Expedited TP1 Status

Hi!

How are you?

Sorry to add yet another thing to answer in here - I have read other posts but am unsure of if my situation is exactly the same as those.

I have been in the very long process of buying a house for 7 months and counting, title number ST176683 - the purchase has been delayed due to an issue that the land registry title plan does not match the position of garden fences on the ground.

Current owner's conveyancer submitted application for transfer of part on 20th September with application to expedite the process, expedition was approved by the land registry. Both the owner and the neighbour who shares the boundary are in agreement about the transfer, there is no known dispute regarding this.

However, we received update from the owner's conveyancer yesterday that the land registry would now like to send an OS surveyor to the property to look at the boundary.

This was somewhat unexpected as everyone was under the impression that with the correct paperwork, the expedited application would be turned around in 10 working days.

May I please ask:

Why is the surveyor needing to visit the property?
Is this a routine part of the process?
Are there any other stages the process will need to follow after the surveyor visits?
What is the estimated timeline for completion of the transfer after all necessary steps in the process are followed?

Thanks very much in advance,

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine - expedition doesn't guarantee turnaround within 10 days. It gets the application to the processing start line, usually within 10 days, and then everything has to be in order.
So this one was submitted on 20th Sept and expedited. We needed more from the conveyancer and they were contacted on the 1st Oct and replied same day.
Due to the nature of the application a survey is being requested to ensure that the OS detail is up to date/accurate to enable this application, and another to complete. 
The two adjoining owners have been written to so that they can make arrangements for OS to complete the survey and report back
Once they have reported back the application should be completed reasonably swiftly but until we have the updated OS detail the registered extent can't be mapped as applied for.
 

Hi Adam,

Thank you so much for your informative and very swift response, it is greatly appreciated, especially so late in the work day.

Ah I see - ok, that must be a common misconception among conveyancers as everyone seemed to think it meant done in 10 days. Thank you for making this very clear.

That makes sense - I have looked at various maps of the area throughout this process and it does seem like an update may be needed as the property is very old (17th century) so a lot has happened to it over the years and not everything seems to have been officially updated or recorded!

Thanks for confirming it is just the survey we are waiting on and nothing else. I've read on your other posts that this normally takes around 2 weeks (after the adjoining owners manage to arrange it I presume), so won't ask you to repeat that information here!

As you can imagine, we don't always get a lot of detailed information from busy conveyancers so it is a really huge help that you're able to share this with us.

I think that is everything for now, though I may on the off chance come back later on to ask how things are progressing if we don't hear anything from the conveyancing channels (apologies in advance!)

Thanks so much again,

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine - many thanks and noted. It's often a misconception amongst those who then query the progress but the expedite process and what it actually achieves has been well documented and communicated for many years and I would expect conveyancers to be well aware of what it means in real terms.
It gets the process started much sooner than it would normally but once started it is all about the registration requirements so expedition isn't a magic wand or instant switch sadly.
Once we have written to the owners then 2 weeks is a rough guide within which OS will usually arrange the visit and then report back to us. Often they are able to do it sooner but we have no control over their timescales/resource and they don;t have an 'expedite' process themselves.
By all means post again and feel free to do so at the end of next week. But the owner(s) should be able to update you as to once the OS survey has been done and the report filed as they will know first.
Once it's then with us and the report matches the requested changes for example things should complete fairly quickly. But again it's all about everything being in order as mentioned
ST176683 

Hi Adam,

Ah ok - it may be that there was a misunderstanding somewhere on our end then - my conveyancer did say that this is not the norm for a house purchase so it may be that if they don't have to deal with transfers like this very often they might forget how the process went last time! They all know better than me so when they say 10 days I just assume they are correct haha. Anyway no harm done, but sorry you had to explain that to somebody again for the Nth time!

Completely understand that you have no control over OS - the estimate is still really useful to have so I appreciate that very much. 

I will wait to see what the owners say as you suggest.

Best wishes,

Jasmine

Hi Adam,

How are you?

I received word on the 14th that the surveyor had been round to the property - do you know if the land registry have received their report yet?

Thanks very much,

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine - all well thanks and trust you are too
The survey report is in and has been added to the application. So that will now need to be reviewed and next steps decided upon
ST390713

Thanks so much Adam!

Any idea of the timeline for completing the transfer or is that dependent on the next steps which need deciding?

