Man’s house sold without his knowledge by ID theft fraudsters

[MrCurry]

Luton man left shocked as his house is ‘stolen’

A BBC investigation finds Mike Hall's identity was stolen and used to sell his house.

www.bbc.com

“A man has described his shock at returning to his house and finding it stripped of all furnishings after it was sold without his knowledge.
Having been alerted by neighbours, the Reverend Mike Hall drove to Luton and found building work under way and a new owner who said he had bought the house.
A BBC investigation found Mr Hall's identity had been stolen and used to sell the house and bank the proceeds.
Police initially told him it was not fraud but are now investigating.”

How does something like this get solved then? The new owner has paid £131k for a house, but do they really own it if the person they bought from wasn’t the real owner?

The real owner doesn’t have his house, contents or even wallpaper as it’s all been stripped out.

If the fraudsters got away with the money, as seems to be the case, expect this story to be repeated thousands of times as with any fraud which works.

 

[bluescreen]

Police initially told him it was not fraud

Why does this bit not surprise me.
At a rough guess: yes it's fraud, no the new 'owners' don't own the house, yes a lot of innocent people are going to be seriously out of pocket.

 

[Saul Goodman]

How does something like this get solved then?

I'd guess it's the same as buying any stolen goods. The property is returned to the rightful owner.

 

[MrCurry]

I'd guess it's the same as buying any stolen goods. The property is returned to the rightful owner.

If it goes that way, and I agree with you that’s the likely outcome, does he have recourse against the new “owner” to recover the value of his possessions and other damage? (building work undertaken)

The purchaser is facing a huge uninsured loss and has done nothing wrong. Yikes.

 

[Storm Fox]

I'd guess it's the same as buying any stolen goods. The property is returned to the rightful owner.

Apparently not :

Once the house was sold to the new owner for £131,000 by the person impersonating Mr Hall, they legally owned it.

The solicitors involved in the property transaction said there was an ongoing police investigation and that it was inappropriate to comment further.
"We will continue to co-operate with the police, and comply with our professional obligations," said the firm, which the BBC has chosen not to name.
The Land Registry paid out a total of £3.5m in compensation for fraud last year.
It said: "We work with professional conveyancers, such as solicitors, and rely on them and the checks that they make to spot fraudulent attempts to impersonate property owners.
"Despite our efforts, every year we do register a very small number of fraudulent transactions."

 

[Saul Goodman]

If it goes that way, and I agree with you that’s the likely outcome, does he have recourse against the new “owner” to recover the value of his possessions and other damage? (building work undertaken)

The purchaser is facing a huge uninsured loss and has done nothing wrong. Yikes.

I'd say the solicitor involved might be responsible. Due diligence and all that.

 

[Elpenor]

Presume they SRA will take the ‘sellers’ solicitor down for their lack of due diligence in checking identity

 

[Ted Striker]

The purchaser is facing a huge uninsured loss and has done nothing wrong. Yikes.

The conveyancing solicitor ('s insurer) will be on the hook for the loss. It is they who have been duped (and legally have to have this kind of insurance cover iirc).

 

[bluescreen]

Home owners can save themselves a bit of grief by signing up for a property alert.

Protect your land and property from fraud

How to protect your home, land or other property from fraud

www.gov.uk

 

[two sheds]

surely has to still be owned by original owner. Not a legal transfer.

 

[Ted Striker]

8 posts and no "Tough shit...He shouldn't have a second home that he rarely visits, should he?"

This place has changed etc

 

[killer b]

8 posts and no "Tough shit...He shouldn't have a second home that he rarely visits, should he?"

This place has changed etc

I was ready for this, but the story suggests he was working away rather than it being a second home

 

[oryx]

I'd say the solicitor involved might be responsible. Due diligence and all that.

That was my immediate thought.

Or a dodgy solicitor.

 

[Storm Fox]

Home owners can save themselves a bit of grief by signing up for a property alert.

Protect your land and property from fraud

How to protect your home, land or other property from fraud

www.gov.uk

Thanks for that. I've signed up and added my house and my parents house.

 

[smmudge]

I have heard before that someone who knows someone I know...etc bought a house but later found out the seller never owned it. Probably happens more than you think. Just one more thing to shit you up when you're buying.

 

[two sheds]

you'd think a Land Registry search would find that sort of thing - solicitors charge enough for doing them (although they pass on the work to an underling).

 

[weltweit]

Incredible that a fraudster could get away with such a fraud.

What happened about the agent's visit and valuation? and was there not even the most basic of a survey or did they fraudulently provide one of those also? And what about visits with the agent from potential buyers?

 

[MickiQ]

Home owners can save themselves a bit of grief by signing up for a property alert.

Protect your land and property from fraud

How to protect your home, land or other property from fraud

www.gov.uk

I also have just signed up, I suspect it's going to become a busy website over the next 2 or 3 weeks.
I imagine the whole thing is going to end up in court to settle who still owns the house, I would have thought the original owner will get it back myself but we will have to wait and see.
I would imagine the solicitors are in deep doodoo at this point though.

 

[Elpenor]

Potentially the solicitor in on it too?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

hmm

wonder if mum-tat's house is registered with land registry. parents bought it (in joint names) in 1969, dad died in 1992

do i tell her about this and suggests she signs up (which will probably cause panic)?

 

[moochedit]

This has been going on for a while. I don't think it's the actual house they are interested in. They use it to get dodgy loans.

As already said you can register for land registry alerts.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Potentially the solicitor in on it too?

Doubtful.

 

[two sheds]

hmm

wonder if mum-tat's house is registered with land registry. parents bought it (in joint names) in 1969, dad died in 1992

do i tell her about this and suggests she signs up (which will probably cause panic)?

Have just signed up - most houses are marked "Freehold" in the last column but a couple are marked "Unavailable" - they were sold a few years ago and there's a note saying

"Your property will be registered if you bought it or mortgaged it since 1998 - check the register if you’re unsure."

 

[two sheds]

Doubtful.

Yep most likely just incompetence - as above, despite the charges they get an office junior to do the work. Not sure how you'd fuck it up though, perhaps forgot to contact Land Registry.

 

[moochedit]

Also i think they normally go for houses where the mortgage is paid off.

 

[girasol]

Home owners can save themselves a bit of grief by signing up for a property alert.

Protect your land and property from fraud

How to protect your home, land or other property from fraud

www.gov.uk

I was surprised that you don't need to prove ownership or anything to sign up for alerts for the property - I suppose it keeps it simple and quick.

 

[two sheds]

Makes sense - no mortgage provider to do extra checking.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Yep most likely just incompetence - as above, despite the charges they get an office junior to do the work. Not sure how you'd fuck it up though, perhaps forgot to contact Land Registry.

but land registry would say it's currently owned by mr x

crook who 'sold' the place allegedly had (fraudulently obtained) identification documents saying he was mr x.

 

[two sheds]

Ah yes good point.

 

[bluescreen]

hmm

wonder if mum-tat's house is registered with land registry. parents bought it (in joint names) in 1969, dad died in 1992

do i tell her about this and suggests she signs up (which will probably cause panic)?

Depends what part of the country it is. Some places didn 't start compulsory registration until the late 1990s, so it may not have been registered when they bought. It will be subject to compulsory registration on sale, though - and I can't imagine any fraudster wanting to go through that palaver.