Sharing the costs of repair to a boundary wall with my neighbour

My boundary wall is very old, much older than my house. It is in a bit of state, looking unstable at the top. I got a builder round to quote for patching it up. He said it needs taking down and rebuilt. I remember that the people on the other side of the wall did this in the past when it need repairing. It seems like a lot of money to rebuild so should I ask them for a contribution or is it there wall?

This is a legal, rather than technical question, I’m afraid, so I would direct you firstly to your title information. When you purchased the property you would have normally been given the title deeds, or at least an explanation of them, if your bank was holding them for you. These are not always clear, and frequently in need of some interpretation by a Lawyer or Surveyor. They are sometimes the best (or only) evidence available to you though. There is a title plan but these are often unhelpful, particularly because the lines on them are so thick that they are sometimes the size of your dining room table, in real life, rather than your fence!

There are no hard and fast rules about the ownerships of walls and I’m afraid to say that I have experienced cases where the same rule is described on two adjoining title deeds differently! However, they are still the best starting point.

I am purchasing a flat, part of a purpose built block. I am a cash buyer, my sister has advised I get a survey. As I am only going to be a leaseholder, what is the point in a survey, because the outside is maintained by the freeholder, albeit with my contribution, which I don’t expect it will be much?

This depends on the terms of the lease. Sometimes a flat leaseholder wont own/be responsible for things like windows and doors but may own their front door, other times the lease may be a share of freehold with an underlying lease which effectively means you have more say/responsibility. This really is more of a legal question.

From a technical perspective though, it is very important for you to have the condition of the block assessed and also look at the maintenance that has been carried out in recent years and what is proposed. I have known people move in, not realising that major works are planned only a few months later and be saddled with a bill for several thousand pounds. This information is not always volunteered, as you might expect, so it is important that it is clearly requested. Sometimes, particularly on smaller blocks or conversions, maintenance programmes are minimal/non-existent. In this case it is really important that you check the condition of the property and how it effects your demise in particular.