Repossessed house being auctioned, possible title issues

I am looking at a repossessed house that is soon up for auction by the bank that lent money for it.

I asked a friend to make some enquiries on my behalf and the following has been discovered:

That the property tax and other bills were never paid. There is a JM registered against the previous owner.

Does the bank who is now in possession have to sort out the above issues prior to auction? If I win the auction will I suddenly become liable for all the above outstanding items?

Thanks in advance.

Auctions are definitely a case of caveat emptor. You should instruct a specialist solicitor to advise you on the "Special Conditions" which form part of the contract.

There could be issues over rights of way, pyrite issues, septic tanks, planning issues etc.

Jim Stafford

Solicitor has advised against buying. To use his words you are getting a "pig in a poke".

James Sandman said:

That the property tax and other bills were never paid. There is a JM registered against the previous owner.

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If these were the only issues, you could quantify them and adjust your price accordingly. Although I would have thought that the vendor would have to discharge these out of the sales proceeds.

Brendan

It is a mortgagee in possession sale so the usual rules of engagement don't apply.

The solicitor also advised there was some serious planning irregularities which he couldn't in good conscience advise me to purchase.