Title Deeds Required For Hips and Solicitor Question

Sarahjovi

Hi,

My parents are selling there house and the estate agent has arranged for the Hips to be done. The company has written to my parents asking them to forwards the deeds to the house or for permission to obtain them from the bank.

Of course my Dad is very wary, and doesn't want to part with the deeds, and when we spoke to the Estate Agent he said he wouldn't want to hand his over either.

I have looked at the Govenment requirements and it says an official copy is required. So can someone tell me what is an official copy?

Also the Solicitor appointed by the Estate Agent has written from an address in Hull, which we feel is a bit unhelpful. And would much rather appoint a local Solicitor (Mum and Dad are in Hemel Hempstead). Can we unappoint them and appoint our own?

Many thanks for any help.

Sarah:D

minigirl

I work at a Solicitors which is involved in doing the legals on HIPs and at the outset of putting the HIP together we or the Estate Agents always write to the seller and ask for the deeds.

If the property is registered at the Land Registry then an official copy can be obtained from the LR. An official copy is a copy of the register or title held by the LR. Sometimes the title can refer to old Transfers or Conveyances which set out certain covenants relating to the property. Copies of these will be required and although they can be obtained also from the Land Registry they can cost £10 to £20 each. Therefore if they are in the title deeds it will save you a lot of money if a copy can be made from the title deeds.

If your father has been at the property a long time however it may be that it is unregistered in which case the Land Registry will not be able to provide an official copy. In this case the title deeds will definitely need to be handed over as the Solicitors will need to put together an 'Epitome of Title' which sets out all the relevant deeds showing your father's ownership and the history of ownership and this will need to be included in the HIP.

Overall, if the property is registered it would be helpful (although not absolutely necessary) for the Solicitors to hold the deeds however if the property is unregistered the Solicitors will need to hold the deeds.

With regard to the Estate Agents instructing different Solicitors I would speak to the Estate Agents about this. It may be that they have set up a deal with a Solicitors to deal with the legals of the HIPs and when it is actually sold the Estate Agents may wish you to use those Solicitors again however I do not believe you are legally obliged to use those Solicitors and may instruct another firm if you wish.

I would speak to the Estate Agents, find out why they have instructed the Hull firm and request that once a buyer is found that you may instruct a firm closer to home.

Hope this helps

Sarahjovi

Many thanks,

My Dad holds the deeds himself and the property is an ex council house bought in the 1970's. I don't know if it is registered with the Land Registry.

Can he send a photocopy or does it have to be the originals?

Thanks again.

Sarah:D

budget_counsellor_shaz

The title deeds just prove who owns the property. The land registry holds details of who owns what.

Otherwise someone could try to sell a rental property.

http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/

Hope this helps,

shaz

terryw

Sarahjovi wrote: »

Many thanks,

My Dad holds the deeds himself and the property is an ex council house bought in the 1970's. I don't know if it is registered with the Land Registry.

Can he send a photocopy or does it have to be the originals?

Thanks again.

Sarah:D

It is highly likely that the property is registered at the Land Registry. The "deeds" are largely of historic and curiosity value only as Land Registry transactions are electronic nowadays. Anyone can obtain details of property if it is registered.
As a practical way forward go to the LR site (link already given) and obtain an official copy. This is £6. Just forward this to the solicitors...more than likely this is all that they will need. Come back here in the unlikely event that he property is not registered. The official copy has no value in itself so you are quite safe in handing it over..........indeed anyone can obtain an official copy of anyone's LR records.

As regards the solicitors, it makes little difference where they conduct business as communications will be by letter and telephone anyway. Indeed switching solicitors will involve two bills.

Sarahjovi

Hi,

According to the Land Registery Website the property is not registered. So now what to we send?

Thanks

Sarah:D

terryw

Sarahjovi wrote: »

Hi,

According to the Land Registery Website the property is not registered. So now what to we send?

