Empty Homes

If you are interested in buying an empty property you will need to contact the present owner to negotiate a sale. We do not arrange for the sale of privately owned empty properties or accept any liability for negotiations between sellers and buyers.

There are a number of steps you could take to trace the owner of an empty property:

• You could write a letter addressed to 'The Owner' and put it through the letterbox of the empty property. Sometimes owners will visit the property to collect post.
• Land Registry has the details of registered owners of properties and as it is public information you can obtain the details for a minimal charge. However, not all properties are registered and many owners give their registered address as the empty one but you will be able to get a name.
• There are different ways of finding a named person, just as you might for a family tree -  Ancestry.co.uk or Genes Reunited are all websites that may be able to help you find someone, but there is a charge to use these services. These should be explained on each individual site.
• Talk to neighbours of empty properties as they may have some useful information on owners or their relatives.
• Where an owner of a property has died relatives or executors may have applied to the Lancaster Probate Sub-Registry - Telephone: 01524 36625. This is public information but you may have to pay a charge for the information you obtain.