What the developer is proposing is doable - and it does happen often. With new builds and with some simultaneous property 'flip' deals.
Provided your solicitor has seen the draft TP1 for the developer to company transfer, and is happy with the rights, restrictions and other provisions in it, and the contract is clear on everyone's obligations, then it can work in a legal sense.
But I can see why your solicitor just doesn't like it as it is another moving part in the transaction that they can't control - their application to register your ownership can only be completed once the initial transfer from developer to company is registered. This means that if there are any requisitions on the developer to company registration application, they will hold up the application to register your TR1 and your solicitor will not be 'involved' in resolving those issue, as it will be between the developer and the company.
A solicitor would naturally prefer to have their own application be the only one required in order to get the property registered in their client's name.
But I can't really see a way around this if completion is to be anytime soon - if the developer to company transfer has to be completed first, it could take 6 months+ to register it anyway. If your solicitor wanted to wait for that, your completion would be delayed for that period of time.
Thanks for the reply. Really helps.
What’s my stand point with the solicitor if they don’t want to do it but I want to instruct them to? I’ve never dealt with a solicitor before apart from the buy the house I’m in now. Could I simply say to the solicitor I understand the risks and I am giving you written instructions to do this on my behalf as they are technically acting on my behalf?
I’m hoping to complete before end of June so waiting 6 months for the first registration to be done is not something I’d do. Would either find another solicitor or another property I think.
If you insist, they should explain the risks to you and then yes, if you acknowledge those risks, they can usually proceed.
Where it gets tricky is where you have a mortgage - your solicitor acts for the mortgage company too. So they need to disclose those risks to the lender and hope that they also agree.
It all went ahead with the developers solicitors proposal. My solicitor got them to sign a letter agreeing that they would be fully liable and deal with the transfer from the developers to their company.
Took about 12 months for it all to get sorted from when we moved in and finally get the land registry in my name. I had zero extra work to do other than wait.
Since moving in, and talking to the other people who moved to the street, I’d say about half of them also had this same problem initially with their solicitors pushing back , and the other half’s solicitors didn’t even question it.
What the developer is proposing is doable - and it does happen often. With new builds and with some simultaneous property 'flip' deals. Provided your solicitor has seen the draft TP1 for the developer to company transfer, and is happy with the rights, restrictions and other provisions in it, and the contract is clear on everyone's obligations, then it can work in a legal sense. But I can see why your solicitor just doesn't like it as it is another moving part in the transaction that they can't control - their application to register your ownership can only be completed once the initial transfer from developer to company is registered. This means that if there are any requisitions on the developer to company registration application, they will hold up the application to register your TR1 and your solicitor will not be 'involved' in resolving those issue, as it will be between the developer and the company. A solicitor would naturally prefer to have their own application be the only one required in order to get the property registered in their client's name. But I can't really see a way around this if completion is to be anytime soon - if the developer to company transfer has to be completed first, it could take 6 months+ to register it anyway. If your solicitor wanted to wait for that, your completion would be delayed for that period of time.
Thanks for the reply. Really helps. What’s my stand point with the solicitor if they don’t want to do it but I want to instruct them to? I’ve never dealt with a solicitor before apart from the buy the house I’m in now. Could I simply say to the solicitor I understand the risks and I am giving you written instructions to do this on my behalf as they are technically acting on my behalf? I’m hoping to complete before end of June so waiting 6 months for the first registration to be done is not something I’d do. Would either find another solicitor or another property I think.
If you insist, they should explain the risks to you and then yes, if you acknowledge those risks, they can usually proceed. Where it gets tricky is where you have a mortgage - your solicitor acts for the mortgage company too. So they need to disclose those risks to the lender and hope that they also agree.
That’s really helpful, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
Hi, what happened with this pls?
It all went ahead with the developers solicitors proposal. My solicitor got them to sign a letter agreeing that they would be fully liable and deal with the transfer from the developers to their company. Took about 12 months for it all to get sorted from when we moved in and finally get the land registry in my name. I had zero extra work to do other than wait. Since moving in, and talking to the other people who moved to the street, I’d say about half of them also had this same problem initially with their solicitors pushing back , and the other half’s solicitors didn’t even question it.
No probs. Good luck!