Grafton (UK) Ltd has specialist experience in locating owners to derelict, vacant and squatted property. We have a high success rate in tracking down missing freeholders on behalf of leaseholders who are experiencing absent landlord problems. We can trace beneficial owners to leases, covenants and charges historically registered against land and buildings that prevent a sale or undermine value by effecting the title to properties

 

We work with individuals, aggrieved neighbours, developers, leaseholders, solicitors and other property professionals who may wish to track down owners or the beneficial descendants to properties that require solutions to benefit our clients.    

We work on a percentage of success, and charge no up front fees on new instructions. Instead, we seek to share the added value achieved through locating the rightful owners to property or intangible rights to property where we can structure a mutually beneficial outcome for all parties. Fees are negotiable and worked out with clients on the basis of an initial evaluation of the task to be tackled.

Since we formed in 2005 we have successfully found solutions to over 800 cases throughout the UK.  By locating the next of kin, creating clean title, removing squatters, over throwing illegal attempts to control properties we have created value and rewarding outcomes for our clients. We are a highly innovative team of researchers, genealogists, property and legal experts and employ our own powerful and comprehensively built IT systems to assist our work. We enjoy finding solutions to challenging situations.

 

A derelict house in Putney where the owner had passed away some years earlier without leaving a will.  There was a sitting tenant in the property and a fraudulent lease claim against the estate of the deceased. Grafton Property Solutions located the beneficiaries of the deceased, re-housed the sitting tenant and through legal action were able to remove the fraudulent lease claim. The property was sold and a substantial profit was shared with the introducing party. Value £1,250,000

This property had been derelict for many years and various developers were keen to locate the beneficial owners. The property had been occupied under a 99 year lease that had expired some years earlier and the leaseholder had passed away.  The freehold was unregistered. Grafton located proof of the freehold ownership and found the descendants of the original freeholder.  We agreed to make a claim on behalf of the beneficiaries to register freehold title in their name and having succeeded in our claim were able to sell the house and share a substantial profit with the introducer. Value £500,000

This derelict property had a contract for sale registered against the title by a party who had tried to mislead the elderly owner into selling it cheaply. The owner had passed away and various researchers in conjunction with the heirs to the house failed in their attempts to remove the restrictions against the title that prevented it being sold. Grafton managed to overturn the contract, clear the title and ensure a claim to the house was made on behalf of the rightful claimants Value £400,000

A detached house in an attractive SW London suburb. The property had been derelict and squatted in for many years. Grafton located the descendants of the deceased. The title had a charge registered against it from many years ago. We located the beneficiaries to the charge and agreed a settlement with them in order to release the charge. Having cleared the title we were able to sell the house. Value: £375,000

This was a very large house were the owner had died some years earlier. Fraudsters had stolen the identity of the deceased, and a instructed a small local law firm to sell the house for them. We traced the true beneficial owners and managed to stop the transfer to the new owner, reversing the transaction and successfully transferring title to the next of kin. The fraudsters are still under investigation. Value: £600,000

 

VAT Reg: 114780817