Seller lied on house sales forms. We need to prove she has assets so we can take her to court.

PinkCristal

Three months after moving into our house we noticed damp appearing in our garden room and then following torrential rain we had a flood. Our insurers paid for the damage to be fixed, but a few weeks later damp started to reappear and has got steadily worse. The room is now unusable. We've been told tanking is needed, the cost of which is considerable. We have proof that the seller lied on the paperwork when we bought the house, saying there had never been any flooding in or around the property. Additionally, we've had problems with the next door neighbour. Again, the seller lied on the sales paperwork saying there had never been any disputes. We have discovered written proof that the neighbour took our seller to court over a dispute related to the shared drive. We've been in our house for 3 years and the problems remain. We started legal proceedings, but our solicitor can't proceed as she cannot find evidence of the seller owning any assets from which we could receive compensation. We know that the seller is a reasonably wealthy individual, and we know her current address. Through our enquiries with an estate agent we know that she does own her property (a flat in a large development). However, Land Registry shows the flat is still registered to the developer as the freeholder and isn't registered in her name. Other flats in the development are registered leasehold to their owners, and we suspect she is deliberately not registering hers to protect her assets. Can anybody advise please how we can prove she owns her flat if it's not registered with Land Registry, or alternatively, how we can find out what other assets she has? Also, what other options do we have if we cannot proceed with a court case? We are thousands out of pocket because of her dishonesty, and we want to recoup our losses.

user1977

Why can't your own solicitor give you further advice? Surely this is their daily bread and butter? 

youth_leader

So sorry, I can't advise but know how you feel.  My seller didn't lie, she just didn't say anything because she wasn't obliged to, and I didn't ask.  Cost me £20K, every penny I had. 

ThisIsWeird

Hi Pink Cristal.

Is this from a solicitor you are paying for yourself, or via Legal Protection cover?

Anyhoo, this might be a start; https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/find-out-if-defendant-worth-suing

There's a Land Registry forum user on here, who may be able to advise why this person's name isn't appearing on their records - that seems 'wrong'!

LAND REGISTRY?!

Grizebeck

Your solicitor isn't very bright 
Issue a claim yourself in the county court.(unless free legal cover)
If you win the case then issue a statutory demand and threaten her with bankruptcy 
9/10 that is highly effective . Then take the next step( if needed)
She won't be able to hide assets from the OR if she refuses to play ball

I bet your solicitor hasn't suggested that

bobster2

PinkCristal said:

Three months after moving into our house we noticed damp appearing in our garden room and then following torrential rain we had a flood. Our insurers paid for the damage to be fixed, but a few weeks later damp started to reappear and has got steadily worse. The room is now unusable. We've been told tanking is needed, the cost of which is considerable. We have proof that the seller lied on the paperwork when we bought the house, saying there had never been any flooding in or around the property. Additionally, we've had problems with the next door neighbour. Again, the seller lied on the sales paperwork saying there had never been any disputes. We have discovered written proof that the neighbour took our seller to court over a dispute related to the shared drive. We've been in our house for 3 years and the problems remain.

If the seller answered "no" to a question about whether there had been any disputes with neighbours about boundaries or rights of access - then it would seem this was clearly untrue. But what would your financial loss be?

On the water - much could depend on the wording of the question they answered. Often the question asks "Has any part of the property ever been flooded?" But not all water ingress may be considered to constitute "flooding".

What was the nature of the "flood" you experienced? Did surface water levels rises immediately outside? And what would be your proof that the previous owner experienced "flooding"?

I'm not saying you didn't experience "flooding" but colloquial use of the term often differs from the definitions used by insurers.

Schwarzwald

PinkCristal said:

…We started legal proceedings, but our solicitor can't proceed as she cannot find evidence of the seller owning any assets from which we could receive compensation…

I doubt this is a true statement.

your ability to proceed legally are not limited by the counterparty’s financials.
if it made sense commercially, is a whole other questions. But if you tell your solicitor proceed, they shall proceed. Unless for example they are paid by insurers and they wont proceed without good commercial prospects to recover.

Olinda99

you need to be careful as flooding is not necessarily the same as torrential rain causing puddles etc even if large puddles.

in fact if the torrential rain has caused the room to become uninhabitable and unusable then the previous owner could say well clearly I didn't have flooding because the room was usable with no damp when I sold it

theartfullodger

You can take someone to court for money's owed even if they have no assets.  Messes up their credit rating if you win.

Good luck.

silvercar

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi Pink Cristal.

Is this from a solicitor you are paying for yourself, or via Legal Protection cover?

Anyhoo, this might be a start; https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/find-out-if-defendant-worth-suing

There's a Land Registry forum user on here, who may be able to advise why this person's name isn't appearing on their records - that seems 'wrong'!

LAND REGISTRY?!

@Land_Registry Can people avoid a property being registered in their name for this reason?

Seems rather unsafe to  not register your ownership to avoid anyone taking action against you.

chrisw

silvercar said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi Pink Cristal.

Is this from a solicitor you are paying for yourself, or via Legal Protection cover?

Anyhoo, this might be a start; https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/find-out-if-defendant-worth-suing

There's a Land Registry forum user on here, who may be able to advise why this person's name isn't appearing on their records - that seems 'wrong'!

LAND REGISTRY?!

@Land_Registry Can people avoid a property being registered in their name for this reason?

Seems rather unsafe to  not register your ownership to avoid anyone taking action against you.

I can see how someone might want to do this if they were a master criminal, but it seems rather an extreme thing to do just because you answered no instead of yes on a house sales form. Although it's a difficult situation, there's a risk that emotion and paranoia can cloud judgement, and it ending up costing even more money than can be recovered in seeking revenge.