HS2 Compulsory Purchase – Have you received your payment?

Did you employ a professional advisor in the matter? From reading your account there is no indication that you did which to my mind was most foolish.

'They went against their word' : 'Didn't even get the price they promise us' : '3 months from sale (completion ?) and no payment'
Something really wrong here, surely completion should only happen when cleared funds are made available ?? You did use a solicitor- didn't you ?
I think that the buyer would normally be liable to pay interest if payment is delayed . Sounds like a bit of a mess. Hope you can get it sorted.

Reply to the comment left by russell branch at 16/01/2019 - 09:25
Apologies for the confusion. We did employ a solicitor and a surveyor and they are chasing CBRE for an update on the fund but there are no movement as of yet.

Reply to the comment left by Mike T at 16/01/2019 - 09:37
Hi Mike, Compulsory purchase is slightly different but yes on a normal circumstance we would receive our funds before completion. To save some money we purchased another property straight away using some of the funds requested in order to purchase the new property however the remaining funds are still outstanding which we are chasing. Kind regards,
Robert

Dear Robert

I am pleased to see that you are being professionally advised and I hope that your adviser is pro-active in chasing up HS2. As an adviser myself I have found HS2's approach to be patchy. My area is mainly phase 2B, so we are some way off construction yet. They have been under-resourced which made progress difficult. We also felt that their approach to money became more difficult as their budgets and expenditure were being challenged.

It possibly depends on the scheme you are using as they do work slightly differently, although it sounds like you are under a formal CPO. This has a statutory structure and I suggest you ask your agent to go through the sequence of events with you.

It is entirely feasible that property has been taken under a CPO and payment has not been made; it is somewhat rare with houses but very common with farmland. However, HS2 are obliged to pay 90% of their assessment of compensation on entry. This may be lower than your assessment (it depends what variables there are and how well your agent negotiates) but the make-up comes with the final payment.

If you are not happy with the price being paid there is a procedure through the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) to challenge this, but you do need to make sure you have good evidence and a robust case. I have dealt with many clients who "feel" or "believe" that their property is being undervalued but evidence does not support their view. The best thing is to ask your surveyor for an honest opinion of value before challenging.

Returning to the payment of compensation, you will be entitled to Statutory Interest from the due date. Last time I checked, the rate of Statutory Interest is (wait for it..........) 0.5% below the Bank of England Base Rate. Methinks there is little incentive for prompt payment to be made! Luckily there was an amendment to prevent interest payments being negative.

Graham

surely, no payment means no completion?

Reply to the comment left by AJ at 16/01/2019 - 20:18
AJ

Yes, that’s right. It is unlikely to have completed if all the money has not been paid. However, that doesn’t mean that HS2 have not taken occupation. It is rare with houses but in general it is quite common for acquiring authorities to take land for schemes before they have had completion. That’s the joy of a CPO!

Reply to the comment left by russell branch at 16/01/2019 - 09:25Having tried to consult "professional advisers" of every sort throughout my life, I rarely find anyone who understands more than a tiny micro bubble of "expertise" if you can call it that.
The current group of some 38 "professional advisers" (builders and structural engineers), that I have approached over the last five months on behalf of myself and three neighbours, actually only produced one single individual who had any value whatsoever to add to our structural problem solution and he was not insured.
Frankly, having no alternative but to allow structural collapse to take place, myself and one of the owners may well proceed "at risk".
For months now, I have been trying to purchase insurance to cover the actual building repair and a warranty and I have got absolutely nowhere even with "specialist project insurers".
It's been my extensive painful experience for decades that the one thing that professional people are not, is professional. I include my own large employers in that and thus, inherently, myself.
The problem everywhere is this: Every time you get a problem in life, fill out a form and pass it on to someone else.