I've found the deeds to my house, shouldn't the lender have those?

shireknight

I brought my current house ten years ago and recently I've been looking through my house purchase legal documents and I've come to the conclusion that what I assumed were copies of my deeds are in fact the genuine article which leaves me a bit puzzled.

I really don't think my lender would have accidentally issued my mortgage monies to the guy I brought my house off of without checking they had the deeds to my house first so if I have the deeds to my house what has my lender got please?

Mojisola

If your house is registered at the Land Registry, then your deeds are just documents of some historical interest.

shireknight

Mojisola wrote: »

If your house is registered at the Land Registry, then your deeds are just documents of some historical interest.

Ah thank you, so they don't actually have anything physical then so if after I clear my mortgage the bank offer to keep my deeds safe for me for a yearly safe-keeping fee then they are just blagging me yes?

Also I take it I don't need to guard the documents I've got like they are the crown jewels then?

wisterias

My mortgage company sent mine to me a few years ago. It was costing them money to store them and they are redundant now.
The land registry now has a computerised system and the actual paper deeds are not necessary any longer.

Mojisola

shireknight wrote: »

Ah thank you, so they don't actually have anything physical then so if after I clear my mortgage the bank offer to keep my deeds safe for me for a yearly safe-keeping fee then they are just blagging me yes?

Also I take it I don't need to guard the documents I've got like they are the crown jewels then?

Make sure your house is registered at the LA.

Some people like to keep their deeds. If people want to pay someone else to keep them safe, that's just business.

Not all property is registered so most banks and BS still offer this service.

shireknight

Cool, thanks guys I'll check my house is registered with the Land Registry and then relax

terryw

Yep. I agree 100 per cent with everything in this thread, but

1..Keep the old stuff kinda safe. Perhaps in the piano-stool. There just might be something (albeit very very unlikely) that could be useful like old planning permission or building regs stuff etc

2. The old-fashioned "deeds" might aqcuire a rarity value in years to come. Perhaps a Shakespeare signature! Let your kids have the benefit of this.

bw

Dimey

I sent my deeds to the Land Registry a few years back for a legal reason and enclosed an SAE asking them to return them to me by registered post. BUT THEY SHREDDED THEM.

I was so upset as they were about 100 years old and I'd like to have kept them for historical interest. I had no idea they would do that, otherwise I would never have sent them.

Apparently I didn't need to have sent them as everything is on their electronic system nowadays and you don't need any kind of paper "receipt" to say you own your property.

I was amazed they were so blas! about historical documents. I get a receipt if I buy a can of beans but I've got no paper evidence that I own something as expensive as my house!

shireknight

Just checked and downloaded a copy of my electronic registry from the LR (only cost £3) so that's all good and yep it is daft how lax the rules are regarding paperwork of houses Dimey -I'll keep mine safe as they are a very interesting read.

G_M

Much depends what you have.

* Somedocuments may be purely of historical interest. (My house is 150 years old and I have Deeds going back nearly that far which are legally valueless, but historically fascinating. I would not dispose of them.

* Some documents, whilst not actually 'Deeds', may have legal value or importance. So even if not lodged at LR should be kept.