Selling a house without a solicitor - legalities?

elsien

If someone wishes to sell a house to a cash buyer with no mortgage needed, it is possible to transfer ownership via the land registry just by filling in a form (and if so which one, and who needs to sign it) and with no legal representation?
Question is not for me but is around someone who may be being taken advantage of so I'm looking into what safeguards are/are not in place.
Thanks all. 

Hoenir

If the buyer has a solicitor they might not be prepared to deal with you directly. 

elsien

Neither party has a solicitor. The concern is that the buyer is the one who is taking advantage  - they have offered cash and said they will sort out the property transfer themselves. There's a lot more to it which I can't go into but a very real possibility that a vulnerable person is giving an asset away to an acquaintance at a fraction of its value. Safeguarding raised but I'm trying to understand if the property can just be handed over with the completion of the correct form?

Tony5896

Sound like someone is trying to avoid a tax or several .. then you would need to explain to a bank why a large sum of money has just appeared in your account 

that’s aside from the vulnerable person issue ..

OutdoorQueen

Alarm bells are ringing and I would be concerned too.  Anything is possible if the criminals know the right people.  Fraud is often very sophisticated.  

I’ve heard of people who lost their homes following fraud.  The criminals befriended someone and made them believe the house was too much hassle for them.  They were asked to sign documents to allow people to help them.  Police and other relevant parties were notified.  It was heart breaking.  If it doesn’t feel right, trust your instinct and gut reaction.  

These links may be of interest: 
https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2014/02/24/conveyancing-solicitor-or-diy/

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/property-alert

user1977

elsien said:

Neither party has a solicitor. The concern is that the buyer is the one who is taking advantage  - they have offered cash and said they will sort out the property transfer themselves. There's a lot more to it which I can't go into but a very real possibility that a vulnerable person is giving an asset away to an acquaintance at a fraction of its value. Safeguarding raised but I'm trying to understand if the property can just be handed over with the completion of the correct form?

In short, yes.

If one party had a solicitor then the solicitor would at least be professionally required to recommend to the unrepresented party that they get independent legal advice. But if neither party has a solicitor, they can do what they like, and it's left to the same rules about fraud, undue influence etc as any other type of contract.

elsien

user1977 said:

elsien said:

Neither party has a solicitor. The concern is that the buyer is the one who is taking advantage  - they have offered cash and said they will sort out the property transfer themselves. There's a lot more to it which I can't go into but a very real possibility that a vulnerable person is giving an asset away to an acquaintance at a fraction of its value. Safeguarding raised but I'm trying to understand if the property can just be handed over with the completion of the correct form?

In short, yes.

If one party had a solicitor then the solicitor would at least be professionally required to recommend to the unrepresented party that they get independent legal advice. But if neither party has a solicitor, they can do what they like, and it's left to the same rules about fraud, undue influence etc as any other type of contract.

Thank you. That is what I needed to know. 

SDLT_Geek

If the deal is that the acquaintance buys the house and the vulnerable person is to be allowed to carry on living in it, on a tenancy or licence, then that is likely to be subject to the rules of "sale and rent back" which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Agency: see Q38E here https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/PERG/14/5.html 

elsien

That’s not the plan but thank you for the thought. 

Hoenir

elsien said:

 The concern is that the buyer is the one who is taking advantage  - they have offered cash and said they will sort out the property transfer themselves. 

 Sign here and I will deal with everything has red flags waving. Someone needs to step in. 

elsien

Someone is trying to. Hence, wanting to check how easy or otherwise the house transfer process can be.