A buyer is looking to purchase a house ( both being sold by an estate agent and on an auction website - seems to be whatever sells first) but was warned by the estate agent that she might find it hard to get a mortgage on the house as the septic tank is on land owned by a neighbour. The buyer heard rumours the neighbour would be willing to sell the land. Does the buyer have a chance at getting the mortgage or would the buyer be better off avoiding the property?

First piece of advice to the buyer is not to purchase the property at auction if the buyer does not engage a solicitor to review the contracts and title first.  If the buyer is successful at auction, the buyer will be bound to whatever terms are in the contract and could be compelled to complete the purchase even though the buyer cannot mortgage the property.  If the buyer bids for the property in the normal private treaty manner, then the septic tank issue can be looked at as part of the normal title review.

The information shared on this site is meant to be helpful but you should always speak to a solicitor directly as additional details about your agreement or situation may change the answer