Two Titles for our house and additional piece of garden SY464580 and SY488567

Hi 

We are in the process of selling our house and had signed our exchange side of the contract. However the sellers solicitor has just pointed out via our solicitor that there are two titles for our property listed above which we were not aware of.

The first title is for our house and most of our garden. 

We have been informed that years after our house was built developers building an estate granted additional garden space to several houses including ours backing onto the new estate. Apparently additional titles were established for this extra bit of garden.

We bought the house in 2011 and we were not aware of this additional title and I guess the previous owners were also not aware as the documentation we have from them when we bought the house indicates they are not aware of any changes to the boundaries.

We have discovered that the title for this additional strip of garden belongs to occupants of the property from 24 years ago.

We have spoken to neighbours who remember acquiring the extra garden and as a group applying to planning which was granted to move their fences back to the new boundary.

Our solicitor did not point out the additional title when we purchased the property. In fact having looked at the land registry titles for other properties backing onto the estate several don’t seem to have had their additional titles amended when sold.

We are in the process of trying to find the previous owners to keep our solicitors bill manageable and to reduce any delay to the sale and risk losing our buyers.
We have identified one of the buyers on social media and have passed the information on to our solicitor. The title is in joint names but we can’t find anything on the other person as they apparently divorced after selling the property. Apparently the owner is on holiday abroad and has not yet responded to the contact made to him.

To prevent us possibly losing our buyers, increasing solicitors costs and preventing a breakdown with all the stress IF we can track down the previous  owners who are listed as the current owners on the title how long will it take to transfer the ownership IF they agree and the cost?

We could go down the adverse possession route but as the land is already registered and it was our previous solicitors negligence which has caused it  the transfer is hopefully the best option and hopefully saves our sale.

I have also noted the title for our house and most of our garden is not in my current married name. As our solicitor and theirs have a certified copy of my wedding certificate is this likely to cause a problem ?

I would appreciate any advice as I have been hardly able to sleep since finding this out.

Regards

Shirley  Nevin


 

HI Shirley - sorry to read of all the issues you are facing here but you appear to be doing the rights things to try and resolve it
Speed of registration is all about having aby application expedited (fast-tracked) and then it being all in order. The first bit is the easy part as expedition generally means the application is considered/processed within 2 weeks.
The hard bit, which you are already aware of, is getting everything in order. As you have gone the Transfer route then you need both named registered owners to transfer it as you state.
You change of name on marriage is not an issue as the buyer will rely on your marriage certificate re the change of name as you state
You clearly understand what's required so I would  encourage you not to stress or lose sleep as you are doing everything you possibly can and it reads as if you now have to wait for the second owner to reveal themselves and complete the process for you.

Hi Adam

Many thanks for your reply especially at this time of year. I can’t believe you have replied when the Land Registry isn’t even open.

Unfortunately our solicitor is on holiday until the 2nd January but my husband and I will continue to dig to try to find the owners. I guess it is a case we go down the adverse possession route if we can’t locate both parties with the additional cost and loss of buyers.

From my reading as we have been here since 2011 I understand it is if you have used the full garden for that time we would get it?

Just one additional question should I alert the owners of the other houses nearby to make sure their solicitor checks this if they want to sell. Having looked at a couple of the houses that have previously sold the title for the extra bit of garden has not changed! I wouldn’t do this before Christmas though!

Have a good Christmas and all I can say is thank you and that the Land Registry is so lucky to have you working for them as are the public.

Regards

Shirley Nevin

HI Shirley - it's a digital world now so 'staying open' is perhaps less physical as in times of olde if you get my drift. And support colleagues and caseworkers are still working over the full weekend where able although phone lines closed of course.
Adverse possession is always the alternative and whilst it will take time it seems likely, based on what you have shared, that no real issues should arise although a possessory (not absolute) title is likely to be the outcome re the extra land. If you can secure the transfer then absolute title is kept.
Re your neighbours - it's something to flag with them in conversation for sure and to share your understanding also - very much something for them to consider and act upon as they see fit or wish to. We are all human and as such 'different' so can never be sure of reactions but it seems a reasonable thing to flag for them based around your own experiences to date
Merry Christmas 

Hi Adam

Thank you once again for your reply.

We located the owner on Facebook but he has not responded to date. He may not be able to reply.

However we have found the daughter. Do you think it is reasonable to send her a message as she may know the mums whereabouts or my husband says that may be classed as harassment.

Also if the female owner has died can the male owner sign or is that a different ball game?

Thank you once again.


 

Hi Shirley - I have responded to your further post in my colleague's absence. 

I do not think it would be appropriate for us to comment if you should contact the daughter or not.  That is something for you and your legal advisor to consider.  We would be going beyond our remit by commenting on such matters. 

With regards to the situation if one of the owner has died, it would then be up to whoever may been named as the personal representative of the deceased person on the Probate or Letters of Administration. 

I hope this is of some help.