deeds of house

daisydood

Hi wondering how to go about tracing deeds of house. Have talked to a solicitor and fees are far too expensive,some are unable to give a figure even. My mothers parents both died when they were young and recently her family has realised that the house is in the previous owners name. This house was purchased in the 60's and has been in the previous owners name ever since. Any advice on how to go about getting the house into our family name in the cheapest possible way and also has anyone else encountered this problem. The house was purchased with cash privately no banks involved as a loan was got from a family member and there is no will made. Thanks in advance

dermot_sheehan

Depends if land house is situate on is registered land (in which land registry folio) or unregistered (in which case a bundle of deeds).

Simply you need either to find the deed executed by the old owners or have the old owners or their estate execute that deed, and then have the estate of your mother's parents administered.

Alternatively a section 49 application for a folio registration based on adverse possession to the land registry would have to be made.

There is a possibility for doing this incorrectly and not having marketable title to the property, which is why a solicitor should be engaged. If there is no urgency, why not wait until eventually the house needs to be sold/transferred and have the solicitor engaged for the sale or transfer sort out title to the house.

daisydood

The land is registered in the original owners name. The original owners are also dead so it would be their children dealing with it. Would they have a right to say they dont want it signed to us and the house is theirs?

234

The first thing youshould do is get in touch with the Land Reistry or a solicitor. The name on the folio is technically definitive proof of ownership. The children would have to apply to have the house transfered into their name. You would obviously be able to object to this. You have a clear case of adverse possession (squatters' rights) which only requires 12 years possession adverse to the title of the registered owner. You should be able to have your title upgraded to possessory and eventually absolute.

dats_right

This is a mess. There is unlikely to be a simple resolution. To sort the mess you will require a solicitor to guide you through the labyrinth involved. The reason why a solicitor might be unwilling to quote a fixed fee is that he/she is very unlikely to know at this stage how much work will be required. My advice is to bite the bullet and pay to get the matter sorted once and for all, because T the moment you essentially have a property that is unsellable. Don't expect the fees to be cheap either, because there will be a mountain of work involved in clearing up this mess by the sounds of it. And all those who say that 12 years possession and bob's your uncle have obviously never tried to get such an applcation through the land registry, because if they did they would know that a case like this will likely take years to complete and
many enquiries along the way.

daisydood

at present we would not be able to afford a solicitor. Is it better not to say anything to the original owners about this? is what ye are sayin that the house is both technically and legally not ours even though my family has lived in it the past 50 odd years? would the other family have any legal standing regarding taking the house off us?

Hippo

You'll simply have to get a solicitor involved. As things stand the title to the house could be in dispute and you can never sell it while this is the situation. The adverse possession route is never straightforward and this will take some time and more importantly, some professional expertise to sort out. Your query is well beyond the scope of an internet messageboard, even a good one like this! Good luck.

deBarra2023

Hi there. I know this discussion is a while back now but I'm in a similar position and desperate. Family home left to me and was never registered when bought. Solicitor has tried all avenues and have failed. Have proof that lease was bought out(this won't do) but not that the house was ever registered in grandfather's name. All documents/proof were in a box and taken in a burglary years ago. No other proof. Looks like Solicitor back in the day never registered the house.

Basically I can't sell the house. This has been going on forn2 years and €14000 solicitor fees later and still in the same position.

Did you get anywhere since you posted your posted your original message?

Thanks a lot

Claw Hammer

I was able to recover from lost deeds by getting deeds from the house next door and tracing the title through memorials.