land charge on unregistered property

Taylor24

We are buying a property that is unregistered and has a charge attached from over 40 years ago. All parties are deceased and discharge paperwork missing from title deeds. Been advised only way forward is a court order to get the charge removed. No idea how long this will take and due to leave our house in 4 weeks. Any help on this appreciated.

silvercar

If the property is unregistered, where is the charge registered?

Taylor24

Good point. The solicitor said that the charge was registered with land charges. This is solicitors speak which is totally confusing me!!!!

csgohan4

better find somewhere as a backup plan temporarily to live

G_M

You say all parties are deceased - so this is not a bank mortgage then? What kind of Charge is it?

Since you have a solicitor involved, who knows the facts in far better detail than we do, can I suggest you ask him your question(s)?

Taylor24

It's the vendors solicitors that have all the information and my solicitors are as confused as me. I have been told that the charge was for a £500 loan taken out in 1970. All parties now deceased. Part of the title deeds related to the land are also missing so the solicitors said that they could not confirm with Land Registry that they had them in their possession. No one will speak to me due to "conflict of interest" which is so annoying.

Land_Registry

If the property is unregistered then as you mention the charge will be registered with the Land Charges Registry against the borrower's name.

Not too sure where the court order comes in unless the lender cannot be traced and they are applying to the court for an order removing the charge which can then be used to remove it with Land Charges.

You now mention that part of the title deeds are missing - it is therefore crucial to understand what part(s) and what impact that then has on their ability to sell.

In many cases nowadays a buyer will not proceed on a sale in such circumstances until the seller has successfully registered the title themselves.

Your solicitor should be able to advise on both scenarios and explain what impact the missing deeds defect especially is likely to have and what options are available to you.

They should also be able to explain whether 4 weeks is enough to resolve this based on all the facts - if the seller is applying to the court and/or seeking to register their title base don lost deeds then 4 weeks is very unlikely to be sufficient

But you must rely on your solicitor here as they should be privy to all the details

G_M

You are, I hope, using a 'proper' solicitor?

Not a cheap conveyancing centre? The latter may be fine for managing hundred of bog-standard, uncomplicated registered property purchases, but this case clearly needs someone with a bit more training and experience.

Taylor24

Yes the court order comes in as they can not trace the lender. The missing deeds are for part of the land that was not on the original conveyance but included in the plot later. All of which is unregistered.

Land_Registry

So obtaining the court order will have one timescale attached and I assume the judge, if accepting of the evidence, will authorise the discharge of the registered charge

If you are buying a piece of land to which the supporting evidence is lacking then this is something your solicitor should advise on re the 'risks' involved. If you decide to proceed then the timescale will be far less than if you say No and the seller has to apply to register the title first. Average completion time in the latter case is 40 working days as mentioned but in light of the issue involved I would be looking at a longer period and certainly beyond the 4 weeks you are referring to.

You must rely on your solicitor's guidance and experience here though