There's a restriction on the sale of the house we are buying, should we panic now?

[youngadult109]

Hello all,

DH and I put in an offer to our first house in early February. Things have been going on well for the past two months on our side and we were hoping to exchange by the end of this month.

But the owner told me yesterday that they've recently found out that the ex-partner has placed a restriction on the sale of the property. The solicitor has been instructed to apply for the lifting of the restriction and they are confident that it can be done.

Can anyone tell us if this is something complicated or fairly straightforward? We've been looking forward to buying this and can't imagine if this falls through and that we'll have a start hunting all over again.

Need some emotional support here...

A restriction is entered to protect a third party interest (e.g. if she had been contributing to the mortgage but wasn't on the legal title). If they can prove she has no financial interest in the property, the restriction has to be removed by the Land Registry.

It's reassuring that their solicitor is confident it can be removed but your solicitor should query this and ask for more details of the interest claimed.

This could be complicated so you probably need to get more facts so your solicitor can advise you fully on the possible implications.

Good luck.

It could relate to her financial interest in the house or ensure that no additional mortgages are taken out by her exh, your seller.
Obviously ensure its all done properly by your solicitor but it shouldn't prevent your purchase going ahead. Try not to stress as the problem is really the sellers. It's his ex and his selling restriction, not yours so up to him and his solicitor to get the majority of it sorted.

Don’t panic, it may be the ex trying to be difficult. It sounds like an RX1 (so you can google it!). if your solicitor gets it lifted, all fine and dandy.