand bills are paid to the date of settlement. The water authority said they are not required to. The architect said he acted on the owner’s (us) request to design the house and was working from the title description. The council said they’re sorry to hear this…
Darebin council being the worst response saying it’s not their problem. I am still p!ss off with their bad attitude. It seems they HATE developers building multiple units. I am over the fact that a mistake is made but to start the application off as NEW is really driving me up the wall. Another 18 months of waiting? [baaa][offtopic]
On a positive side, I could pick up another IP while I wait for this bad news to pass.
Ptn.
.Ptn,
Is is a water, sewerage or drainage easement? I assume there is a pipe in the ground? If there is a pipe in the ground, in some instances they can be relocated (at the developer’s cost). Definitely seek further advice on this from someone experienced in these matters, as suggested by others on this thread. Unless of course you’ve already done this …Also, in instances where water authorities have unsuccessfully tried to negotiate easements with land owners, caveats are often placed on titles instead. Something to look out for in future …
Hope all turns out for the best!
Leila
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