Removal of judgement mortgage order

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PatrickSponge

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I’m hoping someone can help me please. I’ve lived in my home since 2009 and decided to switch my mortgage. It was a pretty drawn out experience but I thought I eventually got there.

The money has drawn down to the solicitor who contacted me to say final account had to be settled before before my old bank was paid off.I paid the solicitor and any other bits that needed and then yesterday, a bomb shell is dropped.

The solicitor contacts me to say there is a problem with the final search. There is a judgement mortgage order against my house from the pervious owners. Looking at the timeline, it was added after the solicitors did their search when I bought it on 2009 and just before the house was registered in my name.

The judgement order is from BOI the same bank I am switching from. The problem I have is that I am now paying interest in my new and old provider. I contacted BOI but because it was a Friday, they will get back to me.

Does Anyone know likely ourcomes? How long it takes to get this removed so I can progress or what are the implications if I have to return monies while this is being resolved? Should my solicitor have done final searches before drawn down?

This is stressing me out no end and any guidance would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.
 
Get independent legal advice.

My understanding is that once all the searches came back clear as of the date of the closing of the sale in 2009, then the subsequent judgement mortgage is not enforceable against you.

This is because you fall within the definition of a “bona fide purchaser for value without notice, all the usual searches having been made”. In other words, you were not on notice of the judgment mortgage as of the date of closing, having conducted the usual searches.
 
Johnno75 said:
Get independent legal advice.

My understanding is that once all the searches came back clear as of the date of the closing of the sale, then the subsequent judgement mortgage is not enforceable.

This is because you fall within the definition of a “bona fide purchaser for value without notice, all the usual searches having been made”. In other words, you were not on notice of the judgment mortgage as of the date of closing, having conducted the usual searches.
Click to expand...
Thanks John

I do know this will be resolved as it has nothing to do with me per se, my real concern is how long it will take. I am currently paying BOI interest while they await their loan settlement while also paying Avant as my solicitor has their money.

The solicitor dealing with the switch hasn’t been overly helpful as he says it is highly unusual and didn’t seem to know who to contact to go about resolving it.
 
PatrickSponge said:
Thanks John

I do know this will be resolved as it has nothing to do with me per se, my real concern is how long it will take. I am currently paying BOI interest while they await their loan settlement while also paying Avant as my solicitor has their money.

The solicitor dealing with the switch hasn’t been overly helpful as he says it is highly unusual and didn’t seem to know who to contact to go about resolving it.
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I hear you. And I know it’s all well and good my pointing out the legalities of the thing, whilst you have a judgement mortgage attached to your property. Your Solicitor needs, I would imagine, to open up a chain of correspondence with BoI (as regards the charge on the property) with a view to getting their agreement to remove it, whilst at the same time opening up a chain of correspondence with Avant pointing out that the charge isn’t enforceable against you.

That said, I would have thought a search by your Solicitor prior to drawdown of the Avant mortgage would have been in order, so as to avoid you having to pay interest.

If it can’t be sorted quickly, maybe seek to return the drawndown monies to Avant with their agreement and sit it out with BoI until the judgement mortgage issue is sorted. I’m not sure is there a cooling off period for mortgages?
 
Yeah, I think one big factor is that my solicitor went through the motions of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s and assumed there wouldn’t be a problem. I’m a lay person and I thought all searches would have to be done prior to any monies being drawn down as to avoid the situation I find myself in. As I happened Friday it was a bit of a mad scramble. I’ve left messages with my mortgage broker to speak Monday. Hopefully I can return money if I need to and not be penalised and drawn it down again before another interest rate hike.

Thanks again John, it eases my mind a bit to talk/think it through.
 
@PatrickSponge The following doesn't tell you anything about how to get the issue resolved but it at least lets you quantify how much extra interest you are paying while your solicitor still has the money from Avant and before the BOI mortgage is paid off.

Mortgage Calculator UK

Free online mortgage calculator specifically customized for use in the UK including amortization tables and the respective graphs.
www.calculator.net www.calculator.net

I have entered some made-up figures. Edit them to match the details of your Bank of Ireland mortgage. (For "Home Price", enter the mortgage balance, not the value of your home.) Click "Calculate".

The "Interest Only" figure is the amount of interest you would pay to Bank of Ireland over the next month. If the issue gets resolved within a week, you can divide this figure by 4 (approximately).
 
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Your solicitor should have obtained judgment searches on the day you were due to complete. If your solicitor obtained them earlier, then it could be argued that they were negligent. The challenge you would have in such a scenario is the Statute of Limitations.

As it possible that the previous owner has since paid off/ settled with BOI, you should contact the previous owner and establish the facts.

Johnno75 said:
Get independent legal advice.
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As Johnno75 stated, you need independent legal advice.

Jim Stafford
 
Paul F said:
@PatrickSponge The following doesn't tell you anything about how to get the issue resolved but it at least lets you quantify how much extra interest you are paying while your solicitor still has the money from Avant and before the BOI mortgage is paid off.

Mortgage Calculator UK

Free online mortgage calculator specifically customized for use in the UK including amortization tables and the respective graphs.
www.calculator.net www.calculator.net

I have entered some made-up figures. Edit them to match the details of your Bank of Ireland mortgage. (For "Home Price", enter the mortgage balance, not the value of your home.) Click "Calculate".

The "Interest Only" figure is the amount of interest you would pay to Bank of Ireland over the next month. If the issue gets resolved within a week, you can divide this figure by 4 (approximately).
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul
 
Jim Stafford said:
Your solicitor should have obtained judgment searches on the day you were due to complete. If your solicitor obtained them earlier, then it could be argued that they were negligent. The challenge you would have in such a scenario is the Statute of Limitations.

As it possible that the previous owner has since paid off/ settled with BOI, you should contact the previous owner and establish the facts.


As Johnno75 stated, you need independent legal advice.

Jim Stafford
Click to expand...
Hi Jim,

Thanks for your reply.

I purchased the house in 2009 and when I completed in September, searches were clear. the judgment was only applied in December 09 just 2 weeks before it was registered in my name. I have contacted my mortgage broker and they tell me I can return the money but it is very unlikely I’ll draw down again before September 9th, when a new higher interest rate kicks in. At that rate, the move is pointless as I could have fixed with BOI for less. I am down solicitors fees as is.

I contacted BOI and it’s been referred to their legal department. My original mortgage is with BOI and so is the old judgement against the pervious owners. I’m hoping this makes things less complicated.

I’m really at my wits end and feel my only option is to ride it out and hope for a speedy resolution.
 
As far as I know judgment orders become null and void after 12 years, maybe someone can confirm this.
 
Update on this.

It took a couple of weeks to sort out and in that time BOI took another mortgage payment from my account. They basically said that it was a non issue and my solicitor could simply have ignored it as the judgement order was applied after I had bought the property even if it was before it was registered in my name. I did seek independent advice and was basically told the same, That my solicitor was over cautious. It was removed and another search was paid for and came back clear. There was no significant cost to me so will chalk it down and move on. Thanks for all the advice. Appreciate it.
 
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