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Conveyancer Negligence - Advice please..
happydommo
Posts: 5 Forumite
Hi
After some advice...
In summary - bought my house Jun 2007. Between offer and completion I noticed that the drive was not included in the title plan. Expressed my disappointment to my conveyancer that they hadn't picked this up since surely that's one of the things I was paying them much ££££ for.
They checked and confirmed that it wasn't included, actually had the cheek to thank me for spotting it.... They went back to the seller, who then took some convincing that they didn't own it.
Turns out it was still registered to the builder and no one who owned the house has ever actually owned the drive and no one else or their solicitors has ever spotted this on the previous sales.
Completion ended up being delayed by approximately 3 months while the drive was transferred from the builder to the seller so it could be included in the sale.
Sale finally completed. Solicitor said everything sorted. Was sent title deed for my house. Lived in property happily ever since.
Today was on land reg website site. Typed in my house number and postcode, comes back with two titles, the house, and the piece of land next to it (the drive). Ordered the title register for the drive and it is still registered to the seller and has not been transferred to me.
Where does this leave me now???
After some advice...
In summary - bought my house Jun 2007. Between offer and completion I noticed that the drive was not included in the title plan. Expressed my disappointment to my conveyancer that they hadn't picked this up since surely that's one of the things I was paying them much ££££ for.
They checked and confirmed that it wasn't included, actually had the cheek to thank me for spotting it.... They went back to the seller, who then took some convincing that they didn't own it.
Turns out it was still registered to the builder and no one who owned the house has ever actually owned the drive and no one else or their solicitors has ever spotted this on the previous sales.
Completion ended up being delayed by approximately 3 months while the drive was transferred from the builder to the seller so it could be included in the sale.
Sale finally completed. Solicitor said everything sorted. Was sent title deed for my house. Lived in property happily ever since.
Today was on land reg website site. Typed in my house number and postcode, comes back with two titles, the house, and the piece of land next to it (the drive). Ordered the title register for the drive and it is still registered to the seller and has not been transferred to me.
Where does this leave me now???
0
Comments
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Go back to your solicitor and get them to do what they should have done in the first place. They will put it right. You probably will not get any compensation as you would have to prove a loss.0
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Despite using a recommended by friends, local high street solicitor, they have subsequently closed down. (Maybe not surprisingly). Although they do still live locally...0
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happydommo wrote: »Despite using a recommended by friends, local high street solicitor, they have subsequently closed down. (Maybe not surprisingly). Although they do still live locally...
Well, get someone else to sort it, then send them the bill.0 -
But any advice on how to sort? I don't want compensation, I just want to own my drive to avoid future complications...0
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We pulled out of buying a property when we found that the drive was not on the deeds and the seller's solicitor was not prepared to sort out the problem. It was further complicated by the property being extended ontot he driveway.
As a first action, I would write to the seller's solicitor and remind them that this has not been done.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0 -
1) initially the conveyancer did their job. During the normalconveyancing process they (I assume) sent you the Title & Plan to check, which you did. You pointed out the missing drive, and they thanked you.
So far so good - they could not know there was meant to be a drive included unless you had written to specifically tell them. You are the one who viewed the property, not them, so hat's why they sent you the Title/Plan to check it matched what you hoped to buy.
However the failure to transfer the 2nd Title (drive) clearly was a mistake.
Since the firm is no longer in business (you say) you should approach the SRA0
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