TAKEN FROM THE MAGAZINE Insight November 2009
Q. In May 2007 my sister and I bought a property on a rural estate. The title deeds of ownership were signed before the public notary and the deeds were later inscribed to the Land Registry.
A few months ago we received notification from the Land Registry informing us that our property had been adjudicated in a public auction to a credit and financial firm, and we had been removed from the land records as owners.
We were informed that this had happened following court proceedings against the former owner of the rustic land due to his being in debt to the credit and financial firm. We went to their offices to see if we could reach a settlement but were told that their instructions were to re-sell for more than we had originally paid. We are desperate. Is there anything we can do?
A. Within the deeds and private agreement is a declaration by the vendor that the property is free of any charge. There is also a clause in which you and your sister relinquish Land Registry information though the notary warns about its prevalence. In spite of this you signed the deeds unaware that there were charges against the property. The private agreement you signed is invalid because it involved fraud and was signed before a notary. As such you assume the consequences. This is the reason why it is wise to engage a solicitor to manage a conveyance.
In some cases a solution can be reached through a settlement with the creditors. In a case like this you would be well advised to take legal action against the vendor for fraud but unfortunately you cannot recover the property without the creditor's agreement.
For further information or advice contact Walsh Legal Partners on 672 834 622 or e-mail quite_write@yahoo.co.uk for a telephone or e-mail response.
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