Seriously SCARY situation

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

There are people that don't automatically change locks on moving. I recently went to stay with a friend that had moved house since last time I stayed with her. She'd had that new house for literally months - and then I discovered she'd not changed the locks yet and wasnt planning to. She is in her 60s too:eek: - ie I thought she would have learnt to do so years ago. She has done so now:cool: - which may be connected to my comment that I'd be locking myself in my bedroom at night until she does so and refusal to leave my handbag there in her house if I go out....

She's told you she has now, to keep you quiet. She knows there's no possibility of you finding out she hasn't, on account of the fact that you will never be invited there again after your behaviour last time.

getmore4less

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Getting back to the fundamentals here, I'm somewhat surprised by the comments that as long as the LR entry is In the OPs names that they are OK.

Because that implies that if someone forges sale documents to your house and manages to sells it and get the LR entry changed as a result, tough luck you've lost it !

google is your friend.....

my house got stolen by change in land registry

first up for me
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7971995.stm

and more recent second

.https://www.ft.com/content/b195fb02-2fde-11e7-9555-23ef563ecf9a

stardust09

Surely, if you don't change the locks and you get burgled with no sign of forced entry then your house insurance would be void? When I bought my place, the original document said three keys were issued for the flat - I only got two. Fortunately, I'd already changed the locks before I got all my final paperwork to archive but it did make me wonder who had key no. 3.

On the other hand, I moved out of a 4-person shared house as the owners were moving back in after 10 + years of renting it out via an agency and many tenants (and workmen having/losing keys) later. They insisted that all the front door keys were returned so not everyone thinks the same... Personally, the first thing I would have done as them is change the lock. It's pretty inexpensive given the financial and emotional impact of being burgled or having a stranger randomly coming into your house.

I now have a ABS lock, diamond grade, so nobody can cut keys without the card. I feel much more secure.

Sorry to hear about the stress. I'm sure there'd be grounds for suing someone if the sale had gone ahead illegally and it sounds like the guy wants money rather than the house, so needs to go after his ex. I agree it's very strange that he'd be away for so long and then just randonly return. Good luck with sorting it out.

Marvel1

stardust09 wrote: »

Surely, if you don't change the locks and you get burgled with no sign of forced entry then your house insurance would be void? When I bought my place, the original document said three keys were issued for the flat - I only got two. Fortunately, I'd already changed the locks before I got all my final paperwork to archive but it did make me wonder who had key no. 3.

On the other hand, I moved out of a 4-person shared house as the owners were moving back in after 10 + years of renting it out via an agency and many tenants (and workmen having/losing keys) later. They insisted that all the front door keys were returned so not everyone thinks the same... Personally, the first thing I would have done as them is change the lock. It's pretty inexpensive given the financial and emotional impact of being burgled or having a stranger randomly coming into your house.

I now have a ABS lock, diamond grade, so nobody can cut keys without the card. I feel much more secure.

Sorry to hear about the stress. I'm sure there'd be grounds for suing someone if the sale had gone ahead illegally and it sounds like the guy wants money rather than the house, so needs to go after his ex. I agree it's very strange that he'd be away for so long and then just randonly return. Good luck with sorting it out.

Makes perfect sense for people to remember to obtain contents insurance but not change locks

shortcrust

Christ, are we still talking about locks? Maybe start a 'who replaces their locks' thread?

moneyistooshorttomention

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

She's told you she has now, to keep you quiet. She knows there's no possibility of you finding out she hasn't, on account of the fact that you will never be invited there again after your behaviour last time.

Why resist a chance to have a go? - even if it doesnt exist:rotfl:

Would explain why I'm going back again shortly for another visit...:rotfl:

Or is it the fact I change locks - but you don't?

AnotherJoe

That is scary stuff GM4L.

katejo

BlessedNotStressed wrote: »

We were FTB, and not one person mentioned (or advised) us to change the locks. Yes, a silly oversight - but we were relieved and excited to have completed our first purchase after so much aggro. None of our friends have changed the locks on their properties either so it's clearly not that unusual.

Always the first thing to do. The previous owners may well be honest bods but you don't know to whom they might have given a key in the past. Perhaps a lodger or a workman doing a job on the house.

Really hope this gets resolved. Since buying my house I have had a one off nightmare thought that someone could turn up and claim that the previous seller had no right to sell.

VintageHistorian

Indeed, hopefully the OP has had some sleep over night and can now face things a little more clearly, and we can get this thread back on track.

OP - As others have said, dig out the paperwork from the sale. I don't just mean the bit you found last night that had two names on it, I mean the whole pack that the solicitor would have sent you with the draft contract, fixtures and fittings forms, and anything else that you received as part of the buying process. You'll need it on Monday at any rate so you might as well find it now and go through it with your OH.

There's two names on there, but that doesn't mean that one of them is the ex-husband. The ex-wife could have bought the property with a contribution from her father, and had his name on the deeds as he had an interest in the property. She might have managed to obtain a court order before listing the house, that got a new partner put on the deeds instead of the ex-husband. As you say, she might have forged his signature, or as others here have said, the ex-husband may have been so absent that he ignored all correspondence from the ex, and she went to court to get permission to sell without him.

I think one of you needs to be texting or emailing work this weekend asking for Monday off, and get down to your solicitor first thing Monday morning, with that bundle of paperwork. At the very least your solicitor can phone the vendors solicitor and see if they can get any information about what might have happened, whether it was indeed a court order to remove the ex-husband, or if there was something else going on in the background that we haven't considered here.

I suspect the vendor's solicitor is the one that will need to be most worried here. As others have said, you need ID and witnessed signatures to sell and buy. We had one set of signatures witnessed by our solicitor, and a second set witnessed by respective work colleagues. We also had to get copies of passports and proof of address copied to go on file, and money laundering regulations had to be dealt with too. All of this means that the vendor's solicitor is the one who has to check that all this is correct and dealt with properly.

If the ex-husband shows up again, DO NOT hand over any of your paperwork and do not let him in. Tell him that you'll be speaking to your solicitor on Monday, and that he needs to get legal advice too. If he refuses to leave, or keeps coming back, phone the police and report him for harassment.

I'd also go with the suggestion that you chat to the neighbours and ask if they know much about your vendors. You'll probably find that someone in a 50 foot radius knows enough to give you a clearer picture.

BlessedNotStressed

Those newspaper articles make me feel sick! My husband and I are completely blameless in this situation and, although we have every sympathy for the man, the fault lies with his ex or the various organisations (conveyancer etc) who have failed to follow the letter of the law. I just hate to think that we are now potentially going to be unwillingly embroiled in a lengthy (and costly!) course of litigation through no fault of our own.