Dear Mr. Hubbard,
Although I do want to sound too repetitive, it is advisable you engage the services of a solicitor to find out the exact situation of the property at this point in time. The agent may well be telling the truth, but as agents are not regulated and do not have standard procedural rules, it is advisable that independence is sought, especially in these situations
where elderly people are involved. If what the agent says (that there is a mortgage registered against the
property which had not been cancelled at the time of purchasing) is true, your parents would by now not have a property. It would have been sold at auction.
It could however happen that a previous mortgage loan which had been financially cancelled has not been taken to the land registry to have it discharged. It is then simply a case of asking the bank to fix a date at a Notary Public to have it cancelled, and then take the document to the Land registry to clear the title of your parents´ property
The first thing your representative should therefore do is to apply for a land registry certificate to find out whether any charge is still registered, and act accordingly.
Yours sincerely
