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Land Registry Fraud
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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #1
05-04-2009 04:52 PM

Anyone else just heard very worrying programme on , of course , radio 4.
Seems criminal fraudsters are finding ways to get land registry to change ownership of your house without your instruction or checking with you first.
Under the new land registry system introduced in 02 they have discovered loopholes and are exploitinf them.
Anyone could wake up tomorrow and find they do not own theit house.
I could not believe it.

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Londondrz


Posts: 1,538
Joined: Apr 2006
Post: #2
05-04-2009 06:00 PM

I sometimes wish someone else did own my homeSad

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ForestGump


Posts: 202
Joined: Jan 2008
Post: #3
06-04-2009 08:46 AM

From Land Registry website...

Quote:
New practice on change of name

With effect from 1 April 2009 we will require confirmation of a person?s identity when an application is made to specifically alter the register following a change of name and the evidence enclosed with the application is either a deed poll, statutory declaration or statement of truth.

This new requirement is being introduced to help prevent registration fraud.

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #4
06-04-2009 10:22 AM

Looks like BBC 4 might have woken them up. But the programme proved how easy it is to have someone else's ID . Hope this works but maybe other new security measures required.
Apparently costing them ( which means us ) millions a year.

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Gaz


Posts: 86
Joined: Jul 2008
Post: #5
06-04-2009 12:07 PM

I remember seeing a BBC news report ages ago about a woman who had let her house to tenants (all legal, above board and through approved letting agencies etc). Next thing she knew (well some 6mths after the registry change), her house was up for sale by the tenant and conveyancing was underway to transfer it to new owners buying it in good faith!

About time they've closed that loophole - although you'd hope to think that normal conveyancing would spot any fraud...

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roz


Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #6
06-04-2009 12:44 PM

The Land Registry is only a record of ownership and is always searched as part of the conveyancing process however you still need the actual Deeds to be transfered either between mortgagors or banks when you sell, so most people should be safe! It is possible to get quite far down the line though without the Deeds, and if there is a sloppy solicitor then I suppose it can all go very pear shaped. Deeds can also be falsified in cases of elaborate fraud.

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #7
06-04-2009 12:56 PM

Roz
the programme said at least 1 Solicitor had be sent to prison. Fraud in many millions.
Not all cases involved dodgy solicitors but some did
Are you sure that the actuasl deeds are still required to be seen by the registry?
I know you should untimately be able to prove your ownership and the losers are usually lenders who sure the registry who then get back from our taxes.
Basically they search the registry for houses with no mortgage and after getting their details on the registry and getting loans from lenders.
So much info about owners etc available now on registry web site.

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ChrisR


Posts: 97
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #8
06-04-2009 01:03 PM

Quote:
The Land Registry is only a record of ownership and is always searched as part of the conveyancing process however you still need the actual Deeds to be transfered either between mortgagors or banks when you sell


When I paid off my mortgage last year and requested the deeds of my property from the mortgage company I was told that they were no longer kept as all records are now managed online through Land Registry. Land Registry confirmed this information was correct, and advised even those who still have their deeds will find they no longer have any use! When the mortgage company advised Land Registry they no longer had an interest in the property I was sent a copy of the online entry.

It is therefore good to hear that Land Registry are tightening up the system.

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stevegrindlay


Posts: 104
Joined: Oct 2006
Post: #9
06-04-2009 03:26 PM

I understand that it is only the deeds relating to current ownership (and perhaps the transfer from the previous owner to the current owner) of a particular property that have legal significance.

For those with an interest in the history of houses this is a mixed blessing. Banks, solicitors and others who had been responsible for the safe-keeping of these documents (they include mortgage documents, leases, conveyances, indentures and so on), are now able to dispose of them by whatever means they choose. Some are offered to the owner of the property to which they refer. Some are offered to local record offices, thus making them available for research. Some are offered to dealers, who then sell them... and some are destroyed.

I have to confess that whenever the opportunity presents itself, I buy any such ducuments that relate to Forest Hill or Sydenham (these will, eventually, find their way to local studies).


For a random selection of items on local history visit my blog at:
http://sydenhamforesthillhistory.blogspot.com/
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Sherwood


Posts: 1,412
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #10
13-04-2009 05:02 PM

Roz,

Some time ago I read that the Land Registry had paid ?6 million compensation to property owners who had suffered from the fraudulent sale of their properties.
Fraudsters were simply downloading Land Registry documents and the sales were being processed.
This was supposed to have been stopped.

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Satchers


Posts: 262
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #11
01-05-2009 01:01 PM

A solicitor once told me that you should always keep some form of Mortgage or charge on a property to prevent this happening. Apparently it is much harder to do if someone else (the mortgage company) has an interest in it?

Not that there is much chance of not ever having a mortgage on our house......!

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