Buying a house and cant exchange due to Land registry

saw95

Wondering if someone can advise me! I am in the process of buying a house and am ready to exchange, the seller of the property part exchanged it when they bought their house and now I am buying it off the developer Morris Homes. Completely stuck as my lender wants to see the Land registry in the name of Morris Homes and I cant progress any further. Land registry have a case but are waiting for a 'end of notification discharge' to complete this, the sellers solicitors tell me that they dont know when this will be be received by land registry. Can someone advise me who is responsible for submitting the end of notification discharge? I assumed the sellers soliticors but they havent really been able to advise me
I was hoping all this would be sorted before this Coronavirus lockdown as our tenancy is also expiring on our rented property
Hope someone can help me!

Thrugelmir

saw95 said:

 Can someone advise me who is responsible for submitting the end of notification discharge? I assumed the sellers soliticors but they havent really been able to advise me

You are not the solicitors client. Hence the lack of communication. You need to direct your questions through your own solicitor. 

staffie1

I’m ready to exchange. I ask my solicitor for advice on how to proceed, and she just keeps replying “please let me have your instructions” parrot fashion.

Fosterdog

Why is your tenancy due to end? If it's just the end of the minimum term then you can just go onto a periodic tenancy and give notice later, the plus side to this is that you can make sure you get an overlap of renting and owning to give you time to do anything that needs doing in the new house before moving in.

If it is ending because you've given notice already then it's just tough, you should never give notice before exchange as the sale could still collapse.

saw95

Thrugelmir said:

saw95 said:

 Can someone advise me who is responsible for submitting the end of notification discharge? I assumed the sellers soliticors but they havent really been able to advise me

You are not the solicitors client. Hence the lack of communication. You need to direct your questions through your own solicitor. 

Sorry to clarify I asked my own solicitor, and they have chased it up with the other soliticors. In the replies though it isn't clear who does this- they arent saying they will do it and just say they are unsure when it will be completed 

saw95

Fosterdog said:

Why is your tenancy due to end? If it's just the end of the minimum term then you can just go onto a periodic tenancy and give notice later, the plus side to this is that you can make sure you get an overlap of renting and owning to give you time to do anything that needs doing in the new house before moving in.

If it is ending because you've given notice already then it's just tough, you should never give notice before exchange as the sale could still collapse.

Yeah you are right, originally we could go back to family for a while if it didn't go through so it wouldn't have been a issue,
With the recent COVID 19 its changed that plan,  even before lockdown I have family members I would say are higher risk. I am taking all precautions but my work is classed as essential so where some people are completely isolating I am still going out to work

Found out nobody was due to move in my rented place actually so have managed to sort staying so feeling a bit more relieved. To be honest with all this happening I'm doubting the sale will go through, I cant see it getting sorted before the mortgage expires

saw95

staffie1 said:

I’m ready to exchange. I ask my solicitor for advice on how to proceed, and she just keeps replying “please let me have your instructions” parrot fashion.

I think you have to tell them you want to exchange, maybe rather than asking for them to advise you,  because technically once you exchange its legally binding, so they wont start until you instruct them to do so.

davidmcn

staffie1 said:

I’m ready to exchange. I ask my solicitor for advice on how to proceed, and she just keeps replying “please let me have your instructions” parrot fashion.

Gently point her to that you're paying her for advice? 

Tiglet2

To try and clarify:

The original seller (Seller) presumably had a solicitor acting for them.  When the sale to Morris Homes (Developer) completed, the Seller's solicitor would need to pay off any charges on the property, i.e. the Seller's mortgage.  On the date of completion, the Seller's solicitor would transfer the amount outstanding to the mortgage lender.  The lender would have/should have confirmed to the Seller's solicitor that the charge was redeemed and that they would release their charge on the property by sending a discharge notice to the Land Registry (DS1 rather than by Electronic Notice of Discharge END) to remove their charge.  If the lender has not done this, or the Land Registry has failed to act on their instructions, then the solicitor for the Developer would be unable to complete their application to register the Developer as the new owner.  If the Developer is not currently shown at Land Registry as the new owner, then they cannot sell to you.  It is important therefore, that the charge is removed at Land Registry and then the application to register the Developer as the new owner can go ahead.

It is the Seller's solicitor responsibility to ensure that the lender has sent instructions to the Land Registry to remove their charge.  If the lender has sent their DS1 to the Land Registry, then the LR need to remove the charge and update the title.

You do not have a contract with the Seller's solicitor, so you cannot liaise with them or Land Registry.  The Developer's solicitor can liaise with the Seller's solicitor and I assume that they are trying to resolve this.  How long it will take though is anyone's guess.  Lenders are now very busy sorting out payment holidays/remortgages etc for many customers during this worrying time due to the coronavirus pandemic.