Mortgage Topup / Land Registry

J

JokerMan

Registered User
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I've had loan approval and documents released for a topup on my existing mortgage. Everything is in place execpt for one thing - the bank have requested that my solicitor "confirms in writing prior to cheque issue that the title to the property is registered in clients name and the Lendors mortgage is registered".

My solicitor says he can't do this as my folio is still with the Land Registry in "Mapping" stage (despite the fact that the registry have had the details since 2004), and that we need to wait for it to complete. He's suggested I visit them in person to speed the process up.

Does anyone have any idea :-

(a) Why the bank need this confirmation, given that I already have a mortgage with them, on the same property, and that nothing has changed with it since I got the mortgage ?

(b) Is my solicitor correct ? It seems ridiculous that if I'd applied for a topup in 2005, I could still be waiting now.

I phoned the Land Registry, and they said my solicitor is wrong. The fact that they are working on a folio doesn't hold up remortgages or even selling. This would seem sensible, but is it correct ?

Thanks.
 
As far as I know, this infers that your solicitor didn't exactly rush to get your property registered in the first place, but that's quite common. You could ask him what date he sent the file to Land Registry and if it transpires that he dragged his heels, you could suggest that he visits them in person to get the process speeded up.
 
"I phoned the Land Registry, and they said my solicitor is wrong. The fact that they are working on a folio doesn't hold up remortgages or even selling. This would seem sensible, but is it correct ?"

He is being asked to confirm "in writing prior to cheque issue that the title to the property is registered in clients name and the Lendors mortgage is registered". Neither of these is correct. Your dealing is in the Land Registry but registration has not been completed.

What you, he and the lender should agree on is a wording confirming that the dealing is lodged, is currently in mapping and that no queries have been raised.

I think the Lenders are getting more antsty about their security and the solicitors are getting more nervous about confirming things they have no control over.

I agree with your solicitor that the best thing you can do is ask the Land Registry to expedite the dealing. If there is no issue, then that should not cause any problem.


mf
 

No. It more likely means that the solicitor lodged the dealing in the Land Registry at the earliest possible opportunity but, because of staff shortages there, that it is still stuck in there.

The best solution is for the client to ask for the dealing to be expedited.

mf
 

In your experience, if a property was purchased in 2004 and the solicitor did the necessary work in 2004, would it still be in Land Registry in 2008?
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

I bought the house in 2000. My old solicitor didn't send the details in to the LR until 2004. The LR have been working on it since then.

I know it needs to be completed with the LR at some point, but they've told me it could still take months from here, so it just doesn't seem sensible that any remortgage or sale could be held up bit the LR process.

Also, it just seems odd that the bank are concerned about this, given that my current mortgage is on the same property and they haven't had an issue with the title of the property since 2000.
 
I would also suggest asking your local TD to make representations on your behalf with the land registry. They seem to respond to political pressure. You still should be able to complete your top-up without registration finishing. I presume the bank already have an undertaking from your solicitor to register the mortgage and this should be sufficient for them.
 
>> The best solution is for the client to ask for the dealing to be expedited.

mf1, If I ask the LR to expediate the registration, do you have any experience of how quickly they can do this ?

Thanks.
 
The best advice seems to be to go to the Land Registry in person and explain your situation, then they will put your file on the top so it gets done ahead of everybody else. Your phone conversation to them is not worth the paper is is not written on. I imagine due to the recent multiple mortgages scam by some solicitors that lenders now want complete piece of mind that there is in fact a properly registered mortgage on the property. The fact that you have had a mortgage since 2000 and it is not registered is a prime example of this. Though I don't understand why your own solicitor cannot arrange himself to get your file put to the top in the land registry, maybe they get requests from solicitors all the time and a 'personal' desperate joe soap would get more action. Alternatively he could ring the bank and agree on what the bank would find acceptable from the solicitor.
 
Bronte said:
Though I don't understand why your own solicitor cannot arrange himself to get your file put to the top in the land registry, maybe they get requests from solicitors all the time and a 'personal' desperate joe soap would get more action
Click to expand...

Once a dealing is lodged with the Land Registry by a solicitor it is out of their hands as to how long it will take to be registered. They can ask the Land Registry to speed up the process but this is not guaranteed to succeed. However, where the application is with the Land Registry for this long (OP says it there for 4 years now) and this is pointed out to them the Land Registry will usually give it priority.
 
Does anyone have any experience of how quickly the Land Registry can process the registration if they give it priority ? i.e. would I be too optimistic in hoping for completion within a few weeks ?
 
mf1 said:
No. It more likely means that the solicitor lodged the dealing in the Land Registry at the earliest possible opportunity but, because of staff shortages there, that it is still stuck in there.
mf
Click to expand...

I disagree with you on this point MF1 -- I deal with issues all the time arising from solicitors who have never completeted the dealings with Land Registry or indeed transferred the properties at all.

Not having a bash at all solicitors but in light of recent events I think we all know there are lots of bad ones out there as well as lost of good ones
 


Hi badge

Very much off topic.....
Can I ask you, given the work you do, if there is any discernible trend with why this happens? is it disorganisation, short staff, ignorance, low fees, laziness, combination of these or something else? I'm just curious.

I'm aware of some larger firms where the emphasis has always been on getting fees in rather than completing file that have been paid for - which is just silly as sooner rather than later, it all comes back to bite you in the bum!

mf
 
Just a quick note, I work for a particular lender and although we state this condition we will generally accpet a note from the solicitor confirming dealing no. with LR..
 
Thanks Quest - I'll ask my solicitor to go down that route whilst I pay a visit to the Land Registry.

I guess I'm lucky that I'm in Dublin, but it's a crazy system that in order to get a registration prioritised you have to visit the office in person !!
 

Totally agree with the above. I have seen it happen with certain practices in my area and i think it can usually be put down to laziness and disorganisation. Completing registration should be one of the more simpler parts of a transaction so there should be no excuses for not doing it.
I suspect that this may also be one of the legacies of low fee culture as there is evidence out there to suggest corners were definitely cut.
 
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