Buying property with no deeds and not registered: how should I go about it?

Julie Dale
Plymouth

A. When buying a property without deeds and obvioulsy without registration, there is an evident lack of protection, as nobody knows with total certainty who the property belongs to. The owner will legitimately claim ownership by virtue of either inheritance, purchase sale or gift, and he will sell it on that basis.

There are a couple of legal procedures in order to obtain registration. The one used in this particular case is via the Notary Public. The vendor sells his property on a public deed of conveyance. The fact of the ownership claimed needs to become notorious and therefore the owner needs to bring witnesses along to the Notary´s office who will make a declaration. Once this is done, the pending procedure is published in public board in the Town Hall of the minicipality for a period of time.

If there is no challenge against the ownership claimed the purchaser will then be entitled to register the land in his/her name, and will benefit from the protection of the Land Registry thereafter. Meanwhile, the funds should be deposited with a lawyer until succesful completion.

The price of this type of property is generally lower than a fully regsitered one. Therefore, it should not be disregarded as a price negotiating tool.