Title Deeds

mitcharlie

I dont know if this is the right place to put this message but I need help and fast!!!

We are selling our holiday home which is owned and not mortgaged, we have a cash buyer but think we have mislaid our title deeds.... we acquired the property in August 2005 and cant remember if we had the deeds or not... will we need these deeds to sell our property (the buyer wants this all to go through by 29th of Oct).

Is there another way maybe getting our solicitor to ask for a copy? I did say to the solicitor that I thought that they held the deeds and as of yet she has not come back to me, the OH thinks we had the original given to us!!!

Please help this is making me worry no end .

Thanks.

Mitcharlie

WhiteHorse

If you purchased in 2005 you will not have title deeds, you will have a Land Certificate.

Title deeds are being phased out and replaced. When you purchase, deeds (if not already replaced), go off to the Land Registry. They prepare a short abstract (a compendium of key points) which they then put on a new Land Certificate. This is then sent to you, together with the old deeds (they used to destroy the old deeds, but after a series of screwups, a judge said they should be retained as backup to clarify some points).

Unlike title deeds, the Land Certificate is only a copy of the entry on the official register. It's loss is a pain but not serious, as you can get another copy (go online and do it or download, print and send a hardcopy form OC1). Make sure you go to the genuine Land Registry website, there are cowboys out there.

You can also register to receive notification if anyone tries to tamper with your title (useful if you have unoccupied land or have lost the Land Certificate).

mitcharlie

Thank you very much that is very helpful and interesting to know, think I will let our solicitor get a copy for us while she is doing the sale for us.

Thanks again.

Mitcharlie

Savvy_Sue

mitcharlie wrote: »

Thank you very much that is very helpful and interesting to know, think I will let our solicitor get a copy for us while she is doing the sale for us.

Noooooo! Almost certainly cheaper, quicker and easier to DIY online!

Official site is http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/

Save it as an attachment (you'll have to pay to download the copy of the entry on the register) and forward it to the solicitor by email.

zzzLazyDaisy

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Noooooo! Almost certainly cheaper, quicker and easier to DIY online!

Official site is http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/

Save it as an attachment (you'll have to pay to download the copy of the entry on the register) and forward it to the solicitor by email.

It's a nice thought, but in reality the solicitor will have to obtain the deeds direct from the land registry - because s/he has a duty to ensure that all charges are paid before remitting the balance of the purchase price to the seller.

If s/he simply accepted the version provided by the seller, another charge could be made by a creditor afterwards, or the seller could take a second mortgage or secured loan, and this information would be missing from the paperwork.

I'd just let the solicitor do the job they are paid to do :-)

Savvy_Sue

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

It's a nice thought, but in reality the solicitor will have to obtain the deeds direct from the land registry - because s/he has a duty to ensure that all charges are paid before remitting the balance of the purchase price to the seller.

If s/he simply accepted the version provided by the seller, another charge could be made by a creditor afterwards, or the seller could take a second mortgage or secured loan, and this information would be missing from the paperwork.

I'd just let the solicitor do the job they are paid to do :-)

Fair enough. I was only thinking of the immediate problem. It's actually not that expensive if you ever want a copy in a hurry!

Although, if the solicitor was doing the job they were paid to do, would they not have advised the OP that getting a copy of the deeds direct is part of that job? Just wondering, you understand ...