Boiler flue exit towards our property ally way- Buying a property

[CatBoiler]

Hi All,
Some updates, I got reply from agent saying below,

" The vendor has spoken to the next door neighbor and looked at the position of the boiler. The vent has been there since the house was built in 1998, which is very clear from the installation and the fact that he has exactly the same, original boiler. The neighbor then showed him the house next to his, which also has the identical setup. The vendor is not prepared to ask neighbor to move his vent, this would be wholly unreasonable.
The gutter will only need minimal maintenance and it is not necessary for an easement as it should be in agreement between vendor and neighbor."

What is your suggestion? Also the agent came back saying, We have sold many of these properties over the years and we have not come across this problem before.Please advise if you wish to proceed with the purchase, if not the vendor will be putting the property back on the market."

Seriously, as most of you suggested neighbor definitely violating build regulation and non-complaint. We seems to be in a pickle. now they are threatening to go back to market again. We already have invested in terms of survey (btw this didn't come up in survey as the 2 floor extension was going on but if the flue was there like they mentioned then it should have been.) I also blame why i didn't see before whether it was there or not. Also legal guys are not acting fast or raising hands saying this is not in our remit. You need to have specialist involved to evaluate what is right and wrong.

I guess we have to now decide ..which is tough!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Wildcat1961]

You appear to be the ‘neighbour from hell’.
Have you a photo of the position of the vendors flue terminal?

 

[Wildcat1961]

Boiler appears to be a Potterton Prima (30f to 50f), manufacturer states that a minimum distance of 600mm is required from a surface facing the terminal.

 

[durhamplumber]

I agree with Dan's Sentiments.It definetly is not ideal..probably breaks some law...but it is not worth p...off your neighbour about.In reality you will never burn yourself...breath in anything harmful..etc etc.....but it defo will not be pleasant spending the rest of your time there not speaking to the neighbour.

 

[CatBoiler]

I agree with Dan's Sentiments.It definetly is not ideal..probably breaks some law...but it is not worth p...off your neighbour about.In reality you will never burn yourself...breath in anything harmful..etc etc.....but it defo will not be pleasant spending the rest of your time there not speaking to the neighbour.

Durhamplumber, yes but we would like to convert the garage (left wall in images) and possibly do two floor extension as well. This will be an issue then.

 

[Hot&Cold]

It seems that our neighbor has installed a horizontal flu like seen in the following image.

Is that the actual property ?
As mentioned involve a registered gas technician to carry out an external visual inspection and issue a safety report including possible nuisance from te flue discharge You would need to ask the vendor for permission they can refuse.

The agent is just that

 

[John D v2.0]

Estate agents only aim is to project manage the sale through to completion so they can get paid.
Their summary of when it was added sounds realistic but all the bluster you can ignore.
I like the above suggestion about knock a grand off, but it depends, if it will prevent you doing an extension you have to decide whether the house is really worth that price. If it's surmountable then decide whether to renegotiate based on the additional cost, if not is it really worth it still. Then you can either proceed, offer a lower amount, or pull out.
Ignore the sunk cost, that's a fallacy, all sunk costs can be ignored. The other way of describing the sunk cost situation is called throwing good money after bad.
Good luck with the decision and don't let an issue cloud your overall judgement.

 

[motorbiking]

The agent has pretty much confirmed that the vendor agreed to it. I don't see how this affects any future plans to develop the house?

Am I right in thinking the house you are buying is the one on the right?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Looks like the flue on that, and neighbouring houses, has been there since it was built. Whilst any new flue would be unlikely to be permitted in the same position, until such time comes as the neighbour needs a new boiler fitting, I doubt there is anything you can do about it, other than offering to pay the costs of a new boiler and associated works for the neighbour, to get the flue removed. Assuming the boiler has been serviced and maintained regularly, the engineer who worked on it hasn't seen fit to raise an issue regarding flue position.

Gutter has a prescriptive right to be there, again, you want it moved, you pay the costs. Think its a case of accept the status quo or move on and look for another property.

 

[Mottie]

Isn’t the boundary line the right hand edge of that line of grey bricks on the ground? Looks like the neighbour has infilled with gravel between that and his property in which case, the gutter is overhanging his property and not yours.

 

[CatBoiler]

The agent has pretty much confirmed that the vendor agreed to it. I don't see how this affects any future plans to develop the house?

Am I right in thinking the house you are buying is the one on the right?

Oops sorry, the property that we would like to buy is on left. My bad.. i mention right by mistake in the one of post above.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

I would think that if you want to build an extension where the wall is very close to the flue, then it's the neighbour's problem and up to them to alter/change the boiler or flue. They have no right to discharge over your property or to prevent you extending because it would then make the flue unsafe. Maybe some on here could confirm this, or your solicitor could confirm.

If you don't intend extending, I would just ask the neighbour to either fit a plume management kit or roof flue when the boiler is eventually replaced. It is quite an old boiler, so I would think it won't be there for much longer.

 

[Wildcat1961]

It is quite an old boiler, so I would think it won't be there for much longer.

The Potterton Profile/Prima along with the Ideal Classic will be around for donkeys years.
Will outlast the band ‘A’ piles of shyte 10 fold.

 

[Mottie]

The Potterton Profile/Prima along with the Ideal Classic will be around for donkeys years.
Will outlast the band ‘A’ piles of shyte 10 fold.

My Potterton Profile has been going for more than 25 years now. Mind you, it’s on it’s third circuit board...

 

[dilalio]

Refer to @Dan Robinson: how much do you want the property? All else is circumstantial!