quercus

My house in Shropshire is rented out. I have only owned it two years and I am having problems with title which is very frustrating as all my paperwork is in the loft back there.

I bought it from one of those companies that help people relocate by buying then selling on the property. The old lady and her family didn't want the hassle of marketing it themselves I think. They withheld the garage from the sale, which I rented from them while I was there. The yard area behind the garage was included in my title with the house.

The original owners son, who is a solicitor, has tried to sell me the garage but there is a vast price difference between what we think it's worth. I had an email from him back in May last year saying he noticed a washing line in the yard and if I wanted to keep it there I had to pay rent. Of course I told him the yard belongs to me. I also emailed and phoned my solicitor but he was off sick and I couldn't get any results.

I had a look on the land registry and the house hadn't been registered to me yet, so after many calls I got hold of my solicitor who registered it last July, 17 months after I bought it. Meanwhile, the original owners son has taken possession of the disputed yard and removed the washing line. I re checked the land registry site and the title is incorrect and shows that I don't own that area. My solicitor has now retired his replacement (who has implied that she is up to her back teeth trying to sort out her inherited mess) has been trying to contact the solicitors for the company that sold it to me, with no reply.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do? Is there a legal ombudsman I can talk to? I'm worried that if I put too much pressure on my solicitors, they might find it easier to 'lose' the original documents so I have no claim unless I can find the right stuff in the loft. It may be years before I have the opportunity to look.

Sorry about the epic posting. It has actually been far more epic than I have mentioned, with lots of mail flying between me, my tenant and the rest of the cast of characters. I hope someone has a suggestion?

pumpkin blossom

There was a really good forum I used to go on, I think it was called neighbours from hell or simular. There were loads of people on there who had had simular problems.
Also Martins money saving tips website has a good forum.

Good luck, it sounds like a nightmare!

GracieK

Haven't got any idea what to do but you could try posting your problem on the board at the forum in the link below (based in UK). They always seem to be quite helpful.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...play.html?f=16

HTH, Grace

[edit: ah pumpkin blossom beat me to it]

Petals

It might cost you some money but it may be well worth while having a word with some one here who has a branch in the UK. Its very difficult for you to liaise with a solicitor from here who is in another country. We used to do work for people and deal with the solicitors in another country for them. Obviously its how much it is all going to cost and it could be costly.

First of all you need to get a copy of the contract of sale and any documents that were attached to it. From there you can go forward. I do not know about Sydney but here in Melbourne you can ring the Law Society and they will give you the names of solicitors who would be able to help you with this.

This sort of thing happens from time to time and takes a while to get sorted.

Lesson learned make sure you know exactly what you are buying whether you are in the UK or here in Australia. I find it quite strange that the garage did not pass to you as well when you purchased it. Her in Australia for that to have happened a subdivision of the land would have had to take place.

werty1

Can you not speak to your tenant and arrange a time when its ok for a friend to go round and get the stuff out the loft and post it to you? recorded delivery of course!
good luck sounds a nightmare

pumpkin blossom

I would also try to get someone in, and then get them to scan everything to you (I wouldn't trust the post). Then at least you have a copy, you can send a copy to the woman dealing with you, and there is no getting out of it for her if it is in black and white.

We had problems with our convayancer at the beginning of last year, and I did find out the ombadsban thingy, I will trawl my old e-mails for you and se if I can find the details.

pumpkin blossom

No, it looks like I have deleted them, but if you go to one of those forums, someone will know.

Notts_bloke

Ombudsman lol

Sammy T

Sorry to hear about all your hassles, you are entitled to enter your house as long as you give the tenants proper notice, I'd suggest either getting a friend to collect all the stuff from the attic or failing that I would get a flight back to sort this out. I know that is a big cost but if you don't get this sorted you may end up far more out of pocket.

Good luck

Sam

adamlt1972

There is a legal ombudsman you can talk to, but in the first instance you should be contacting your solicitor. They will have professional indemnity insurance agianst which you can claim if you feel as though they have cost you time and money. I would suggest that the mere mention of the claim may move you further up your new solicitors in-tray, as any claims made bump up their insurance premiums. Good luck.

quercus

Thank you all for the suggestions and comments. I have now registered for moneysavingexpert and have cut and pasted my question, with a bit extra explanation, so I'm hoping someone can give me more advice.

I have thought of sending my daughter in to have a look (she's at uni), but quite honestly she is clueless at looking for things. For example, she lost her passport and had to apply for another. I found it months later...in her own file. Hmm. I don't think there is anyone I could expect to do it as it would be a massive undertaking. I crammed the loft up to the rafters with everything small enough to go up there. It turned out to be not such a good idea as the ceiling cracked and I had to send my builder in to reinforce the beams. He would be the best person to look really, only I can't remember which box my files are in. Then he would have to go through each one, not really knowing what he was looking for.

If it comes down to it I will have to go back myself. My PR comes up for consideration in March and I have to be here for then. When that is sorted I can go back, but I do hope it won't come to that.

Notts-bloke, have you had unsatisfactory dealings with an ombudsman?

Petals, I had thought about talking to another solicitor in Shropshire for advice. Getting the contract of sale and documents would be good. My solicitor should have them of course...Oh, I could scream!

quercus

Hi adamlt, I didn't want to get too heavy with my solicitor unless I am forced to do so, but I think you are right. I've been pussyfooting around for long enough. I'm going to tell them that if I have to return to sort it out I will make a claim for my expences against them.

pumpkin blossom

Just wanted to check, did you tell your tennants you left stuff in the loft? When I have rented places, if there have been things left behind, not listed on the 'list' I chuck them if they are in my way.....

dugongs

you have to check the extent of the property from the transfer plan. if the title was split when the sale was made to yourself there must have been a plan attached to the transfer deed both parties signed. The plan would have been signed as well to confirm you agreed the proposed new general boundaries. Was the garden excluded in the plan ?

before you start getting more solicitors involved get hold of a copy of this deed. if the deed was registered in july as you say then the land registry may have a copy which you can order online. if you have the title numbers of the original property and if you only now have part of the property then a new title number would be issued for either the residual or the transferred part depending on the way the transfer deed was drawn up. it may be helpful to order office copies of the title plans of both the new and old titles to compare what has been registered with what was on the transfer plan attached to the transfer deed to make sure everything agrees and check for mistakes.

land registry have a customer service department and would be able to help you with this if you wanted to do it yourself.

quercus

Hi guys. This is a reply I have had from Money saving Expert, from a conveyancer. I thought people might be interested so I'm reproducing it.

This sounds like poor service and possible negligence on the p[art of your solicitor. the latter would depend on whether there was clarity between you as to exactly what you were buying.

If you complain to the Legal Complaints Board then they will simply ask your replacement solicitor all about it. If she is now trying to sort it out for you then you can't really blame her. Getting at the facts will be important. If she can't get it right by going back tot he solicitors who acted for your seller then it may be that the seller never owned the land in question - but that should have been explained to you at the time.

I always make a point of sending my buyer clients a plan showing the land being purchased. Normally this is a formality but if there is radical difference between what is shown on that plan and the land my clients are expecting to buy, then they have an opportunity to raise the point.

You will have to ask the replacement solicitor what the arrangements are as between the solicitor who acted for you and his"replacement". Is it the same firm as before with one fee earner taking over from someone who has left? If it was a sole practitioner then the "replacement" solicitor may be trying to sort things out as a goodwill gesture, but she may not carry any legal responsibility for her "predecessor"'s actions.