Finding the owner of a garage in a detached block?

[youngsyr]

Hi all, hoping for some help regarding finding the owner of one garage in a block of four that sits on its own piece of land down a barely maintained path/road.

I own 1 of the 4 garages (it came with my house when I bought it) and I know 2 of the other owners, but I don't know who the third owner is and the garage hasn't been used in years. The reason I want to find the owner is to make them an offer to purchase it.

It's possible that the previous owner has recently died (I understand from one of the other owners that he was an old chap who lived in the area) or moved away, so what's the best way to find out who currently owns it and, if possible, their contact details?

Thanks for any help offered.

[esxste]

Is the ownership of your garage on the deeds of your house? Are the others? If so, could the 4th owner also have a home nearby yours.

Is your deed for the garage leasehold or freehold. If it's freehold, look at the Land Registry. If it's leasehold, contact the land owner and ask them if they have contact details.

[PurpleMoonlight]

Just start using it.

You will be amazed how quickly someone will complain because they own it.

[trickywoo]

PurpleMoonlight said:

Just start using it.

You will be amazed how quickly someone will complain because they own it.

This. Even if its always empty and they have no intention of using it, as soon as someone else does they'll be on to it.

[Slidingpillar]

Not sure that putting someone's back up is a good idea if you want to turn around and make them an offer to buy.

[youngsyr]

esxste said:

Is the ownership of your garage on the deeds of your house? Are the others? If so, could the 4th owner also have a home nearby yours.

Is your deed for the garage leasehold or freehold. If it's freehold, look at the Land Registry. If it's leasehold, contact the land owner and ask them if they have contact details.

Thanks for the responses.

My garage is freehold, deeds are separate to house deeds. My house is located about 200m away from the garage and there are at least 30 houses between it and my house, plus there's nothing to say that any of the house owners own that garage.

Is there an easy way to find the deeds to the deserted garage, an online search facility perhaps? Or will I have to dig my deeds out for a plot reference etc?

[youngsyr]

trickywoo said:

PurpleMoonlight said:

Just start using it.

You will be amazed how quickly someone will complain because they own it.

This. Even if its always empty and they have no intention of using it, as soon as someone else does they'll be on to it.

Interesting idea, but I'd only buy it if I could convert it and mine into a double garage (it's next door to mine) - not sure how well the owner would take to it if I started knocking down the party wall!

Having said that - how would he know, I could do it from inside my garage!

[4rephill]

youngsyr said:

trickywoo said:

PurpleMoonlight said:

Just start using it.

You will be amazed how quickly someone will complain because they own it.

This. Even if its always empty and they have no intention of using it, as soon as someone else does they'll be on to it.

Interesting idea, but I'd only buy it if I could convert it and mine into a double garage (it's next door to mine) - not sure how well the owner would take to it if I started knocking down the party wall!

Having said that - how would he know, I could do it from inside my garage!

What would be really funny is if you were to knock the party wall down, put tools and equipment or maybe even a car in the garage that you don't legally own, and then the legal owner came along, opened their garage and decided to take the contents away and sell them! - Bet that would make you laugh!

[ging84]

The land registry map enquiry tool is quite good
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/wps/portal/P...
It takes a little getting used to how to use it properly
Zoom right in, to the 10m scale, it will left you switch find properties to on and you get a little circle search area, some times you have to fish around a bit or try using different overlays to pin point it, but if it's registered land you should be able to find it.

[youngsyr]

ging84 said:

The land registry map enquiry tool is quite good
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/wps/portal/P...
It takes a little getting used to how to use it properly
Zoom right in, to the 10m scale, it will left you switch find properties to on and you get a little circle search area, some times you have to fish around a bit or try using different overlays to pin point it, but if it's registered land you should be able to find it.

Thanks for that, interestingly my garage is registered with my house, although it has its own set of deeds and the garage is 200m away from my house.

I had a quick look on my street and there is no other garage listed, which is odd, as I know the owner of one of the other garages lives on my street (or so he claims!). He told me he'd bought it and he has done work to it, so it should be on its own set of deeds too. How strange.

The "find a property tool" doesn't work for the garage block, I've zeroed in on it using the satellite image and the search only returns the adjacent properties.

