Strange entry in land registry of house we want to buy

tante

We were just about to put an offer in on a house but thought the seller's agent has been behaving a bit oddly (withholding information) so we did a bit more looking around and found some strange info.



The house is advertised at £325K which seems normal for what it is, but the land registry appears to say that it was last sold for £4 million, four years ago....? The previous few prices available seem normal, so that one sticks out a mile.



The agent also keeps referring to 'the seller' as though he's just working for them, but actually the company selling the house appears to be owned by his family business (the nature of which I am not quite sure about...)


To make things odder, the company who sold the house last apparently for over £4m is clearly linked to the company that bought it.



Is there any legitimate explanation for this or are we perhaps best staying away....?

G_M

My guess would be that it was purchased as part of a larger bundle of purchases.

But does it really matter? What matters is whether

* you like the prroperty
* you're happy with the purshase price
* the seller is indeed entited to sell
* the Title is sound


The previous history of ownership and pricing is irrelevant.

tante

Because have already been dishonest about several things, I want to be able to trust someone at least a bit if I'm buying from them, makes me worried about why they don't just admit they own the house and what else is being hidden... if there was anything to do with money laundering or other dodgy dealing going on I would want to stay miles away!

mije1983

tante wrote: »

makes me worried about why they don't just admit they own the house

Why does it matter who owns it as long as the seller is legally entitled to sell it.? It's a house for sale.

tante wrote: »

what else is being hidden

If it is linked to the EA (and you don't seem to have any definite proof it is), you would find out anyway. If it worries you that much download the title from the LR site for £3. That will tell you who the owner is.

tante wrote: »

if there was anything to do with money laundering or other dodgy dealing going on I would want to stay miles away

This is why you have a solicitor. To make sure everything is above board with the sale.

da_rule

If they are different limited companies then they are treated as separate entities. It sounds like he is simply trying to separate the potentially conflicting interests.

If the agent is a !!!8216;person!!!8217; and the property belongs to a limited company then regardless of the agents role in the company the property does it belong to him.

As has been said, the price may have been for the transfer of a portfolio of properties.

StumpyPumpy

tante wrote: »

Because have already been dishonest about several things, I want to be able to trust someone at least a bit if I'm buying from them, makes me worried about why they don't just admit they own the house and what else is being hidden... if there was anything to do with money laundering or other dodgy dealing going on I would want to stay miles away!

But, from what you've said, they don't own the house: their family business does. That is not the same thing as owning it yourself, even if the person you are speaking with is sole proprietor and owner of the business.

In any event you should be raising all these concerns with your solicitor and get them to sort it out, not relying on a random bulletin board on the internet to tell you. Prices on the Land Registry are not always 100% accurate, perhaps someone entered an extra 0 to a £400k price by accident or as G_M said perhaps it was part of a bundle. These are all things your solicitor should be able to confirm for you. Same for any money laundering you're worried about. This is what you pay them for, give them the information and let them earn their fee.

SP

tante

mije1983 wrote: »

If it is linked to the EA (and you don't seem to have any definite proof it is), you would find out anyway. If it worries you that much download the title from the LR site for £3. That will tell you who the owner is.

Sorry, what does EA stand for? We did download the title, that's where it said the agent's family business legally owns the house

tante

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

In any event you should be raising all these concerns with your solicitor and get them to sort it out, not relying on a random bulletin board on the internet to tell you.

SP

Um, thanks, but we were alarmed by the strange price info and didn't really want to go as far as solicitors after seeing that without getting some clarification - but other posters have already said it could have been part of a portfolio so at least that puts my mind at rest about money laundering.



Just out of curiosity, why would a bunch of properties be swapped around between companies owned by the same people, something to do with tax benefits? A legal friend said it could be a way of avoiding stamp duty on sales but that doesn't make much sense to me.

mije1983

tante wrote: »

Sorry, what does EA stand for?

Estate Agent

tante wrote: »

We did download the title, that's where it said the agent's family business legally owns the house

Ah ok. Wasn't clear in your post as you only said it 'appears' to be linked.


But either way, it's still not really an issue.

Land_Registry

Tante if you think it's strange then you can report it as a possible error for free
If it's not or if you want to check what the Transfer said then you can order a copy by post.
But also ask the EA or more likely the seller, depending on where you are at with the possible purchase