Land Registry Delaying Sale

jobloggs99

Hello, could you update on an application to complete an initial registration on a probate property?  There is a buyer but the sale cannot proceed until the property has been registered. The application number is JA92C97. Many thanks.

Keep_pedalling

Surely the first registration should be with the buyer you don’t need to register it before selling.

p00hsticks

Keep_pedalling said:

Surely the first registration should be with the buyer you don’t need to register it before selling.

But I imagine that approach could potentially pose an additional risk for the buyer ?
They need to be confident that the person they are paying actually owns the property they are buying.
An entry on the land registry will definitely show this, but a miscellaneous assortment of paperwork in the hands of the seller (wills, deeds etc) showing transfers of ownership over the years may not be as obvious, especially to non-experts in the field. 

user1977

p00hsticks said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Surely the first registration should be with the buyer you don’t need to register it before selling.

But I imagine that approach could potentially pose an additional risk for the buyer ?
They need to be confident that the person they are paying actually owns the property they are buying.
An entry on the land registry will definitely show this, but a miscellaneous assortment of paperwork in the hands of the seller (wills, deeds etc) showing transfers of ownership over the years may not be as obvious, especially to non-experts in the field. 

I'd hope the buyer to be employing an expert! There's no legal reason why it needs to be registered before they buy, but some conveyancers seem to take the lazy approach.

I can't quickly find the Land Registry thread but if we put up the bat signal they should arrive: @Land_Registry

GDB2222

Is there no way for the OP to ask the LR about this direct, rather than 'depending on the kindness of strangers' to pass the message on? 

Keep_pedalling

p00hsticks said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Surely the first registration should be with the buyer you don’t need to register it before selling.

But I imagine that approach could potentially pose an additional risk for the buyer ?
They need to be confident that the person they are paying actually owns the property they are buying.
An entry on the land registry will definitely show this, but a miscellaneous assortment of paperwork in the hands of the seller (wills, deeds etc) showing transfers of ownership over the years may not be as obvious, especially to non-experts in the field. 

Providing the seller (presumably the executor / administrator) has the grant of probate / letters of administration and proof that the deceased owned the property there should be no problem, and if there was their solicitor will prevent a fraudulent sale.

Registering the property in the name of the beneficiaries before the sale will just introduce a long delay and could cause any beneficiary who does not already own a home to loose their first time buyer status.

propertyrental

Whose name is the property being registered in?

1st registration will not be in the name of the deceased, so must be either in the name of the Executor(s) /Trustees, or the Beneficiaries. That is an additional cost/complication, possibly with tax implications and/or implications on the FTB status of Beneficiaries.

Far better for the buyer's solicitor to review the deeds/paperwork (just as they would have done in the old pre-electronic registration days), agree they are in order, and then do 1st registration on completion of the sale.

Trouble is many conveyancers, especially the cheap conveyancing warehouses, have limited experience of 1st registration, and/or just prefer to make the seller undertake this process.

EssexHebridean

We relatively rarely see 1st registrations these days, but in fairness an awful lot of those we do see now are in exactly this situation. And yes - it’s straightforward. 

Land_Registry

jobloggs99 said:

Hello, could you update on an application to complete an initial registration on a probate property?  There is a buyer but the sale cannot proceed until the property has been registered. The application number is JA92C97. Many thanks.

Lodged 21st July. Expedited. Processed 8th Sept but we needed more from conveyancer. Now waiting for their reply. 

Probate sales/First registrations can often happen this way as the buyer, or more likely their mortgage lender, won’t complete until the title is registered. It tends to all depend on the mortgage product and what risk profile is in place for it. 

Whilst we do have a presence on MSE you’d need to tag us as User1977 did or use our thread. But our contact details are online at GOV.UK as well 

Cashmygiro

You can fill a form in on the GOV UK site to ask LR to expedite your application. I did it recently while buying out equity on a property, I was sick of waiting ages for the paperwork to come back. Asked for an expedite and the application was completed the next day. 

sheramber

Cashmygiro said:

You can fill a form in on the GOV UK site to ask LR to expedite your application. I did it recently while buying out equity on a property, I was sick of waiting ages for the paperwork to come back. Asked for an expedite and the application was completed the next day. 

 you read the post above yours you will see this has already has been done but more information asked for.