[youngsyr]

Quick update: with a lot of fishing about as you say, I've found garage number 1 (I know the owner), garage number 2 (mine) and "Garage to the North East of [nearest road]" - so that's really helpful, is that the garage I'm interested in (number 3), or number 4 (whose owner I know)?!

For anyone else using that map tool, try aiming the circle near, but not necessarily on the property you're looking for.

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

Give me the address and I'll land reg it. It'll save you hours of phaffing.

PM me if you want. The register is £3 and the boundary title map is also £3.

I tend to just screen shot the map search window with the boundary of title shown to save money

[youngsyr]

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

Give me the address and I'll land reg it. It'll save you hours of phaffing.

PM me if you want. The register is £3 and the boundary title map is also £3.

I tend to just screen shot the map search window with the boundary of title shown to save money

Thanks for the offer, but I've obtained a copy of the deeds through trial and elimination - bizarrely garage no 1 is furthest away from the nearest named road and what should be garage number 3 and 4 aren't numbered at all!

Interestingly the garage I'm interested in changed hands last year for about twice what I though it was worth and the new owner lives about 15 miles away. I can't see any reason why such a person would buy that garage and certainly not for £8,500. I wonder if the transfer was through probate?

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

Perhaps it was for the income attached to the (empty!) garage? Perhaps there's an underlease on the deeds that provides an income to the present owners, even if it is empty.

Long shot though.

Otherwise - perhaps it went to the son or daughter of the owner (but why pay £8,500 for an empty decrepit garage).

Perhaps it was in an auction and they'd been baulked on another lot and had to be buy something.....!

[Hol]

youngsyr said:

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

Give me the address and I'll land reg it. It'll save you hours of phaffing.

PM me if you want. The register is £3 and the boundary title map is also £3.

I tend to just screen shot the map search window with the boundary of title shown to save money

Thanks for the offer, but I've obtained a copy of the deeds through trial and elimination - bizarrely garage no 1 is furthest away from the nearest named road and what should be garage number 3 and 4 aren't numbered at all!

Interestingly the garage I'm interested in changed hands last year for about twice what I though it was worth and the new owner lives about 15 miles away. I can't see any reason why such a person would buy that garage and certainly not for £8,500. I wonder if the transfer was through probate?

Maybe it kept the price for the house he was buying as under the stamp duty threshold, if he paid an extra £5k for the garage?


No harm in offering him £4k for it, as it could be free money if he does not use it.

[youngsyr]

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

Perhaps it was for the income attached to the (empty!) garage? Perhaps there's an underlease on the deeds that provides an income to the present owners, even if it is empty.

Long shot though.

Otherwise - perhaps it went to the son or daughter of the owner (but why pay £8,500 for an empty decrepit garage).

Perhaps it was in an auction and they'd been baulked on another lot and had to be buy something.....!

I find it hard to believe that the garage had any commercial value at all at the time of the change of ownership - you can barely get a vehicle to it in the summer (it's off a very narrow private dirt road/path about 50m long), in winter you'd need at least 4x4 to get to it.The roof has leaks and the back wall is coming away from the building.

The survey I had on my house included my garage and the surveyor described it as "more of a liability than an asset"!

Having said that, the garage on the far side of it was sold for £4,500 a few years back, so it clearly has some value. I just don't see why you'd buy it at all if you didn't live near it, let alone for that much money.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I'll write to the current owners and make them an offer. I'll report back with any progress.

[4rephill]

youngsyr said:

I just don't see why you'd buy it at all if you didn't live near it, let alone for that much money......

1) Because it was the nearest garage available to where they live.
2) Because it still works out cheaper than renting a space that size long term at a storage facility.
3) Because someone else might want it in years to come and they can make some money from it.
4) Because the owners of the garage next to it might want to knock through to make a double garage and they can make money from the deal.
5) Because they're a wrong 'un and they need somewhere to stash their ill gotten gains.
6) Because they have a weird fetish for old garages.
7) Because they need somewhere further away from their home for their meth-lab.

youngsyr said:

Anyway, the bottom line is that I'll write to the current owners and make them an offer. I'll report back with any progress.

So you're not going to just knock through and take your chances then, like the PH Hero's would?