House sold without permission...

Land_Registry

James_N wrote: »

You have to act decisively and swiftly. Talk to a solicitor and speak to the land registry. Update on the situation - you say it was found on the internet - that doesn't necessarily mean there has been a buyer. If it has been "bought" it's become very messy indeed. You HAVE to have legal representation.

Read this:
http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/property-fraud

Especially this part:
"What to do if you think that you have already been the victim of property fraud
Contact Customer Support immediately. See Contact us for more information.
Contact a solicitor or a Citizens Advice Bureau and the police.
Get professional advice if you are not sure what to do.
0844 892 1111 (chargeable)"
Do it NOW if this is the true situation.

If the details of an actual 'sale' appear on a third party website then there would be a buyer. If the change of ownership had resulted from a Transfer not for full market value e.g. as part of a divorce settlement or to transfer a share in the property then the data would not be included by Land Registry.

Based on the other posts it would appear that there remains some uncertainty as to what has actually happened.

In the circumstances I would recommend that you do check the actual registered title for the property as suggested. The minimum fee for doing so is £4 by using our online service.

If the property has been sold then the date of the Transfer and purchase price are likely to be shown on the title register.

If you then suspect that a fraud has been committed you should follow the advice already posted by James_N and contact Land Registry.

However, if you remain unsure and/or it is possible that the sale was legitimate then you can contact Land Registry to enquire as to the circumstances of the sale - such information is normally available but it is likely that you would have to make a formal application for copies of the actual application and/or Transfer forms, which would attract a further fee. Customer Support will be able to advise on the process for doing this.

Customer Support will also be able to explain the processes involved but are unable to provide legal advice. If you believe that a fraud has been committed then you should notify us immediately but it might also be prudent to obtain more details first and then seek legal advice.

paddedjohn

Is it possible that his ex fell into arrears on the mortgage and the house was repossessed and sold by the bank?

ladyandthetramp

Hi everyone, thanks for your input as above^^^ after much tooing and froing I am now in the posession of the transfer deeds from ex wife and husband to just ex wife. I can't make head nor tail of it, as it was signed by a judge, so basically the house was transfered to sole owner, without the husband knowing, can they do that?

Any advice much appreciated as am stumped where to go next!

kingstreet

She has sought a court ruling in his absence. I don't see the judge acting outside the law.

ladyandthetramp

Thank you to the above, it does appear that way, just wondering if there is any more we can do with regards to this. The husband had paid the mortgage for 13 years, then left, the house is then sold and the wife gets all proceeds?

GDB2222

ladyandthetramp wrote: »

Thank you to the above, it does appear that way, just wondering if there is any more we can do with regards to this. The husband had paid the mortgage for 13 years, then left, the house is then sold and the wife gets all proceeds?

He's ignored her for 8 years, and she's gone to court and obtained an order that's not to his liking. It's then been left for a year or more after that, so it's probably far too late to launch an appeal.

He needs to start divorce proceedings, and as part of those proceedings the wife's assets will be taken into account.

John_Pierpoint

we meed the Land Registry representative back to explain the procedures when an owner cannot be traced.
When Lord Lucan (allegedly) killed the nanny and then went AWOL, he owned many ground freeholds that were soon to revert to him, leaving the purchasers of the leases in limbo. I think the law was changed partly to deal with this situation, though I am surprise that the procedure can be speeded up to fall into inside the 12 years normally required for adverse possession ("Squatters rights").
Perhaps a court somewhere is holding half the net proceeds of sale (The Equity)?

Land_Registry

Where an owner cannot be traced it is the Court who will deal with such matters i.e. the onus is on the person claiming that someone is 'missing' to prove to the Court that it is so.

Land Registry has no involvement in that process and to understand the likely requirements e.g. efforts to locate the missing person, how long they have been missing etc you would need to seek legal advice.

If the Court accepts the evidence then the judge will often sign the Transfer in the absence of the missing owner.

In other situations e.g. divorce a judge will often order the parties to complete a Transfer themselves but if they fail to do so then the judge can then also sign the Transfer although this is rare as not too many people defy the first court order.

In this case the other owner is not missing but seems to have been 'absent' or 'ignoring her' whilst the court proceedings took place - this would be a different scenario as the judge may have taken this into account when passing judgement or signing the Transfer.

As stated above, Land Registry would only see the completed Transfer and accompanying application.

MobileSaver

ladyandthetramp wrote: »

The husband had paid the mortgage for 13 years, then left, the house is then sold and the wife gets all proceeds?

Who paid the mortgage for the last eight years since he "cut off all contact"?

JimmyTheWig

Yes, I wondered about the mortgage.
Presumably it was in joint names, even if the woman was paying it all.
What does his credit report show about it?