bankrupt Seller Effecting house, Need HELP

JaneJo

Hello

I received some money after a bereavement, so with this I thought about buying another property, I Currently live in a 1 Bedroom flat and after looking around I found a nice one bedroom house, which would be a massive upgrade for me and I could buy with cash, then rent out my flat. which is mortgage free also.

I viewed the house a few times, before putting in an offer, and the lady owner excepted, then contacted a Solicitor and gave him all the information, a little while later I received a letter from them saying the house was co-owned and the second party had been made bankrupt and they couldn't continue, until this was resolved. - (The Deed was in two peoples names Hers and he ex boyfriends )-

I contacted the house seller, which she explained that she and her Ex, were both on the mortgage, but he was made bankrupt and she bought him out a year ago after they split up, but there seems to be a small issue that she need too sort out, she went on to explain she has only found out about this, she has been paying the mortgage and living there on here own for nearly 18 months, and thought everything was in her name.

Its now been about 6 weeks I have phoned a few times and asked if things have been sorted, and she keeps saying any time soon, she is just waiting for him to sign something, and the mortgage people to transfer everything over to here, And everytime i phone she says the same thing.

I am not too sure if she is stalling, or if the situation is more complicated than she makes out.

This all seems very confusing, is this house a No go- ? or should I Wait...She is really eager to sell and I really want to buy it..

And if the co-owner of the property had been made bankrupt- what does she need to do to be able to sell the place..

Thanks Jane Jansen.

Matts_Mum

I worked in mortgage securities for a major lender for 20 years and this problem cropped up often.

The solicitor acting for you in the purchase will have done searches and the Land Registry to see who the current owner is and how many charges are registered against the property. If the vendor says she bought out her ex-partner when he went bankrupt, the Official receiver would have signed a transfer form to say they were happy to allow the lady to take ownership of the property and that they had received his half of the equity from her. Once that transfer form was signed, it would have gone to the Land Registry. Once it had been processed the proprietorship resgister on the office copy would show her as the sole owner, and therefore legally able to dispose of the property. If there was an issue with her raising the money, or any other issue, the official receiver would not sign the transfer form to allow the land registry to change the register.
If the solicitor you contacted is acting for you in the purchase, they should be able to find out from the vendor's solicitor what the problem is.