Claiming a free plot of land is not a new concept at all. Since ancient times, man has been on the lookout for better plots of land or property on which they can settle on. America can be safely stated to be one of the biggest examples of this.
Talking about the current scenario, out of the total land belonging to England and Wales, as much as 40% is unregistered. Hence, one can very well sum up from here that with a little bit of patience and motivation, he can get his hands on a decent plot of land himself.
In your endeavor to claim free property, you need to start off with the primary step of property identification first followed by those of registration check, owner tracing and adverse possession. But keep in mind that you have to know all about the registration concepts first before getting into the game.
Having being mortgaged or changed hands after 1990 will result in a plot of land to feature in the land registry. However, 40% of the total land does not feature in it.
A common misconception existing amongst people is that unregistered land means unowned land but this is not true at all. All land plots have an owner somewhere but the only thing is that if they are unregistered they still remain claimable.
Property search is thus your first step and you need to be selective in this as you cannot choose any and every plot of land you see. Free land plots can exist in various forms but there are some sure assigns about them almost always.
Identify these sure signs with an observer’s eye as you walk around your own neighborhood.
Generally abandoned pieces of land has some sure signs commonly in the form of overgrown gates and gardens, shrub lands, derelicts, broken or bordered up windows, etc. These plots might be old commercial premises or unused industrial buildings as well.
These signs are not so obvious and hence you need to take regular walks around your neighborhood in order to notice them. Drive around and you’ll definitely miss the same.
After you identify the free plot of land, it is time you checked its registration status. Registration Check is thus the second step where you contact the land registry to see whether the plot is registered, unregistered or pending first application.
Usually when one gets the status of pending first application, it simply means that he has been beaten by someone else in finding out this plot of land and staking a claim on it. So one needs to go back to the property identification stage again.
If it is already registered it might still mean that the owner has died without leaving any relatives or that he has permanently settled abroad. So you still have a chance.
If you find the status to be unregistered then it means that it is absolutely ready for you to stake a claim on. However, keep in mind that there might still be an owner who exists but has never registered this land yet.
Since you need to prove later on that you had tried your level best to contact the original owner, owner tracing is your next step irrespective of your registration status results.
Interviewing the neighbors is the best way to owner trace since they would have the maximum knowledge about the original owner’s whereabouts.
One can also check with the electoral roles, post office, landlords or even milkmen to find out more about the original owner. The probate registry office needs to be contacted in case he is dead.
Next step is adverse possession where you forcefully show that you own the free land or property. You might show this by outing up a fence or a signboard saying ‘No Trespassing’. A good idea would be to keep your claim date on record by drawing up a document and getting it signed by two witnesses.
Activities focusing on adverse possession also facilitates owner tracing since usually original owners if any would hurry back after you put up a ‘No Trespassing’ sign! However, there are many sites present on the web that does this detective work for you.
The best helping hands are the online sites that would give you all the rules and regulations regarding adverse possession and even templates of all necessary forms. CDs and booklets are also available on the said topic.
You can visit http://www.freelandandproperty.co.uk. Discover how to claim land. Discover how find free land when you visit this site.
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