Leasehold property, Freehold after sale

michthedolphin

Hi there,

Looking for some help please!

Have looked ages to buy a house and one has come up that I like... But could do with some advice.

The first worry is the property has no information available when I do Title/Deed search.

On this street there is about 40 houses and about 5 of them also have no information available ( guessing here but I think these houses were built in the 70-80s)

Any ideas why some are not available for Title/Plan documents?

Secondly on the description it is saying the property is currently Leasehold but will become Freehold on completion.

Is this normal? Maybe that is the reason there is no information available on the LR website because they are Leasehold?

Everything else seems good, estate agents are a reputable firm (have been around for many years), but as it's my first time buy it's a bit daunting.

Appreciate any advice!

Slithery

michthedolphin said:

The first worry is the property has no information available when I do Title/Deed search.

Any ideas why some are not available for Title/Plan documents?

Compulsory registration only came into force in 1990. If the property hasn't changed hands since then it usually won't be registered.

michthedolphin

Thank you Slithery, that does make sense.

I guess its a common occurrence then.

Can I still get a Title Plan via the LR Index Map Search? Or does this not exist yet?

Thank you for any help

user1977

michthedolphin said:

Can I still get a Title Plan via the LR Index Map Search? Or does this not exist yet?

No. If it's not registered then it isn't on the Land Registry. That's what unregistered means. Not really a thing you need to be overly concerned about if the house otherwise ticks the boxes. It will be registered, either immediately before you complete your purchase or upon completion.

eddddy

michthedolphin said:

Secondly on the description it is saying the property is currently Leasehold but will become Freehold on completion.

Is this normal? 

It's not 'normal' - but it's very possible.

There are different ways this can work - but perhaps the most likely way is that, on completion day, 3 things will happen:

1. You would buy the leasehold house from the current owner
2. You would buy the freehold from the freeholder
3. Your solicitor would 'cancel' the lease, so that you are left with a freehold house

Presumably, the price quoted by the estate agent is for both the freehold and the leasehold combined (1&2 above).

Ideally, you need to find out from the estate agent if the above is correct - or if the seller has a different plan - so that you can get quotes for the legal work from a solicitor.

(The legal fees alone for the 3 things listed above might be in the thousands.)

Don't be tempted to use a 'budget' solicitor for something like this.

Skylon

You could ask the agent how it’s being dealt with. I would guess either:-

A. Seller has already purchased the freehold and it is in the process of being registered at the Land Registry. 

B. Seller is in the process of purchasing the freehold and this will be completed prior to the sale of the property completing and be  included in the sale to the buyer. 

C. Seller will purchase the freehold as part of this transaction, possibly simultaneously on completion of the sale.  Either the seller’s solicitors or your solicitors will register the freehold.  The transfer from the seller to the buyer would include both the leasehold and freehold interests. 

I see a lot of (mainly) northern houses where the freehold is unregistered and as part of the sale the seller purchases the freehold.  As long as it is dealt with in the contract and enquires, and is clear what is happening and who is dealing with what then it is not complex. 

michthedolphin

Great advice for everyone, thank you for this!

I have asked the Estate Agents for more information.

But if this would cost me extra in legal fees, then this would have an effect on the offer I would make (as the extra costs would eat up deposit funds etc)

Cheers

canaldumidi

Slithery said:

michthedolphin said:

The first worry is the property has no information available when I do Title/Deed search.

Any ideas why some are not available for Title/Plan documents?

Compulsory registration only came into force in 1990. If the property hasn't changed hands since then it usually won't be registered.

To be precise, the date for compulsory registration varied across the country. There's a list of local authorities and dates here, though it does not alter the point of Slithery's post:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/first-registrations/practice-guide-1-first-registrations#when-land-became-subject-to-compulsory-registration

1990 is actually the final date for a coupleof LAs- most were much earlier from the 1970s onwards. Eastbourne was 1926!