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Freehold s disappeared HELP!!!

124

Comments

  • Ulfar
    Ulfar Posts: 1,309 Forumite
    How is that the only option.

    When the owner of the other flat bought their property they paid for a 50% share of the freehold. The fact that they have been incorrectly assigned your 50% is not your problem.

    Land Registry will have to sort this out, they made the mistake, they have to correct it. They illegally assigned your property to someone else. This would be like them transferring the ownership of my house to someone else by mistake and then accepting the mistake but saying there is nothing to be done, I will have to move out.

    It shouldn't be that hard for them to resolve, it should involve them writing to the person it was illegally assigned too, advising them of the error and that it is going to be corrected. If this is difficult then tough it is their mistake to correct.

    It must be possible to do as there have been cases of properties being transferred to another persons ownership as a result of identity theft, in those cases the ownership was restored to the rightful owner. I see no difference here except for the fact there was no malice involved.

    The other owner can't moan as they didn't pay for the whole freehold and they have received something they weren't entitled too. They have no legal basis for retaining all of the freehold.

    Your surveyor should be assessing not only the cost of extending the leasehold but also the value of 50% of the freehold. This is the minimum that I would be accepting.

    Keep us up to date.
  • Thanks Ulfar, your advice is appreciated.

    The LR did say that I could apply for the register to be rectified, but they also said that the second person who bought the flat in 2008 purchased it with 100% of the Freehold, they said it would be very unlikely that they would give up the freehold without a fight? They also said that the whole process could take anything uptp 3 years to reach a conclusion? I am very much a layperson so I've no idea if these timescales are correct?

    I was right in the middle of selling when this issue came to light, I had even put an offer on another property, this is all now in the balance?

    I just want the speediest resolution !

    As an aside, does anyone know if I would be able to sue the solicitors who originally submitted the faulty paperwork?

    Andrea
  • m0t
    m0t Posts: 331 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    But they didn't buy 100% of the freehold in 2008 and it isn't theirs to decide to 'give up'.

    I strongly suspect that LR are pursuing the easiest option for them. What they should be doing is putting the register right and negotiating a settlement between the other party and the solicitors involved.
  • The LR did say that I could apply for the register to be rectified, but they also said that the second person who bought the flat in 2008 purchased it with 100% of the Freehold, they said it would be very unlikely that they would give up the freehold without a fight? They also said that the whole process could take anything uptp 3 years to reach a conclusion? I am very much a layperson so I've no idea if these timescales are correct?

    Don't forget that you are basically asking your liable party to advise you here. Of course they are going to say litigation is difficult. You must get it out of your head that they are an independent party who can give you impartial advice.

    Now, if you could have bought 50% of the freehold for 10k and received 25k compensation, fine. But it doesn't look like that is going to happen now.

    And to hand over more money to extend the lease is dangerous - or even to imply in any way you are happy with the status quo - without taking proper legal advice is silly.

    You will probably not get the speediest resolution. You must face up to that. What you should get, however, is full reimbursement of all your costs. So start recording and evidencing them now, every little thing. Time spent on the phone. Call-out costs for professionals. Etc.
  • Ulfar
    Ulfar Posts: 1,309 Forumite
    I agree with prince of pounds.

    Land registry are at fault they will try anything to make you go away. This is why I said hopefully they have admitted liability in writing.

    Whatever you do be very wary of getting involved in negotiating an extension, as it could be seen as accepting the status quo, also half of any fee should be yours anyway.

    You own 50% of the freehold and have not signed to transfer it. The fact LR have made a mistake is theirs to correct, as I stated previously it shouldn't be an issue.

    You are going to have to push this all the way. Getting a solicitor involved is a very good idea, the LR will not like this one bit. You can also complain to your MP, the head of LR and the press all of which they hate.

    The other owner may be upset but they never had any legal right to 100% of the freehold. It is they LR should be settling with them.
  • Just because the buyers THOUGHT they were buying 100% of the freehold doesn't mean that's what they actually bought. Their title is defective through the LR's mistake, and it's not your problem to sort out - it's for the LR to sort out with the buyer, who obviously won't be best pleased. But in principle it's the same as someone who buys a stolen car believing it to be ok - when the real, original owner turns up, the new "owner" finds he never had the right to buy it and has to hand it over!
    You bought something and never agreed or knew about its sale - by everything that's logical, you still own it. Time for the solicitors.
  • sooz
    sooz Posts: 4,560 Forumite
    Something similar happened to a family member a few years back.
    The solicitor who'd made the mistake eventually sorted out the issue the the new owners, all FOC as she knew it was her, and the Land Registry's, mistake.
    IIRC, an estoppel was put on the freehold title, so until it was resolved the other party couldnt sell either. It concentrated their minds to assist in rectifying the error. ;)
  • Ulfar
    Ulfar Posts: 1,309 Forumite
    sooz wrote: »
    Something similar happened to a family member a few years back.
    The solicitor who'd made the mistake eventually sorted out the issue the the new owners, all FOC as she knew it was her, and the Land Registry's, mistake.
    IIRC, an estoppel was put on the freehold title, so until it was resolved the other party couldnt sell either. It concentrated their minds to assist in rectifying the error. ;)

    So it can be done, its just a pain in for LR and the solicitor involved, there problem not yours.
  • The compensation you are looking for is
    -the price of extending the lease on the basis that you would have had eg 999 years at peppercorn rent,and
    -loss of the freehold and the control of the building, which is now vested in the curent owners and
    - a "sorry we messed up" sum
    Stop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
    Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold";
    if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn
  • I wonder if you can find the Right Move advert for the last time the flat was sold?
    Would be interesting if it was advertised as freehold or share of freehold. OR if it was a nice surprise to the new owner when they purchased a bargan freehold flat!
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