Best wishes,

Jasmine

Jasmine - totally dependent on the survey considerations and what next steps are decided upon. Impossible to be definitive re timescales but next steps are unlikely, in my current experience, to be very quick due to high numbers of similar applications and referrals
By all means make a note to post again for an update but at this stage there's still a way to go I suspect 
ST390713

Hi Adam,

I'm confused - last we spoke you said "Once it's then with us and the report matches the requested changes for example things should complete fairly quickly. But again it's all about everything being in order as mentioned"

You also said "Once they have reported back the application should be completed reasonably swiftly"

But now you're saying "next steps are unlikely, in my current experience, to be very quick due to high numbers of similar applications and referrals"

We were under the impression that once the surveyor's report was done, the land registry could go ahead - you said: "Due to the nature of the application a survey is being requested to ensure that the OS detail is up to date/accurate to enable this application, and another to complete. "

What exactly has changed? Was the survey not in order?

And in terms of there being "high numbers of similar applications and referrals" - are all of those expedited ones?

Thanks,

Jasmine

Jasmine - timescales can and will vary and in recent weeks the timescales for referrals to senior officers have lengthened markedly. Hence my revised wording here and in other forum threads
I am seeing a significant number of similar posts/threads which relate to claims as to ownership, surveys and more. All expedited as in most cases the transfer/claim has arisen after the seller/buyer have agreed a timescale of sorts. Unfortunately the urgency that then creates cannot be matched by the processing time needed re this type of application as what was a straight forward sale/purchase has become a complex matter of deciding whether or not the claimed land can be included
Unfortunately the initially agreed dates for completion etc need to be adjusted accordingly whilst the registration process to complete
ST390713

Hi Adam,

Ah, that is not great. 

Just so I'm definitely clear, are you saying that the timescale is now longer because of an increase in applications, or because of something else?

Surely even within that, there is a way these are prioritised or ordered? For example, surely people who submitted an application earlier (before this new rush of applications), would have theirs progressed earlier, provided everything is in order?

Can even a rough timescale be given? For example, is it weeks, or is it months? Because weeks is manageable, but months could have a serious negative effect on the sale, so even some idea of that would be better than nothing.

Also, is ST390713 the new title number? Or are there likely to be 2 titles now? The old one you posted was ST176683.

Thanks very much,

Jasmine

Jasmine - it's simply the weight of numbers of referrals re expedited applications of this type and nature. We have a finite resource of those permitted to review/consider such referrals and as such wait times have got longer in recent weeks/months
Expedites are prioritised and referrals processed in order and that will depend on the timing of the referral itself of course.
Impossible to offer a timescale at this stage as it is all about the survey report and what it tells us as well as matching with the rest of the submitted paperwork. The only rough timescale I can offer re the referral aspect would be 2-3 weeks but that is a very rough timescale. 
ST390713 is the provisional new title number allocated re the application as submitted. Whether that is used or whether the land is added to another title will also be decided by the senior officer on referral.
I merely add it so I can track the right application and comment as appropriate.
 

Hi Adam,

Thanks so much for clarifying, it's greatly appreciated.

So a very rough and not guaranteed timescale of 2 to 3 weeks for referral to a senior officer - ok, that is helpful, thank you.

I'm assuming it doesn't take 2 to 3 weeks for the application to literally be sent to the senior officer, but that you're saying it's 2 to 3 weeks for them to be able to get to it and work on it because they have so much on? (But again the actual timescale is subject to how complex the particular application is)

If so, that is fair enough. I imagine the senior officers' inboxes are quite full!

Can I ask - once a senior officer has looked at this and decided what to do, how many more steps are left in the process for the transfer to be complete?

Sorry for so many questions. Just trying to ensure I have a realistic understanding of the situation and can manage my expectations.

Thanks for also clarifying re: the title.

Best wishes,

Jasmine

Hi Adam,

How are you?

Just gently checking in to see if we're any closer to the top of the pile yet haha

Thanks very much,

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine - it's a complex scenario but the casework team have confirmed that the survey report and their consideration should happen in next 48 hrs. Then we will have a better idea of what's still needed (or not)
You are right with regards referrals, available resource and full inboxes and as such being definitive re timescales is impossible and tbh often unhelpful in many ways if we then don't meet expectations 
ST390713

Hi Adam,

Ah great! Thanks so much for letting me know.

I might check back later in the week then to see what they've said (unless we get an update from the lawyers of course!)

And yes, I can only imagine how much pressure everyone is under on your end!

Thanks as usual for being so responsive and helpful.

Jasmine

Morning Adam,

How are you?

Any developments on this front?

Thanks very much,

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine - none that I can see yet but will check with the casework team for you
ST390713
 

Thanks! Any update will be appreciated.

Best wishes,

Jasmine