Registering property for first time - search?

wwl

I'm awaiting probate for my late Mother's estate - I am executor and sole beneficiary.
I plan to put the house on the market as soon as possible. It is currently unregistered, and there seems to be a mix of opinions as to whether I should register it prior to sale (pro: may be easier to sell, con: time to register may delay sale) .
I've been looking into what's required to register on the LR website
https://www.gov.uk/registering-land-or-property-with-land-registry/register-for-the-first-time

The forms look reasonably straightforward, however what I don't understand is this :

2) Apply for a search from the Land Charges Department to search against all previous owners since 1925.

Looking at the K15 form linked from the above, the search appears to be for names of previous owners, not the address of the property as I'd have expected. The only previous name I know is from some mortgage paperwork from over 50 years ago when my parents purchased. I have no way of knowing all previous owners since 1925. Might these be listed in the deeds? - these are at the solicitors - I'll get a copy from them.

It's also unclear what I'm supposed to do with the results of the search.
Form FR1 makes no mention of previous owners.

G_M

wwl wrote: »

I'm awaiting probate for my late Mother's estate - I am executor and sole beneficiary.
.... It is currently unregistered, and there seems to be a mix of opinions as to whether I should register it prior to sale

pro:
may be easier to sell,
may be quicker to sell


con:
time to register may delay sale.(don't see why - it will take time to find a buyer)
additional cost of 1st registration
additional hastle
Need to transfer from mum's name to yours (and then sell)

wwl

This thread mentions a delay of 8 weeks for registration
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5237024
there is high demand in the area and local estate agent thinks it's likely to sell fairly quickly, though I suppose even if a buyer is found quickly, by the time surveys etc. are done it's probably unlikely to be a lot less than 8 weeks from grant of Probate.

Shahni

Don't panic about the land charges search. This will be easy for your solicitor to do from the Deeds. They can be ordered online if needed for a few pounds.

First registration can take a few weeks. Personally I would just let the buyer's solicitor handle it when they register the transfer.

wwl

I'm not panicking, just wondering how it relates to the process of registering.
I'm assuming it's to do with checking for outstanding charges, but presumably the LR would do that anyway. Or do they need the results sent with the FR1 form ? I've yet to find details of exactly what documents they need. the link for guidance on FR1 just links to a page about ID rquirements.

I just had a further search and found this, which I think is the correct link

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/first-registrations/practice-guide-1-first-registrations#form

This does mention including search results.

Obviously it's something I can do before Probate, so probably worth doing now just in case to avoid delays later if I do decide to register..

Land_Registry

wwl - looks like you have found the answers yourself re this

Practice Guide 1 explains the registration requirements and as your mention you would need to submit the search result with the application.

The searches are by name only as the property is unregistered so you are looking for charges/interests registered against the previous owners - as you say the old deeds documents will hopefully tell you who these are and also include any releases for example of any registered charges/interests

One thing to note is that the current delays on such registrations means it is likely to be longer than the 8 weeks mentioned. However you won't be able to register it in the name of the beneficiary until you have probate.

Whether a buyer will be prepared to complete on the purchase will I suspect depend solely on the legal advice they are given. The purchase of unregistered properties still happens (it's not new after all) but very much down to how the conveyancer involved views it.