Selling a house without a solicitor - legalities?

user1977

Well, it's very easy for the seller to sign away their property. It's the buyer who has the bureaucracy of registering it to deal with.

Bear in mind that involving solicitors doesn't necessarily mean alarm bells would be rung - solicitors aren't going to verify that you're getting a decent price for your property, though hopefully they would at least raise eyebrows if you appear to be literally giving stuff away, or aren't obviously compos mentis.

Voyager2002

There have been cases (highlighted by the radio programme You and Yours) of fraudsters who have completed the forms and transferred title with neither the consent nor even the knowledge of the rightful owners, and reversing the fraudulent transaction turned out to be difficult or impossible. So yes, ownership can be transferred by filling in the appropriate forms.

What fraud do you fear? A solicitor would not normally advise a client that they were selling at below the market price. Presumably your friend understand that once he has signed the papers and accepted the payment the house no longer belongs to him. Anyone, solicitor or simply friend, can advise him to seek a valuation from an estate agent. 

Grizebeck

Just tell them to use a solicitor and get some valuation done so they are not being ripped off

AskAsk

elsien said:

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

yes, it can be done without a solicitor.  a colleague of mine looked into doing it himself but he said the solicitors for the buyers did not want to speak to him and demanded that he instructs a solicitor.

with money laundering regulations being so tight now, i do not know how a sale and purchase of a property can be done privately without a solicitor to carry out this check and satisfy HMRC.  i think the reality is that when it gets to notifying HMRC, there will be questions asked.  You would need to look into how to satisfy money laundering checks if there were no solicitors involved.

elsien

 This “deal” is planned by the buyer as being as under the radar as it is possible to get. Banks do not appear to be involved. For various reasons it just isn’t as simple as saying tell the seller to get a solicitor and valuations. 
But my question has been answered, so thank you all, and I’m going to leave this thread where it sits now. 

user1977

AskAsk said:

elsien said:

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

with money laundering regulations being so tight now, i do not know how a sale and purchase of a property can be done privately without a solicitor to carry out this check and satisfy HMRC.  i think the reality is that when it gets to notifying HMRC, there will be questions asked.  You would need to look into how to satisfy money laundering checks if there were no solicitors involved.

There is no equivalent to the money laundering checks which a solicitor would carry out. They carry out checks because they are a regulated institution and need to do that with any cash passing through them, the checks aren't an essential part of buying property.

I suppose the seller's bank might ask where the money has come from, but in theory they could do that even if the money was transferred via solicitors. Probably more likely to be questions asked if they are banking a carrier bag full of used tenners...

From which perspective do you think HMRC would want "satisfied"? I can't see them being interested (or at least, no more interested than they would be if solicitors were involved).

Eldi_Dos

I would write to the land registry about the concerns, they will in all likelihood have come across similar before.

user1977

Eldi_Dos said:

I would write to the land registry about the concerns, they will in all likelihood have come across similar before.

I'm not sure what they would (or could) do though, unless it's actually e.g. a forged deed we're talking about? They can't police people being a bit naive about their transaction.

propertyrental

The LR are likely to refer you to the forms required (TR1, AP1 etc) and their guides to those forms, and probably advoise speaking to a solicitor. They won't give legal advice nor comment on the wisdom or otherwise of DIY conveyancing.

From the seller's perspective, ensuring they receaive the money before handing over any property transfer documents is the key, Provided the £ is received, in a form that makes it impossible for the buyer to claw it back, the risks to the seller are limited. But the practicalities are more complex than in days gone by, and this buyer appears 'dodgy' (avoiding tax? money launderoing?) so getting involved might well be unwise.