Title Deeds

Jeff121

Hi
I have received the Title Deeds for my home from Santander via the lawyer who handled the conveyancing for the home I live in however I have 12 years remaining on my mortgage
I've been with A&L now Santander for many years, is it usual for a building society to give Title Deeds to their clients before a property is paid off?
Also is a lawyer the safest place to store Title Deeds? I reckon that the Deeds would be quite expensive to replace should they be damaged or destroyed by fire or flood etc so I'm not comfortable storing them in the house.
Thanks

googler

12 years remaining with which lender?

Why isn't the lender retaining them until your mortgage is fully discharged?

Jeff121

I have 12 years remaining with Santander

Jeff121

I have been with A&L (Now Santander) since day 1, been in this house 3 years and now out of the blue the lawyer forwarded the Title Deeds with a note from Santander to pass them on to me, I wondered if Santander had a different way of working?

G_M

It is strange that they have done this, but of course the Title Deeds you've been sent have little legal meaning.

I assume you bought your property 13 years ago (25 - 12) so the title would have been registered with the Land Registry. That is where ownership of the property is recoded.

In the old days before the LR existed, the physical, paper Title Deeds were what proved ownership of property, so were of great importance. Nowadays they simply show how ownership is recorded at the Land registry.

There may, of course, be other documents along with the Title Deeds, old conveyances, leases etc. Some of these may have historical interest, some may even have legal significance, although again most conveyances which have legal significance and which are referred to by the Title Deeds would also be recorded at the LR.

As I said, it is strange Santander has decided to send these to you, but it changes nothing. The LR will still show you as the owner, and will also show Santander (A&L) as having a Charge (mortgage) on the property. It would do no harm to call Santander and ask though.

googler

My lender retained them until I paid the mortgage off. I thought all lenders did the same.

Time to ask Santander, not us.

Jeff121

Hi G_M
Thanks for your reply.
I bought the property in 2007 although have been with A&L (now Santander) since 1989. Originally on an Endowment Mortgage but since 3 years ago on Repayment and with 12 years remaining.
Covering Letter from Lawyer reads

"Purchase of Property
I refer to the above and now have pleasure in enclosing the Land and Charge Certificates Numbers LAN.......... together with the NHBC documentation for your retention. Your lender Alliance & Leicester plc, did previously request that we forward the Title Deeds to them however as you will see from the enclosed letter, they now wish us to forward these to you for safekeeping,"

G_M You mentioned possible historical interest however the house is a new build so there's no history to the property.

I think that storing the deeds at a reputable lawyer maybe my best course of action as I don't like the responsibility of taking care of them.
Thanks for your comments.

G_M

I think that storing the deeds at a reputable lawyer maybe my best course of action as I don't like the responsibility of taking care of them.

No harm in this, but as I said it is the registration at the LR that matters. If you lost the Title Deeds, you could get replacement 'Office Copies' from the LR for a small fee. Though in fact there would be no need to do so as you don't need them!

If/when you come to sell, your buyer (or his solicitor) will apply to the LR to check you genuinely own the property and can sell it - whether you hold copies yourself is irrelevant.

The NHBC documentation is important - if you needed to make a claim you'd need these.

Richard_Webster

G_M You mentioned possible historical interest however the house is a new build so there's no history to the property.

OK but there could be lots of photocopies of planning permissions and various agreements with the Council and the Water Company and so on. This all may look rubbish but can be quite important. Actual proof of legal ownership is kept electronically at the Land Registry but these other documents that could be very important when you come to sell - so keep them safely.