Unregistered land found in a search for the property in purchasing

sheramber

Could you fence off the 6ft strip so are buying the rest and sort out the strip afterwards.

greatcrested

sheramber said:

Could you fence off the 6ft strip so are buying the rest and sort out the strip afterwards.

Risks impacting negatively on any future claim for Adverse Possession, where the best thing to do is fence it to include it in the garden (ie prove it's being used as if you own it).

But really so far as the purchase of the ain property is concerned, fencing is irrelevant.

From what OP says, the reduction in value willbe minimal, and the LTV is such that it will not affect the mortgage.

The problem is if the lender either is unhelpful ("computer says no"), or requires a new Valuation which delays the purchase.

Ozzuk

Do what ProDave says.  Most lender won't touch unregistered land - the current owner could apply for possessory title, and if all fenced in and obviously part of garden then it will likely go through fine.  However, certainly as of the summer the land registry was struggling to complete work (I went through a similar but more critical scenario and we proceeded with possessory title process) but your vendors solitor when he puts the application in can state priority required due to risk of losing sale which speeds it up.  I think ours took maybe 3months?  
Also, check your lender will accept a possessory title - some won't!  IIRC you can update the title to absolute after 12 years.
I was strongly advised not to proceed with purchase until title sorted - but ours was critical for access, yours isn't.

Bexxie1979

Hi thanks for your replies. I received this from my solicitor today.

Firstly I would highly advise not to proceed without the land being registered as we do not have any guarantees that we will be able to register it after completion. For land registry to consider an adverse possession registration, they require evidence of ownership of the land for the last 10 years without any interruption, however the sellers have only owned the property for 7. Due to this it may not be possible to register it for another 3 years after completion. Any neighbouring properties can also challenge the ownership of the land and try to register it themselves. If you are unable to register it at all, this may adversely impact your ability to sell the property and it's value.

 

If you would like to proceed without this I can write to your lender and ask them to consider this, however if they come back saying that they will rely on our professional judgement, then you will not be able to proceed without it being registered.

 

davidmcn

I don't think they've grasped that you don't really care whether or not you ever own the land, and neither should the lender. Not sure why they're trying to make more work for themselves or delay the transaction.

Bexxie1979

Me neither. The piece of land is tiny....... I just want to get on with it!

greatcrested

Bexxie1979 said:

Firstly I would highly advise not to proceed without the land being registered as we do not have any guarantees that we will be able to register it after completion.

Correct. Of course they can't.

For land registry to consider an adverse possession registration, they require evidence of ownership OCCUPATION of the land for the last 10 years without any interruption, however the sellers have only owned the property for 7.

Why has the solicitor not sugested getting a 'Statement of Truth' to this effect from the seller, to support a subsequent claim for AP? Ask!

Due to this it may not be possible to register it for another 3 years after completion.

Correct. But a) meanwhile you occupy/use the land and b) I assume you intend to keep the property for 3+ years?

Any neighbouring properties can also challenge the ownership of the land and try to register it themselves.

Absurd, if the solicior looks at the Plan. a) you fence it off and incorporate it into your garden. b) access is limited to your garden and the field - is the farmer really going to start using it......???

If you are unable to register it at all, this may adversely impact your ability to sell the property and it's value.

 Yes. "If". Adverse Possession after 3 more years is almost certain to succeed (but OK, not 100%)

If you would like to proceed without this I can write to your lender and ask them to consider this,

however if they come back saying that they will rely on our professional judgement, then you will not be able to proceed without it being registered.

I would point out the above points to your solicitor, as well as the negligible impact on the property value and hence risk to the lender,  and ask him to a) reconsider and b) proceed. OK, if the lender responds like that there may be little you can do, given the solicitor appears to be taking a strict legal position without considering the realities.

Bexxie1979

That’s really helpful, thank you. 

Bexxie1979

My solicitor replied with this:

As advised previously since you advised us to proceed without the land being registered we have written to your lender and await their authority to do so.

 

A statement of truth/statutory declaration will be signed by the sellers as this is the only proof of ownership or occupation that they can provide, however they can only do so for 7 years that they owned the property for and not 10. 

 

When we hear from your lender we will let you know.

greatcrested

That's about all you can hope for.

Though mortgage lenders rely heavily on their solicitor's advice for decisions of this sort so a lot depends exactly how he worded his letter/email to them.........

But at least he's getting the 7 year Statement of Truth, which should satisfy the Land Registry in another 3 years.