Land Registry questions

SweetPie

da_rule wrote: »

You could contact the Law Society as they keep some records of when firms close down who has taken over their business or when firms merge/change names etc. However, even if you can find the solicitor this doesn't mean that they will still be instructed by the freeholder (given the passage of time).

Alternatively, you can look on the Land Registry and see if the freehold title exists for the property. If it does then you can download the title register for £3. This will then give you the contact details for the freeholder (assuming they've kept it updated).

If the title isn't registered or it is but the freeholder has moved etc then there exists a process for acquiring the freehold when the freeholder is absent.

Hi, thank you for the prompt response!

The freehold title doesn't exist on the land registry. The leasehold title has the names of the people who own the freehold. I am trying to locate their or their solicitor's contact details. Bizarrely, someone purchased the entire's street's freehold from the same freehold owner a few years ago but missed this one particular house ... should that ring alarm bells?

da_rule

SweetPie wrote: »

Hi, thank you for the prompt response!

The freehold title doesn't exist on the land registry. The leasehold title has the names of the people who own the freehold. I am trying to locate their or their solicitor's contact details. Bizarrely, someone purchased the entire's street's freehold from the same freehold owner a few years ago but missed this one particular house ... should that ring alarm bells?

When you say leasehold title, do you mean the lease? The party listed as the freeholder on the lease may not be the same, they could have transferred it the next day as there is no need to update the lease.

Maybe the freeholder didn't want to sell that particular property?

D_M_E

Could be that particular property has already had its freehold purchased and that's why it was not included in the mass purchase - if so then there must be a record of it somewhere.

Kentlife

Hi,

I own a leasehold property where information was incorrect on the Land Registry title. In short, two identical flats, bought by the same person 15 years ago, had their lease & title information (floorplans and descriptions) swapped on registration (i.e. my flat looks like its the flat below.) My solicitors have been dealing with Land Registry and have been told that AP1 forms need to be submitted for each property, after which the correct lease info will be married up (i.e. swapped back.) What is the current wait time for AP1 processing? Is this likely to be a long process? (its been a long 2 years wait to this moment so apologies for the impatience.)

KentLife

Pressie371

Hi Everyone
I have a Land Registry problem. I am currently selling my Bungalow and my solicitor called me to inform me we had a problem. The Bungalow has a garage which used to be a petrol station but is now the garage next to the house along with the garden which used to be the garage forecourt. We have lived in the house for 5 years. The problem is the Bungalow is listed on one title deed and the garage( old petrol station) and forecourt (now garden) is on another title deed( the next number)z. Not a problem you would think unless your solicitor when you bought the house hasn’t noticed this and has only changed the names on the Bungalow and the garage ( former petrol station) and garden( former forecourt) are still in the name of the previous owners who won’t be aware and live in Halifax. My old solicitor has said she will sort this and so she should as we never saw anything of the deeds for the garage and garden although on the copy of the deeds we were sent to check had the correct area highlighted with a black marker pen so somebody new. I have contacted my old solicitor who assured me she will sort this. She has sent a transfer deed to the old owners via her old solicitors. We are worried this could lose us our buyers. Do I have need to worry. Who’s fault was this that the actual deed for the garage and garden never appeared in the paperwork although was highlighted on the house title but only in black highlighter pen.
Thanks for all advice in advance. Luckily we are only 2 and a half weeks into the sale process

SweetPie

da_rule wrote: »

When you say leasehold title, do you mean the lease? The party listed as the freeholder on the lease may not be the same, they could have transferred it the next day as there is no need to update the lease.

Maybe the freeholder didn't want to sell that particular property?

Yes I mean the lease. That may be the case, and there's no record on the land registry of there being a freehold for the property in question ...

SweetPie

D_M_E wrote: »

Could be that particular property has already had its freehold purchased and that's why it was not included in the mass purchase - if so then there must be a record of it somewhere.

That doesn't seem to be the case according to the current owner. And land registry don't hold a copy of the freehold documents ...

Land_Registry

Sweetpie - whilst I u derstand not wanting to contact the seller I would suggest you have little option.

The lease was granted in 1925 so whilst you could try following any clues from the lessor forward I think it's less likely to bear fruit trying to identify the solicitor who acted and work forward from there.

The copy lease may refer to who drew it up but the odds of the same form being involved now or having records seems slim. Best bet is to ask seller if they aware of who the freeholder is.

Other option is to try the freeholder who 'didn't buy it' to see if they have any info too?

Note - how long is left on the lease?

Land_Registry

Kentlife wrote: »

Hi,

I own a leasehold property where information was incorrect on the Land Registry title. In short, two identical flats, bought by the same person 15 years ago, had their lease & title information (floorplans and descriptions) swapped on registration (i.e. my flat looks like its the flat below.) My solicitors have been dealing with Land Registry and have been told that AP1 forms need to be submitted for each property, after which the correct lease info will be married up (i.e. swapped back.) What is the current wait time for AP1 processing? Is this likely to be a long process? (its been a long 2 years wait to this moment so apologies for the impatience.)

KentLife

If the leases were wrong then I'd expect that they would both need to be varied. That would mean each woukd be surrendered and regranted with correct details/demise. So they'd be new leases

We have a backlog of work so that means a wait of on average 65-70 working days before they are considered. If they've found another solution then it could be quicker.

Land_Registry

Pressie371 wrote: »

Hi Everyone
I have a Land Registry problem. I am currently selling my Bungalow and my solicitor called me to inform me we had a problem. The Bungalow has a garage which used to be a petrol station but is now the garage next to the house along with the garden which used to be the garage forecourt. We have lived in the house for 5 years. The problem is the Bungalow is listed on one title deed and the garage( old petrol station) and forecourt (now garden) is on another title deed( the next number)z. Not a problem you would think unless your solicitor when you bought the house hasn’t noticed this and has only changed the names on the Bungalow and the garage ( former petrol station) and garden( former forecourt) are still in the name of the previous owners who won’t be aware and live in Halifax. My old solicitor has said she will sort this and so she should as we never saw anything of the deeds for the garage and garden although on the copy of the deeds we were sent to check had the correct area highlighted with a black marker pen so somebody new. I have contacted my old solicitor who assured me she will sort this. She has sent a transfer deed to the old owners via her old solicitors. We are worried this could lose us our buyers. Do I have need to worry. Who’s fault was this that the actual deed for the garage and garden never appeared in the paperwork although was highlighted on the house title but only in black highlighter pen.
Thanks for all advice in advance. Luckily we are only 2 and a half weeks into the sale process

Unfortunately it can happen and invariably it's down to a conveyancing oversight plus a failure to notice that the property is bigger than the one title. As your old solicitor is trying to sort it now that's a big clue as to where it went awry I suspect.

Good thing is you know where your seller is so hopefully they will play ball. They were presumably contracted to sell both titles after all. Far worse when you have no idea where they have gone as that can mean a much tougher time.