Do I have to tell my solicitor?? In debt & selling house

[dee997v]

Im in the process of selling my house due to getting into loadsa debt when my partner left a few yrs ago. Im in the final stages and intend to clear all the debt off when i receive monies from the sale - do i need to inform my solicitor this is why im selling my house? The debt relates to credit cards mostly and doesnt include any arrears on my mortgage pymts, phone bills, electricity, rates etc. Do they carry out routine debt searches on the property when selling a house? Ta x

[flyciderman]

No

[warpig3]

It would depend on the debt and how far it has gone in the recovery process (if at all). Your solicitor will do a search on your name relating to your property and if any debts are lodged against you they will be found (normally enforced debts/ejo/court orders)> If your debts are not enforced then you are under no obligation to tell you solicitor however if they are enforced then it would be better to let him know before hand. Remember that you solicitor is employed by you and is working for you and is therefore duty bound to give you the best advice possible in any given event and can only do so when in full posession of the facts.

good luck with the house sale.

[littlefatman]

I agree with the last answer. There is no reason not to tell him; he acts for you and is not going to disclose that info to anyone else. He is only really interested in charges secured against your house. If the credit card companies have taken a charge against your home then it will show up on the copy of the deeds he gets from Land Registry. Your buyer will also see this register. They will then have to be discharged by your sol when you sell. If they are not registered you do not have to discharge them from the sale proceeds although naturally the debt remains due. Your sol can tell you what is registered against your home. The sol will not carry out any debt searches- only a bankruptcy search and get a copy of the deeds from Land Registry.

[dee997v]

Thanks flyciderman, warpig3 and littlefatman. My debts havent gone as far as ccjs or anything like that - the reason i asked was because my sol has already sent me a letter for a debt thats in the same name as mine altho not at my address and they asked me to confirm whether or not this debt is connected to me (on this occassion its not! lol) - none of my debts have shown up tho. Thanks again everyone!

ps isnt it funny how we all assume my sols a man lol lol!