caution on a property

[ali_alic]

Hi there, my boyfriend and I have bought another house together and as I already own a house it has gone into his name to get the first time buyer mortgage reates etc. I have been advised to put a "caution" on the house so that if we fall out he cannot go ahead and sell it without me being consulted first as to why I think I should have a claim on it. I am not being pessimistic, just cautious. Does anyone know the website where I can either do this online or download the form? ta

[undercovers]

your partner is the legal owner and you have a beneficial interest in the property - to help protect your interests you can put a notice (the caution you mention) on the land registry, this just means that any future buyer will be made aware for your interest in the property. In addition to this you would be well adviced at this point to see your solicitor again and get a simple declaration of how the property will be shared e.g. what proportions of the property "belong" to you as it were (e.g. 75% him, 25% you) this will save any confusion should a dispute that place, it is really important that you do more than just put the notice on as the courts are full of these sort of disputes when couples break up and the outcomes can be unfair to one party (95% of the time unfair to the equitable owner) as the courts are bound to follow case law and cannot simply divide property held as they see fit - in the way they would if you were married.

So please get professional advice on this as it really is very important

undercovers

[Golden Shred]

The way you have expressed yourself gives rise to the fact that you have entered into a conspiracy to diddle a mortgage lender and that you are now bent on tricking a government department into giving you security. It can result in a spell on bread and water. Change your story to something along the lines that your b/f is buying a property and you want to be secure some money that you are lending him. Be aware that if b/f obtains a mortgage your debt will rank after the mortgage. With regard to "cautions" these were done away with in 2003. If you lend b/f the money and can prove that it was not a gift but a loan that must be repaid then what you will have done is acquire a registrable disposition for value. This can be entered as a Restriction in the Register of the Property and if done properly will prevent the property being Registered in another name until you withdraw the Restriction (i.e. your claim has been settled). The Land Registry Form is RX 1 which you can view on line, but the whole thing is legally rather complicated and to ensure that a Registrar (who is a Senior Specialist Solicitor) will permit you to enter a Restriction you will I'm afraid have to employ a solicitor. Not any old solicitor. but one who knows about Restrictions as you really need to do it by Unilateral Notice but please don't ask as the subject is too long for AnswerBank.