Purchasing a repossessed property in the wake of RBS v. Wilson
22 April 2011
Inksters trainee
Louise King attended a seminar on the fallout from the important case of RBS v. Wilson last night at the
Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. The case, decided in November 2010, was a huge shock to the legal profession in Scotland. The Supreme Court decided that the procedure under which lenders such as banks and building societies had been repossessing properties when borrowers defaulted on their mortgages was flawed as it was based on a misunderstanding of the law.
Inksters reported on the case when the judgement was released (
Court ruling changes law surrounding repossessions). At this stage it was anticipated that the case would create huge problems as there were hundreds if not thousands of properties in the process of being repossessed. This turned out to be very much the case. Lenders had to start repossession proceedings from scratch in many cases. In those cases where the lender had already taken possession of the property, they decided it was best to sell them if possible. However, there were still problems with this approach: repossession had been carried out under what was now considered to be a flawed procedure so did lenders have the right to sell? Could they give the purchaser a valid title?
At the stage when we initially wrote about the case in 2010, many people buying repossessed properties had been told that their purchases were ‘frozen’ until the full implications of the case were known. Last night’s seminar discussed the solutions that lenders have come to in the months that have followed. Most have come to arrangements involving Title Insurance policies to protect the purchaser’s title.
If you are thinking about purchasing a repossessed property, Inksters
Brian Inkster and
Louise King can help you. You can contact them both on 0141 229 0880 or send
Brian or
Louise an e-mail.
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