Just checked Land Registry and my house is back in my name :-)

hopefulfooluk

Woohoo!! My house is now back in my name - looks like I managed to complete the transfer myself without needing to pay a solicitor to do it. Still had to pay the OR's solicitors fees (about £470) but if anyone is in a similar situation (solely owned property, buying the BI and legal title back from the OR) wondering if you need your own solicitor, you don't (if you are prepared to take the steps to transfer it back yourself).

Here's how I did it.

1) Got offered the BI from my OR and told them I would like to buy it back. Sent them a cheque to cover their solicitors fees (~£470) and the BI amount (£1).
2) OR got their solicitor (TLT) on the case
3) TLT asked me who my solicitor was - I emailed them saying I was representing myself and to forward paperwork directly to me
4) TLT sent a draft transfer deed to me which I signed and sent back
5) I wrote to and obtained written consent to the transfer from my mortgage company (GE money)
6) TLT sent the TR1 transfer deed back to me signed by the OR, complete with a copy of my bankruptcy order and proof that the OR was dealing with the property. They also included a Land Registry AP1 transfer form for me to complete.
7) I completed the TR1 form with the help of this website, and also the AP1 form (requires a bit of guesswork, but put "TRANSFER" in the first column of section 4).
8) I requested an SDLT1 form from the inland revenue (you must complete one of these even though no stamp duty is payable). It comes with quite a useful book explaining how to fill it in.
9) I returned the AP1 form together with the TR1 transfer deed, letter from mortgage company consenting to the transfer, copy of my bankruptcy order and the other documents sent to me by TLT, to the Land Registry office in Gloucester. I had to include a cheque for £50 to cover the registration fee (check with them what the current fee is before you send one yourself).
10) I returned the SDLT1 form to the Inland Revenue which indicated no stamp duty was payable

A couple of weeks after I sent the forms back I checked the Land Registry Online website to look at the title document for my property, and all the bankruptcy notices had been removed and it looked like it did before I went BR

Hopefully this will help you if you're going through a similar process - you don't need your own solicitor if you're happy to do the steps above yourself.

Cheers!

Chris

debtinfo

Thats a very usefull guide, well done

hopefulfooluk

Thanks DI - it was rather a steep learning curve and I can understand why people would be tempted to get their own solicitor to do it, but hopefully it'll help people who are prepared to give it a go themselves to save the extra fees

philnicandamy

VERY usefull info to have to hand

hope your well???

Phil

skylight

Well done - glad it all worked out AOK.

Any chance of making/adding this to a sticky somewhere?? Not seen this before whilst here so would be most useful for everyone.

hopefulfooluk

philnicandamy wrote: »

VERY usefull info to have to hand

hope your well???

Phil

Yes really good thanks mate, how's life? Have you had your little one yet?

hopefulfooluk

skylight wrote: »

Well done - glad it all worked out AOK.

Any chance of making/adding this to a sticky somewhere?? Not seen this before whilst here so would be most useful for everyone.

Thanks Skylight - very relieved to have got it sorted eventually

Happy for it to be a sticky if people think it would be useful.

Cheers!

Chris

confused76

that's great news, and very helpful to others in the same situation
all the best x

philnicandamy

hopefulfooluk wrote: »

Yes really good thanks mate, how's life? Have you had your little one yet?

life a little flat at the minute.....but working on it

Baby's been here 8wks now! :eek:

SailorSam

I bought and sold a house without using a solicitor about 25yrs ago. I'd seen a programme about it on Tv so went and got some books from the library. It was a lot of work but taking one step at a time there's not a lot can go wrong.
I worked on the principle that if i'd made a mistake on the sale, so long as i didn't move out until i had the money in my hand well i've got away with it.
It's the buying that's a bit more complicated but the Abbey insisted i pay for their solicitor and in effect he was only checking my work. This solicitor did all he could to put me off, i suppose he wanted to keep the job for the boys.What he told me at first was the Abbey would not release paperwork until i paid them, i couldn't do that until my sale was complete, normally it would all have been done at once. He wanted us to go to the Abbey head office in London to complete which meant him and his assistant wanted their train and overnight hotel paid for, he said it was to much work for one day. In the end we did the paperwork in his Liverpool office.

Treadway1

Hopefulfool,

This is great as believe it or not I am in 100% the same situation right now and was actually wondering if I should save myself the headache and get a solicitor to do all this for me but your info gives me hope that I dont need to.

One question though, Ive received all the documentation from TLT soicitors to say that my payment has been accepted and that the OR has relinquished all rights to the property but my Bankrupt ex is still on the LR deed. Ive contacted LR who stated that I would have to complete a TR1 (fair enough) but also that both my ex and I would also have to complete an ID1 form each as the process wasnt being overseen by a conveyancer. Are you saying that you simply sent them the TR1 along with the confirmation from TLT/OR saying that you had purchased the BI and that you didnt have to complete an ID1?

To be honest, if that is the case that would help me loads as the split from my ex wasnt exactly amicable and I cant see her agreeing to sign anything.

Id really appreciate any advice you may be able to give on this, if you have the time. You can PM me if you'd prefer. Thanks in advance.

Treaders

P.S. Congratulations on getting this sorted for yourself. I know how much Im looking forward to having the house in my name alone so can only imagine how happy you are right now. :j