Thanks

Sarah:D

Nowadays it is quite rare to find unregistered land. The LR are keen on voluntary registration...see this link http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/register_dev/voluntary/
The actual procedure is straightforward...fill in a couple of forms listing the documents that you have showing ownership, hand them the documents and pay a small fee. If your local LR is fairly close, I would just pop in there as you will find them very helpful (in fact three cheers for the LR, the most helpful government department that exists!). It makes selling that bit more simple and secure if the property is registered...see the site for more information. Once it is registered then you can obtain the official copy.

If there is a buyer ready to go ahead now and you do not have a couple of weeks (usually) for the registration to take place, or you feel a little wary about the form-filling, then you have little choice but to hand over all the documents to your solicitor for him to deal with. Once it is sold the new owner must register the property with the land registry.

terryw

minigirl

To be honest registering a property now prior to selling will only cause a bit more hassle and will mean handing your deeds over to the Land Registry. You can sell a property unregistered and in my experience does not cause any more hassle for you and should not incur extra costs as once completed the buyers' solicitors will register the property. As the property is unregistered then I would just hand to the deeds to the solicitors and let them take it from there.

As regards to switching solicitors and being charged two bills, if the solicitors in Hull are putting the HIP together this should be a standard fee which you would have to pay for anyway, there would be a separate fee for the conveyancing.

terryw

minigirl wrote: »

To be honest registering a property now prior to selling will only cause a bit more hassle and will mean handing your deeds over to the Land Registry. You can sell a property unregistered and in my experience does not cause any more hassle for you and should not incur extra costs as once completed the buyers' solicitors will register the property. As the property is unregistered then I would just hand to the deeds to the solicitors and let them take it from there.

As regards to switching solicitors and being charged two bills, if the solicitors in Hull are putting the HIP together this should be a standard fee which you would have to pay for anyway, there would be a separate fee for the conveyancing.

Well, solicitors DO charge more for dealing with the sale of unregistered property.
The property can be registered very quickly (the last one I did was return of post) so there is very little "hassle". Solicitors are notorious for finding extras to put on bills, and changing a solicitor in mid-stream WILL mean additional costs one way or the other.

If there is not a buyer in sight, it is well worth registering the property to save time effort and expense when a buyer appears. On the other hand if there is buyer awaiting who has bundles of £ notes in his hand desperate to hand over then sell it unregistered.

If I were buying a property I would feel a little happier that the property is registered as the government effectively guarantee that the seller is the true owner,
rather than rely upon a bundle of old papers which are probably ok but might give problems in the future. Not very likely, I agree, but this is one of the main reasons for having a Land Registry.

In fact if anyone who owns an unregistered property is reading this thread, it is a good idea to heed the LR advice and register the property now in readiness for the time that the property is transferred.

terryw

Sarahjovi

Many Thnks for your replies. My parents are away on holiday this week, so I am gathering the info for their return. I think registering the property is an option. I believe the company putting the hips together is different from the Solitors in Hull, so no problem there. The hips has been paid for up front.

No sign of a buyer yet, the house has only been on the market for a couple of weeks!

Many thanks again.

Sarah

minigirl

terryw wrote: »

Well, solicitors DO charge more for dealing with the sale of unregistered property.
The property can be registered very quickly (the last one I did was return of post) so there is very little "hassle". Solicitors are notorious for finding extras to put on bills, and changing a solicitor in mid-stream WILL mean additional costs one way or the other.

terryw

I am only saying from experience of working in Conveyancing Departments of various Solicitors for 7 years that (at least where I have worked) extra fees have not been charged for unregistered properties.

I have also never come across an unregistered case where someone other than the owner has attempted to sell a property. If this ever would happen the buyers' solicitors would pick up on this.

If you do go ahead and register the property yourself you will require a FR1 form, DL form and AP1 form from the Land Registry. I believe the fee would be £40. If you need any help completing with the forms then do not hesitate to contact me.