Update to register of charges: how long?

desthemoaner

Morning all.

We're currently house buying and selling, but not yet at exchange. 

Just wondering whether anyone knows how long it takes the Land Registry to update their register of charges against property.

We redeemed our mortgage on 25th August, and received a letter from our building society, dated 8th September, confirming redemption and stating that the Land Registry had electronically discharged the charge.

Our solicitor has told us today that there might be a delay to the conveyancing process whilst we await updating of the register to show the discharge. How long does this updating normally take?

Thanks in advance. 

Slithery

Has your solicitor applied to LR to expidite the transaction?

desthemoaner

We redeemed the mortgage ourselves,  independent of the conveyancing process.

It was a decision we made prior to making offers on property, because it became obvious early on that cash buyers have an advantage in the current housing market. 

Slithery

desthemoaner said:

We redeemed the mortgage ourselves,  independent of the conveyancing process.

OK then. So have you requested expidition from the LR?

desthemoaner said:
because it became obvious early on that cash buyers have an advantage in the current housing market. 

That really isn't true.

user1977

desthemoaner said:

It was a decision we made prior to making offers on property, because it became obvious early on that cash buyers have an advantage in the current housing market. 

Having a mortgage registered against your current property makes no difference to whether or not you're a cash buyer.

canaldumidi

and as Slithery says, being a cash buyer makes litle difference. Indeed some sellers see them as more likely to withdraw/renegotiate as they have less invested in their purchase.

Since you are using a solicitor for your sale (& purchase?). ask him toexpidite the Charge removal at the LR. If he won't/can't as he did not submit the application, then contact the LR yourself.

desthemoaner

Slithery said:

desthemoaner said:

We redeemed the mortgage ourselves,  independent of the conveyancing process.

OK then. So have you requested expidition from the LR?

desthemoaner said:
because it became obvious early on that cash buyers have an advantage in the current housing market. 

That really isn't true.

I don't understand what you mean by "expedition" in that context. The BS informed us that on redemption of the mortgage they asked the LR to discharge the charge. What else is required to get them to change the register?

And in the microcosm of our own house-buying experience, the advantage of cash buyers soon became pretty obvious. We lost out on two properties because of cash buyers making offers over asking price, and in competition with another buyer, I'm pretty sure that the seller chose us because we didn't have a mortgage. I'm perfectly willing to acknowledge that others have a different experience. 

desthemoaner

user1977 said:

desthemoaner said:

It was a decision we made prior to making offers on property, because it became obvious early on that cash buyers have an advantage in the current housing market. 

Having a mortgage registered against your current property makes no difference to whether or not you're a cash buyer.

The decision to redeem was made because we wanted to be able to say "we don't have a mortgage" when we had made an offer, and were asked by the estate agent to outline our circumstances for the benefit of the seller. It was only a very small mortgage. 

desthemoaner

canaldumidi said:

and as Slithery says, being a cash buyer makes litle difference. Indeed some sellers see them as more likely to withdraw/renegotiate as they have less invested in their purchase.

Since you are using a solicitor for your sale (& purchase?). ask him toexpidite the Charge removal at the LR. If he won't/can't as he did not submit the application, then contact the LR yourself.

Ok, I think I'm beginning to get the picture now. Even though we paid off the mortgage and the BS asked LR to discharge the charge against our property, the LR won't actually alter the register unless either we or the solicitors ask them to do it. Is that right? 

user1977

desthemoaner said:

Slithery said:

desthemoaner said:

We redeemed the mortgage ourselves,  independent of the conveyancing process.

OK then. So have you requested expidition from the LR?

desthemoaner said:
because it became obvious early on that cash buyers have an advantage in the current housing market. 

That really isn't true.

I don't understand what you mean by "expedition" in that context.

"Expedition" means asking the Land Registry to give priority to the application to register, because it's holding up another transaction.

in the microcosm of our own house-buying experience, the advantage of cash buyers soon became pretty obvious. We lost out on two properties because of cash buyers making offers over asking price, and in competition with another buyer, I'm pretty sure that the seller chose us because we didn't have a mortgage.

It would have made absolutely no sense for them to do so. All that sellers might care about is whether you need a new mortgage in order to fund your purchase. Whether you're redeeming your existing mortgage at completion of your sale, or shortly beforehand, is irrelevant to your seller. And as you've now discovered, doing the latter may, if anything, complicate matters.

Slithery

desthemoaner said:

Even though we paid off the mortgage and the BS asked LR to discharge the charge against our property, the LR won't actually alter the register unless either we or the solicitors ask them to do it. Is that right? 

No.

It will be in the LR's queue of things to do, they will get round to it eventually (could be several months though). If you can prove to the LR that it is holding up another transaction then you can apply for it to be expidited meaning you get to push in to the front of the queue.

Also you are misunderstanding the term 'cash buyer'. A cash buyer is someone who has the full purchase price sat in their bank account ready to go. As you are relying on the sale of your current property for your onward purchase you are in the same situation as anyone else in a chain.