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Original poster

Conveyancer negligence

110 replies

amazighman · 03/03/2020 21:48

Hi.
This my first post and sadly It is a negative one.
Has anyone had experience with dodgy conveyancers?

We think we have been misled by our previous conveyancer , They told us in the search letters that house was with an absolute title , However We recently found out that the property only had a posessory title .
We would not have bought it if we were told the truth about the title....

Thanks in advance

OP posts:
ChampagneCommunist · 03/03/2020 21:52

Is the whole property possessory or just part?

Have you got an indemnity policy to cover the issue?

Also, depending on when the possessory title
was granted you may be able to upgrade to absolute.

I'm a specialist property lawyer with 25+ years experience, so happy to try & hep

Original poster
amazighman · 03/03/2020 22:05

Hi

The whole property is possesory.

They never offered an indemnity policy ,

Still many years to go till absolute title is granted
Thanks

OP posts:
Campervan69 · 03/03/2020 22:08

You can buy an indemnity policy fairly cheaply if you're worried. I'd go back to them and complain and say they told you it was an absolute title you found out it's a possessory title and ask whether or not an indemnity policy was taken out by them when you bought it because certainly if you were getting a mortgage they would be negligent to the lender if they didn't do so.

ChampagneCommunist · 03/03/2020 22:10

Do you have a copy of the title? If you want to PM me I'm happy to look at it for you

Campervan69 · 03/03/2020 22:12

How long ago did you buy the property? Are you selling now is that why this problem has arisen?

Evidencebased · 03/03/2020 22:15

Shot in the dark : waterfront conversion?

I admit I'd be shocked if this happened to me.And would feel I had a complaint against conveyancer. I notice you say 'conveyancer' rather than solicitor. Online outfit?

The only possessory titles I've come across are an absolute shoo-in to get converted to freehold after 10 years.
So don't really make a huge difference.( possibility of putting off some buyers, but only some)
But unlike champagne communist I'm not a lawyer. So I'd listen to them.

Campervan69 · 03/03/2020 22:18

Possessory title could be if the title deeds had been lost and it was unregistered land.

Original poster
amazighman · 03/03/2020 22:19

Hi.
We were thinking to sell and discovered this problem.
We owned this property for 3 years now.
No indemnity policy has been taken by them.They never mentioned possesory title, infact the previous owner had it on possesory title , so they couldn't have made a mistake.
I dont want an indemnity policy , Like i said i would have walked away if theyd told me about the title. But they were too keen to get the sale through.... I have a feeling they were working for the vendors to flog the house

OP posts:
ChampagneCommunist · 03/03/2020 22:23

If you are selling you need a policy; it will remove the issue for many buyers and the majority of lenders.

When was the possessory title first created?

If you aren't sure, screen shot the title register (assuming you have a copy) and black of the title
Number & address

Campervan69 · 03/03/2020 22:26

I would imagine if you only bought the house 3 years ago that you can insist that they take out the policy for you.

I'm assuming you have a lender and if so no lender would accept a possessory title without an indemnity policy.

It should be really straightforward to sell the property once you have the policy.

Original poster
amazighman · 03/03/2020 22:35

Title was created less than 5 years ago.

I believe there is a professional negligence case

OP posts:
ChampagneCommunist · 04/03/2020 07:22

It may be negligence, but you don't have a loss to claim for at present.

To rectify this you need to go back to the Solicitors and get them to put it right, so you can sell it.

That means an indemnity policy, at their expense.

Original poster
amazighman · 04/03/2020 09:27

Thanks
But my point is I didn't agree to buy the house without a full absolute title.
They claimed the house was an absolute title even though the vendors only have a possesory title.
Their wrong advice made us buy the property... Otherwise if we had received the correct advice we would have walked away.

OP posts:
Collaborate · 04/03/2020 10:36

You seem to misunderstand the point about what the court/compensation system is set up to do. You can only seek compensation for financial loss. PPs have pointed out that that will simply be the cost of an insurance policy, and that it is perfectly proper to buy and sell possessory titles with indemnity insurance.

Original poster
amazighman · 04/03/2020 11:03

So its perfectly legal for a solicitor to mislead people and get away with it.

OP posts:
ChicCroissant · 04/03/2020 11:07

Absolutely no-one has said that it's OK for incorrect advice to be given by professional.

What do you want to happen OP?

user1487194234 · 04/03/2020 11:24

It is not ok ( obviously) for solicitors to mislead people.

You could complain about that.

But as far as compensation is concerned it will be related to loss

Original poster
amazighman · 04/03/2020 11:48

Thanks guys.

But from what I understand , they ll get away with it then.

OP posts:
user1487194234 · 04/03/2020 11:57

They could be subject to disciplinary proceedings,but that is separate from compensation

ChicCroissant · 04/03/2020 11:57

Well you can't turn back time and change what happened. All you can do is work on a solution.

PRL73 · 04/03/2020 12:02

I find it very surprising that this would be missed. I can’t word this without sounding condescending so I’m just going to say it - my secretary would know how to spot the difference. I’m willing to bet if you put a title in front of anyone who can read they wouldn’t miss something like that.

Strange. Anyway, it’s not the end of the world despite what you may think. Policy will sort it in the short term and then you can sell and get rid if that’s what you need to do.

PRL73 · 04/03/2020 12:04

The report on title that they would have sent you before exchange definitely didn’t mention possessory title?

Original poster
amazighman · 04/03/2020 12:08

The report they sent clearly stated that the Property Has an Absolute title guaranteed by the land registry....

OP posts:
PRL73 · 04/03/2020 12:09

My mind is blown!

MarieQueenofScots · 04/03/2020 12:12

There are various processes to ensure they don't "get away with it", if it can be proved it was genuinely negligent or deliberate misleading rather than an error.

This is, of course, quite separate to compensation.

Getting an indemnity policy in place will go some way to remedying the defect in title when you come to sell.