A Fermanagh couple has said they are “squatters in our own empty house” after the sale of their property fell through at the eleventh hour due to a long-standing road issue.

Meadow Farm residents, Brendan McCann, 70, and Ann, 65, said they have been sitting on garden furniture and sleeping on single camp beds after their property was deemed unmortgageable due to unadopted roads within the development.

The issue is common at several developments across the Enniskillen and beyond, especially in circumstances where developers have gone bankrupt or dissolved.

This scenario often results in difficulties selling such properties, as prospective purchasers cannot obtain a mortgage to buy the property, as was the case with an excited young family who had agreed to buy McCann’s house.

The sale, which fell through at the eleventh hour after a mortgage company pulled their offer, was so advanced that the McCanns had removed their household property, which remains in storage to this day. “We intended to sell our property with a view of downsizing,” Mr. McCann explained. “The closing date was Friday, January 12.

“However, the mortgage provider for our property in Meadow Farm, withdrew their offer of finance which was confirmed close to the closing date, because the roads were un-adopted.

“By this stage, we had gifted or sold our household furniture due to the nature of our new address.

“All other possessions were placed into storage temporarily and remain there to the present day.”

Mr. McCann continued: “The couple buying our property visited the premises on four occasions and on one of those occasions brought their two children of primary school age, to give them a preview of their intended new home.

“They paid cash in advance for certain items they wished to retain in the house, such was their belief that the mortgage for the property was secure.

“When we all finally realized that the transaction was not going to take place because of the un-adopted roads, it was not just a body blow but complete devastation for all concerned.”

Now left in limbo and with their furniture still in storage, McCann said he is fearful that the same situation will befall countless other local homeowners living in developments with unadopted roads.

“Since the withdrawal of funds to purchase our property in Meadow Farm from the mortgage supplier, we have become squatters in our own empty house,” the Enniskillen man said.

“We are sitting on garden furniture to watch television in the sitting room, and have had to tie two single camp beds together, to secure a makeshift double bed. “Throughout this ordeal, we as a couple have suffered unnecessary stress, affecting our mental and physical well-being. A far from perfect scenario.”

According to Mr McCann, Meadow Farm comprises of “two un-adopted, bonded phases”.

The first bonded phase was taken out in June 1997 and the second in September 2000. Although DFI Roads and NI Water tried to engage with the developer, which was dissolved in July of last year, nothing was done to correct the issues raised.

Mr McCann explained: “Therefore, we are left with the present dilemma, of no department or authority within the council, accepting responsibility for the failure to deliver a service that should be expected as the norm and not the exception.”

“Our main concern is that this developer was allowed to continue business as usual, in numerous other housing projects which we believe were not completed to a satisfactory standard, for example. Ashbourne Manor, Chanterhill.”

In addition to mortgage and saleability issues, unadopted roads are also fraught with defects, given question marks around who is responsible for routine maintenance.

The Department for Infrastructure said it has “engaged with the developer on numerous occasions in an attempt to agree works to bring the Meadow Farm development to an adoptable standard”.

“Unfortunately the developer ceased trading in 2023 and the funds remaining in the bonds are not sufficient to complete the works required.

“While we sympathise with the residents of the development, there are no other funding sources available to us and therefore road repairs and adoption cannot be progressed at this time.”

Alliance councillor, Eddie Roofe, said: “Unadopted streets put unexpected and undue stress upon homeowners who rightly expect a seamless transfer by their developers.

“Failure to get a road adopted reduces house prices and narrows the range of people able to purchase in the first place.”