Unilateral option to purchase

pigeonhole

I am trying to purchase a repossessed property and during the searches it has come to light that there is a unilateral option to purchase notice registered at the Land Registry.

At the moment I have no details as to what the notice is for. Assuming it is valid what does this mean and what is the legal position?

Does the originator of the notice now have to be given an option to purchase the property at the same price that I had accepted by the Bank, and if so are any timescales for notification of the offer and then their reply laid down.

Thanks

Fire_Fox

Welcome! You really need to be asking your conveyancer, legal advice is what you pay them for most people here have no legal qualifications at all.

pigeonhole

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Welcome! You really need to be asking your conveyancer, legal advice is what you pay them for most people here have no legal qualifications at all.

But some have!

Fire_Fox

pigeonhole wrote: »

But some have!

So PM them, they don't read and post on every thread! Or just ask your conveyancer who has seen the documents and you are paying for accurate advice.

pigeonhole

Fire_Fox wrote: »

So PM them, they don't read and post on every thread! Or just ask your conveyancer who has seen the documents and you are paying for accurate advice.

This is a Forum isn't it? If all questions and answers were by PM there would be no forum. But thank you for your advice, hopefully the next reply will be from someone that actually will address the question and I will than get to understand what the problem is before my solicitor comes back to me.
In the meantime you obviously cannot help beyond what you have said already, so please do not contribute further to this thread.

GDB2222

pigeonhole wrote: »

I am trying to purchase a repossessed property and during the searches it has come to light that there is a unilateral option to purchase notice registered at the Land Registry.

At the moment I have no details as to what the notice is for. Assuming it is valid what does this mean and what is the legal position?

Does the originator of the notice now have to be given an option to purchase the property at the same price that I had accepted by the Bank, and if so are any timescales for notification of the offer and then their reply laid down.

Thanks

Do you have the exact wording of what is on the LR about this? It's unusual.

observations_from_a_hill

Option is a contract for sale which is binding on the seller, but allows the purchaser to decide whether or not to buy.

Usual scenario is small developer targets a property which he thinks can be redeveloped. Approaches owner "your house is worth X, I am prepared to pay you 2xX if I can get planning permission for it. But I don't want to buy your house without first getting planning permission, & equally I don't want to go to all the expense of getting planning permission with the risk that you will sell to someone else. Please sign option"

Option states a period during which owner can be required to sell. During that period, purchaser can serve notice to exercise option, upon which it becomes a "normal" contract.

Your solicitor needs to get details of option - it's a fair guess that by now it's time-expired. BUT you will be bound by it if the option is still running and capable of exercise.

pigeonhole

GDB2222 wrote: »

Do you have the exact wording of what is on the LR about this? It's unusual.

observations_from_a_hill wrote: »

Option is a contract for sale which is binding on the seller, but allows the purchaser to decide whether or not to buy.

Usual scenario is small developer targets a property which he thinks can be redeveloped. Approaches owner "your house is worth X, I am prepared to pay you 2xX if I can get planning permission for it. But I don't want to buy your house without first getting planning permission, & equally I don't want to go to all the expense of getting planning permission with the risk that you will sell to someone else. Please sign option"

Option states a period during which owner can be required to sell. During that period, purchaser can serve notice to exercise option, upon which it becomes a "normal" contract.

Your solicitor needs to get details of option - it's a fair guess that by now it's time-expired. BUT you will be bound by it if the option is still running and capable of exercise.

Thanks.
No, I don't have any further information from my solicitor yet who has started to make his own inquiries as well as contacting the solicitors representing the vendor. I would imagine that the vendors solicitors will be familiar and have experience of such notices as they are one of the big national firms.
There is information on the internet which explains what the notice is and why it may have originated. One of the reasons put forward is that it is a tool being used by some secondary lenders. Although I am guessing, information given to me by a neighbour who lives close to the property leads me to believe that the notice may be connected to one of them.
It seems likely that my solicitor will not be reporting back before the end of next week so I was wondering if there is a forum member who either has the necessary legal knowledge or actual experience of the notice to explain what the legal process and time-scales are if the notice does turn out to be valid. The property does not appear to have any development potential as it is a semi on an average size plot.

GDB2222

pigeonhole wrote: »

Thanks.
No, I don't have any further information from my solicitor yet who has started to make his own inquiries as well as contacting the solicitors representing the vendor. I would imagine that the vendors solicitors will be familiar and have experience of such notices as they are one of the big national firms.
There is information on the internet which explains what the notice is and why it may have originated. One of the reasons put forward is that it is a tool being used by some secondary lenders. Although I am guessing, information given to me by a neighbour who lives close to the property leads me to believe that the notice may be connected to one of them.
It seems likely that my solicitor will not be reporting back before the end of next week so I was wondering if there is a forum member who either has the necessary legal knowledge or actual experience of the notice to explain what the legal process and time-scales are if the notice does turn out to be valid. The property does not appear to have any development potential as it is a semi on an average size plot.

You are asking the wrong question. There's nothing complicated about an option, and all solicitors will be familiar with them. The point is that all option agreements are different. You need to know what the terms of this one are.

Nobody here can help you without this information, and I suspect that once you have it you won't need help.

pigeonhole

Thanks, I hope you are correct. Looks like I'll just have to wait