Buying at Auction. No Local Search and Suspect Vendor...

konn1ch1ha

Hi all,

I have sent the legal pack to my solicitor who has advised me the seller has only own it for about two and a half weeks. It appears the seller is the transferee of the person that sold it to them last month, information has been redacted out of the company that bought it. However, there is the company’s name on the HM land registry. It is a limited company that buys and sell real estate. Seems legit. The person, that what appears to have sold it to the company, bought the place in 2009, but the company does not appear on the title deeds. 

Another flag is that there is no local searches. My solicitor contacted the vendor’s solicitor to enquire about the short time of ownership, and the lack of local search papers to be met with apathy and fobbed her off with a “email me the questions and I might get back to you”. 

The auction is currently live to bid on. It’s a really nice house in a nice area. I’ve visited it, seems solid, and has potential to be a tidy purchase. It’s unlikely to be of risk from flooding as it’s on a hill etc. 

Anything I should be aware of regarding anything above? If I win a bid, could I be named on the title registry despite the company not being on there presently? 

TIA

Caz3121

are you a cash purchaser or going to bee requiring a mortgage?

user1977

You've got a solicitor who can advise you on all of the above. 

It sounds like normal practice for one of the "we buy any house" type companies.

Anything in particular in a local search which you would be concerned about? You can check things like planning applications easily enough yourself.

The short period of ownership would rule you out from getting a mainstream mortgage  in the near future (lenders generally require the seller to have owned for at least six months) - especially if there's also been a big uplift in the price.

konn1ch1ha

Caz3121 said:

are you a cash purchaser or going to bee requiring a mortgage?

Cash buyer. 

konn1ch1ha

user1977 said:

You've got a solicitor who can advise you on all of the above. 

It sounds like normal practice for one of the "we buy any house" type companies.

Anything in particular in a local search which you would be concerned about? You can check things like planning applications easily enough yourself.

The short period of ownership would rule you out from getting a mainstream mortgage  in the near future (lenders generally require the seller to have owned for at least six months) - especially if there's also been a big uplift in the price.

My solicitor’s only flag was the short ownership. However she did say the exact same thing about “we buy any house” etc that the company could be. We checked it out and it’s a limited company that does buy and sell real estate. 

Is it not a concern that they are not the proprietor and they can’t official sell it to me?

I’m currently the highest bidder...

user1977

konn1ch1ha said:

user1977 said:

You've got a solicitor who can advise you on all of the above. 

It sounds like normal practice for one of the "we buy any house" type companies.

Anything in particular in a local search which you would be concerned about? You can check things like planning applications easily enough yourself.

The short period of ownership would rule you out from getting a mainstream mortgage  in the near future (lenders generally require the seller to have owned for at least six months) - especially if there's also been a big uplift in the price.

Is it not a concern that they are not the proprietor and they can’t official sell it to me?

Is your solicitor concerned? Who said they can't officially sell it to you? An unregistered transfer is a valid link in title. The only risk is if something happens to the previous owner in the meantime (bankruptcy etc) though you can cover that via searches.

konn1ch1ha

user1977 said:

konn1ch1ha said:

user1977 said:

You've got a solicitor who can advise you on all of the above. 

It sounds like normal practice for one of the "we buy any house" type companies.

Anything in particular in a local search which you would be concerned about? You can check things like planning applications easily enough yourself.

The short period of ownership would rule you out from getting a mainstream mortgage  in the near future (lenders generally require the seller to have owned for at least six months) - especially if there's also been a big uplift in the price.

Is it not a concern that they are not the proprietor and they can’t official sell it to me?

Is your solicitor concerned? Who said they can't officially sell it to you? An unregistered transfer is a valid link in title. The only risk is if something happens to the previous owner in the meantime (bankruptcy etc) though you can cover that via searches.

The concern was that it’s been owned for a very short time, but if bought by a “We Buy Any Car” company then it checks out. I’m just wondering why they’re not not on the title register. 

Doozergirl

konn1ch1ha said:

user1977 said:

konn1ch1ha said:

user1977 said:

You've got a solicitor who can advise you on all of the above. 

It sounds like normal practice for one of the "we buy any house" type companies.

Anything in particular in a local search which you would be concerned about? You can check things like planning applications easily enough yourself.

The short period of ownership would rule you out from getting a mainstream mortgage  in the near future (lenders generally require the seller to have owned for at least six months) - especially if there's also been a big uplift in the price.

Is it not a concern that they are not the proprietor and they can’t official sell it to me?

Is your solicitor concerned? Who said they can't officially sell it to you? An unregistered transfer is a valid link in title. The only risk is if something happens to the previous owner in the meantime (bankruptcy etc) though you can cover that via searches.

The concern was that it’s been owned for a very short time, but if bought by a “We Buy Any Car” company then it checks out. I’m just wondering why they’re not not on the title register. 

We bought a property last November and haven't received the title documents yet! 

A couple of months isn't long in normal times and these aren't normal times.  

user1977

konn1ch1ha said:

user1977 said:

konn1ch1ha said:

user1977 said:

You've got a solicitor who can advise you on all of the above. 

It sounds like normal practice for one of the "we buy any house" type companies.

Anything in particular in a local search which you would be concerned about? You can check things like planning applications easily enough yourself.

The short period of ownership would rule you out from getting a mainstream mortgage  in the near future (lenders generally require the seller to have owned for at least six months) - especially if there's also been a big uplift in the price.

Is it not a concern that they are not the proprietor and they can’t official sell it to me?

Is your solicitor concerned? Who said they can't officially sell it to you? An unregistered transfer is a valid link in title. The only risk is if something happens to the previous owner in the meantime (bankruptcy etc) though you can cover that via searches.

The concern was that it’s been owned for a very short time, but if bought by a “We Buy Any Car” company then it checks out. I’m just wondering why they’re not not on the title register. 

Because that would cost them money, and they can't be bothered. It's pretty normal in auctions.

AdrianC

konn1ch1ha said:

The auction is currently live to bid on.

Are we talking a real auction or the good ol' "modern method" scam?

If I win a bid, could I be named on the title registry despite the company not being on there presently?

Yes, if you buy the house (which is what you mean by "win a bid" - this isn't some kind of game), then it will be registered into your name by your solicitor.

konn1ch1ha

AdrianC said:

konn1ch1ha said:

The auction is currently live to bid on.

Are we talking a real auction or the good ol' "modern method" scam?

If I win a bid, could I be named on the title registry despite the company not being on there presently?

Yes, if you buy the house (which is what you mean by "win a bid" - this isn't some kind of game), then it will be registered into your name by your solicitor.

It’s an online auction, so I guess that is pretty modern. It’s a reputable auctioneer which I have seen, sadly, on Homes Under the Hammer.