right to know who the property seller is? 7 day notice for repo?

breaktwister

It is late so I apologise that I don't have time to search through the forum. I have carried out a general google and can find no legislative basis for the "7 day public notice rule" when an EA is selling a repo.

My situation is that I have submitted more than one bid on a property advertised by an local EA, as far as I was concerned the property was an ordinary private sale. In fact the EA even mentioned that it was "Mr Smiths house" when I went to view it. I submitted a bid at the asking price and was surprised when the EA called my partner the next day saying that "Mr Smith has bid 1K more than you". Yes the same Mr Smith that the EA referred to as the owner at viewing!

Our enquiries locally initially lead us to believe that Mr Smith had been living at the property but that was not owned fully by him, it had been owned by his mother who willed it to Smith and his 2 siblings. Smiths brother apparently was forcing the sale. When I rang the EA to question this, he said that my information was not true and that the house had been repossessed as Smith had went bankrupt and that actually Smith had not submitted a bid but that it was "Mr Smiths partner" who submitted a bid.

This is a very messy situation but it is an ideal property for me and my partner. I have read online that a repo has a "7 day public notice rule" but I cannot find out which piece of legislation this rule is specified in.

I ask for the legislation as I am in Northern Ireland and sometimes (not often) our laws can be different. I searched our land registry and there was no mention of a repo, it had the owner as the mother "Mrs Smith" from 25 years ago.

I am very concerned that this EA has already told lies, telling my partner that Mr Smith had made a bid but when I challenged him he said it was "Mr Smiths partner" who bidded.

Any advise on how to proceed? Ideally, I would like to know who the seller is, if it is indeed a repo sale and if any special rules : ie. 7 day public notification apply.

G_M

First, I respond from an English perspective, but I suspect it is the same.

There is no leglislative requirement for a 7 day notice on a repo. However, it is good practice and most banks/Official Receivers selling repos will place a notice.

The bank has a duty to get the best price possible. If, as is usual, the property sells for less than the defaulting/bankrupt 'owner' owes, their remaining debt is still owed. They would therefore be pretty miffed if the bank sold it off way below the market rate thus leaving them with a bigger debt than necessary.

They might sue the bank.

So, in order to be able to prove they took all 'reasonable efforts' to obtain the best price possible, the bank will place a 7 day notice inviting higher offers. As I'm sure you know, banks always act ethically, and in the best interests of their customers ()

As for who owns this property, who is selling etc, I suggest you forget the estate agent and get yourself a conveyancing solicitor!

Or, in England, for £3 you can download the Title for the property from the Land Registry which will show you a) the name of the registered owner and b) the name of any bank with a Charge (mortgage). It will probably not say if it's been reposessed though.

breaktwister

According to the EA this is a repo, he didn't tell me who instructed him to sell and when I went to the land registry they didn't show me anything, they searched their computer and just told me that the registered owner was "Mr X and Mrs Y Smith", Mrs Y Smith being the deceased mother but I believe Mr X is the brother. They said that there was no registered charge against the property. Does this mean that the EA is telling lies about it being a repo as surely there needs to be a mortgage or some other charge for there to be default and repossession? It may help to know that the EA actually lives on the same road as this property and may well be neighbourly/friendly with Mr Smith.

So the 7 day rule isn't really a rule, an EA can keep repo property open for bids for an undefined period? Seems odd that it is referred to as some kind of defined limit. Basically, there is no such thing as a 7 day public notification rule so if I go to the EA and ask "if this is a repo when was the first day of public notification and when does it end" as he will just say "it is irrelevant, it will end when the bidders stop bidding" as is the case with a private sale?

breaktwister

I'll just hit the EA with "if you have been instructed by a receiver or repo agent or similar then when did the public notice start and when does it end" and see what he says.

G_M

breaktwister wrote: »

According to the EA this is a repo, he didn't tell me who instructed him to sell and when I went to the land registry they didn't show me anything, they searched their computer and just told me that the registered owner was "Mr X and Mrs Y Smith", Mrs Y Smith being the deceased mother but I believe Mr X is the brother. They said that there was no registered charge against the property. Does this mean that the EA is telling lies about it being a repo as surely there needs to be a mortgage or some other charge for there to be default and repossession? It may help to know that the EA actually lives on the same road as this property and may well be neighbourly/friendly with Mr Smith.
There may be no Charge (mortage) but the owner(s) may have been declared bankrupt. The seller would then be the Official Receiver. Having said that I suspect the OR would slap a Charge on the property to prevent the owners from selling.

So the 7 day rule isn't really a rule, an EA can keep repo property open for bids for an undefined period? Seems odd that it is referred to as some kind of defined limit.
It is not up to the EA - it is the seller (bank) who decides whether to isue a notice, for how long, what offer to accept, whether to seek further offers etc. The agent does what he is istructed to do by his client - the seller.

Basically, there is no such thing as a 7 day public notification rule so if I go to the EA and ask "if this is a repo when was the first day of public notification and when does it end" as he will just say "it is irrelevant, it will end when the bidders stop bidding" as is the case with a private sale?

In most cases, banks selling repos not only place a 7 day notice, but also continue to market, and accept offers, right up to the date of Exchange of Contracts (in England). Even where where they have accepted an offer and conveyancing is progressing. Buying repos is always stressful and uncertain for this reason.

Another possibility occurs to me: The seller may in fact be the Executers of the deceased's will. They will also have a duty to maximise the value so that they pass the Beneficiaries as much cash as possible from the deceased's estate.

If a family member (whether ultimately a Beneficiary or not) wishes to buy the property from the Estate they may well put in an offer.......