Property possibly without Title Deeds

user1977

The impression I get from threads here are that estate agents often aren't interested in spending time and effort on this sort of pre-offer due diligence query, especially if they have other interested parties who aren't asking them awkward questions - their response might not mean much more than an attempt to smooth over their actual position of "don't know and don't care".

canaldumidi

JonMitchell said:

canaldumidi said:

Look the EA probably has no idea.. Hence rather than give you a categorical answer he is saying what he is saying.

If you decde toproceed, ask your solicitor to verify this with the seller's solicitor before running up costs on other work- chances are there are paper deeds and registration can happen either before, or after, Completion-does not really matter which.

I'd be more concerned by "It is a inherited property". Who is selling? The Executer for the deceased's Estate? Has Probate been granted? You can check with the Probate Office.

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Or has ownership passed from the deceased to the Beneficiary who is now selling (in which case there would be compulsory registration......!)

Thank you, this added probate sale may be a knock off effect. How does one inherit a property if there is no deeds presence.

It's the same as your original question. If (as is usual) there are proper paper deeds, the Executer/Administrator of the deceased's Estate either

* uses the Deeds + Grant of Probate to transfer ownership to the Beneficiary (at which point compulsoty 1st registration kicks in) or

* to a buyer (eg you), who registers the property (compulsory 1st Registration), or

* uses the deeds to register the property  in deceased's name, and then sells (pretty pointless but may satisfy a buyer or their lender).

I think the other pressing issue here is mortgage lender - they certainly, as Land_Registry commented, will likely not offer any mortgage until registered.

Depends on the lender. Many don't require registration. Their solicitor will check the paper deeds are in order on behalf of the lender.

Plus how does the current executor prove the property is theirs...

Grant of Probate! Happens day in, day out. Week in, weeks out..... Executers can access and sell the deceased's bank accounts, investments, property, yacht etc- that's what Probate is all about.
If there has been ownership passed on, compulsory registration implies there should be a registered copy at land registry, which clearly there is NIL atm. 

Yes. So almost certainly ownership is stillin the deceased's name, and being managed by the Executer- hence my earlier advice to check they have obtained the Grant of Probate.

JonMitchell

user1977 said:

The impression I get from threads here are that estate agents often aren't interested in spending time and effort on this sort of pre-offer due diligence query, especially if they have other interested parties who aren't asking them awkward questions - their response might not mean much more than an attempt to smooth over their actual position of "don't know and don't care".

Precisely

JonMitchell

canaldumidi said:

JonMitchell said:

canaldumidi said:

Look the EA probably has no idea.. Hence rather than give you a categorical answer he is saying what he is saying.

If you decde toproceed, ask your solicitor to verify this with the seller's solicitor before running up costs on other work- chances are there are paper deeds and registration can happen either before, or after, Completion-does not really matter which.

I'd be more concerned by "It is a inherited property". Who is selling? The Executer for the deceased's Estate? Has Probate been granted? You can check with the Probate Office.

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Or has ownership passed from the deceased to the Beneficiary who is now selling (in which case there would be compulsory registration......!)

Thank you, this added probate sale may be a knock off effect. How does one inherit a property if there is no deeds presence.

It's the same as your original question. If (as is usual) there are proper paper deeds, the Executer/Administrator of the deceased's Estate either

* uses the Deeds + Grant of Probate to transfer ownership to the Beneficiary (at which point compulsoty 1st registration kicks in) or

* to a buyer (eg you), who registers the property (compulsory 1st Registration), or

* uses the deeds to register the property  in deceased's name, and then sells (pretty pointless but may satisfy a buyer or their lender).

I think the other pressing issue here is mortgage lender - they certainly, as Land_Registry commented, will likely not offer any mortgage until registered.

Depends on the lender. Many don't require registration. Their solicitor will check the paper deeds are in order on behalf of the lender.

Plus how does the current executor prove the property is theirs...

Grant of Probate! Happens day in, day out. Week in, weeks out..... Executers can access and sell the deceased's bank accounts, investments, property, yacht etc- that's what Probate is all about.
If there has been ownership passed on, compulsory registration implies there should be a registered copy at land registry, which clearly there is NIL atm. 

Yes. So almost certainly ownership is stillin the deceased's name, and being managed by the Executer- hence my earlier advice to check they have obtained the Grant of Probate.

Almost impossible to find out on whose who. EA ain't telling giving out names nor anything else, so it is trying to find a needle in the hay at London Gazette, Will registry etc. Shall try my luck talking to their branch Directors tomorrow to see.   

Tiglet2

Estate Agents are not likely to know the answers to your questions, nor are they likely to do any meaningful investigation into it, other than asking the vendor for their view before adding a few ideas of their own.

That is why you engage a solicitor to act on your behalf.  It would be part of the solicitor's enquiries to find out exactly what the position is with regard to the deeds and probate.  

It does mean though that you will be part way through the conveyancing process before you know exactly what the position is.

Most unregistered properties are purchased without any problems, so it isn't necessarily a cause for alarm, but be aware that the transaction may take longer and the Land Registry fee is double the normal fee for registering you as the new owner on completion, because the solicitor has to do a postal application rather than the usual online application.