Getting a Copy of Deeds

G_M

The seller's solicitor works for the seller. If the seller gets a copy of his own deeds from his solicitor, he is then at liberty to send a copy to anyone he chooses.

So if you explained (via estate agent?) that your offer is condiional on this, the seller can then decide whether to consent or not.

But as others have said, someadmn fee may apply. And you may need some expertise to undrstand the deeds, especially if they are ancient and complex.

Septic tank? Are you familiar with the new (2015) Regs?


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397173/ssd-general-binding-rules.pdf

Should the existing arrangement be non-compliant, a rough budget for a Small Treatment System is around £10 - £15K (though the Regs put the onus on the seller to upgrade - good luck with that....!)

p00hsticks

Browntoa wrote: »

Charge to get feed from storage , charge for copying and checking , charge for sending letters , charge for returning to storage.

It was never going to be cheap

but won't this have to be done as part of the sale anyhow ? The property will presumably need to be newly registered with the Land Registry as part of the sales process, and the deeds will be handed over to the eventual buyer at the point of completion

theFlash

@G_M : Do those 2015 rules only apply to new septic tanks installed after 2015? This is a lot older I think. It does highlight to me though that it isn't enough for them to say they do not know where the septic tank is.



@p00hsticks: Yes it will be, but I'd rather not run up costs to find out what land I am buying. I've not looked at a house before that doens't have these docs available on the Land Registry site, so its all new to me, but I would imagine its a basic request as its the only document that reveals the actual area of land (I expect). The estate agents, like us, are merely going on where the hedges are.


I'm not going to assume I will understand all, but I'm familiar enough with the language used on these documents to get a good idea if the area of land, and any rights, are acceptible enough to continue.


To be honest I think the estate agents should be made to view these before potentially misleading people on what is included.

Slithery

theFlash wrote: »

@G_M : Do those 2015 rules only apply to new septic tanks installed after 2015?

No. They apply to all properties with a septic tank.

All septic tanks in the country legally need to be replaced or upgraded if needed by 2020, or sooner if the property is sold before this date.

AdrianC

theFlash wrote: »

We are looking at buying a house, but it has some complexities due to its age. We are at the point of employing solicitors to do the conveyancing, but after issues with other properties, we wanted to check the Land Registry Title deeds to see the outline of the land and if there were any rights of way etc.

The Land Registry however doesn't have a copy as it was last bought in the 70's

So there y'go. It's not registered, so it's not on LR. You need a copy of the deeds.

The sellers solicitor says he will only release it to another solicitor.

Not unreasonable. Right now, you haven't got the most basic parts of the purchase under way. You're just somebody who's placed an offer and had it accepted. Is a memorandum of sale even in place yet, if you don't have a solicitor lined up?

But we want to know what land is included, and if there are any rights with respect to sewerage etc over neighbouring fields.

That's all part of what your solicitor will do. Get him instructed, and let him do his job. Unregistered properties aren't quite as simple as registered. If you're worried about an abortive purchase, get a no-sale-no-fee in place.

davidmcn

theFlash wrote: »

To be honest I think the estate agents should be made to view these before potentially misleading people on what is included.

That's been suggested before, but as I've pointed out, it would mean agents would need to get their own, independent, legal advice in order to make sense of anything other than the simplest title deeds. Who's paying for that?

datlex

Wouldn't the ordnance survey map be a starter for boundary of properties and public rights of way?

Slithery

datlex wrote: »

Wouldn't the ordnance survey map be a starter for boundary of properties and public rights of way?

Or use a free account on a site like https://www.nimbusmaps.co.uk to see if any of the adjacent land is registered to try and locate the boundaries from the other side?

This might not give you any useful information or you may get lucky and discover that all of the surrounding land is already registered.

G_M

theFlash wrote: »

@G_M : Do those 2015 rules only apply to new septic tanks installed after 2015? This is a lot older I think. It does highlight to me though that it isn't enough for them to say they do not know where the septic tank is.

as slithery says:

* new systems must comply immediately
* all systems must comply by 2020 irrespective of age
* systems in a property that is sold must be made to comply at the point of sale (apparantly by the seller)

If a property is sold, the operator (= home-owner)must give the new operator a written notice stating that a
small sewage discharge is being carried out, and giving a description of the waste water system and its maintenance
requirements.

Slithery

theFlash wrote: »

To be honest I think the estate agents should be made to view these before potentially misleading people on what is included.

That sounds ideal at first glance, but it really isn't possible within the current UK legal framework.

EA's only pass on the information that the seller gives them without checking for accuracy, and there will be a big disclaimer stating such on all EA's websites/literature.

To check all of this paperwork before advertising the EA would need to be a qualified solicitor otherwise their opinion would hold no legal meaning. This means that all EA's would need to be qualified solicitors and increase their fees accordingly. The outcome being that you'd end up paying for two lots of solicitors instead of just one.

Find a solicitor and pay them to do their job (nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure)