Deeds to your property - Advice

d0lphin · 09-11-2009, 16:55

Where's the safest place for deeds to be kept?

We mananged to pay off our mortgage today (hallelujah!)and asked about the deeds and they said that these days they're not that important as everything's computerised but we didn't feel this was very safe.

So we paid £50 for the building society to receive them but we also don't feel they'll be safe in our house in case of a break in or fire. If we don't collect them/have them posted out the building society shred them!

So what do people do these days? Dowe need to pay a solicitor to keep them? How safe would this be?

Jimmy Connors · 09-11-2009, 17:08

Mine are in the bottom of the wardrobe

Like you, I was told they are on computer (land registry or something)

The bank even posted them to me in the normal post.

d0lphin · 09-11-2009, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Connors

Mine are in the bottom of the wardrobe

Like you, I was told they are on computer (land registry or something)

The bank even posted them to me in the normal post.

It just doesn't seem very safe though does it?!

ianradioian · 09-11-2009, 17:32

Mine are in a drawer upstairs.

missmaisie · 09-11-2009, 17:35

First of all, congrats for paying off the mortgage

I have my house deeds, which were sent to me by my solicitor when they moved to a new building - initially I treated them like the crown jewels, but now they are at the bottom of a drawer!

player1 · 09-11-2009, 17:37

My lawyer stores mine ( free of charge )..I paid for the building society discharge and there are no further fees for holding them..I think I'll also give her my will to hold...its at the back of a filebox right now

queenofthenile · 09-11-2009, 17:42

Deeds in paper form are no longer relevant The Land Registry has them online. You can look them up online if you want to and download a copy. You can also look at anybody's else's deeds online - for a small fee of course.

Espresso · 09-11-2009, 17:49

Mine are in a drawer in the kitchen.

If your house is listed on the Land Registry website, then you don't need to actually posess the deeds, much less pay someone to keep them in a safe place for you. Even if you do lose them and then want to sell your house you can get a copy from the Land Registry for a few quid.

d0lphin · 09-11-2009, 18:03

Thanks for the replies - sounds like they're not as important as they used to be due to the Land Registry being computerised.
I think I will phone the solicitor who dealt with our wills and see if they can be kept with the wills, if not I guess under the bed will have to do!

ianradioian · 09-11-2009, 18:16

They can be kept with your Will, no problem.

davidmcn · 09-11-2009, 19:13

Any solicitor wanting them in the future will just get an up to date version from the Land Registry. You may as well keep them handy for reference rather than have them cluttering up a safe.

hatpeg · 09-11-2009, 19:22

If you pay of the mortgage, but leave £1 owing, the Building Society will keep the deeds, and it saves having to pay to have them kept in a safe place.

SkipTracer · 09-11-2009, 20:52

The solicitor that done my conveyance on our house held the deeds for 7 years free of charge, but....

a couple of months ago when I was driving pass the solicitors office, bearing in mind I have not seen my solicitor for seven years, I had a thought to my self,what would we do if I came pass in 6 month or so time and the office had gone.

This started to niggle me a bit so I went in and got them back and are now in my safe.

Having read some of the stuff in the deeds via HM Land Registry help form, there is a bit in there that says “please take care of this certificate and keep it in a safe place because, although it can be replaced, possession of it is a protection against possible misuse and its loss would cause you inconvenience and expense.”

The way I read that is that you can get them replaced but you would probably have to get solicitors involved which will cost you a arm and a leg.

abbyb · 09-11-2009, 21:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkipTracer

The solicitor that done my conveyance on our house held the deeds for 7 years free of charge, but....

a couple of months ago when I was driving pass the solicitors office, bearing in mind I have not seen my solicitor for seven years, I had a thought to my self,what would we do if I came pass in 6 month or so time and the office had gone.

This started to niggle me a bit so I went in and got them back and are now in my safe.

Having read some of the stuff in the deeds via HM Land Registry help form, there is a bit in there that says “please take care of this certificate and keep it in a safe place because, although it can be replaced, possession of it is a protection against possible misuse and its loss would cause you inconvenience and expense.”

The way I read that is that you can get them replaced but you would probably have to get solicitors involved which will cost you a arm and a leg.

The part you quote is from a Land or Charge Certificate.

Under the Land Registration Act 2002, these certificates ceased to be necessary to prove title. When they are sent into Land Registry now, they are destroyed as the computerised register is what proves title. Land Registry will issue a title information document if there is any change to the register following an application.

Other documents held by your former lender may be useful, however, such as planning permissions, NHBC certificates. These should be stored in a safe place.

Jimmy Connors · 09-11-2009, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0lphin

It just doesn't seem very safe though does it?!

No it doesn't. But according to the nice lady at Barclay's Bank the Land Registry is the be all and end all where deeds are concerned and the paper deeds are not important.

I have about 3 copies - all in a big envelope along with a load of other stuff from the years my mortgage was active. The fact they were posted to me by bog standard post suggested they were not that important.

grumpyscot · 10-11-2009, 07:03

The solicitors we used to remove the charge that the Mortgage Company had offered to store them for free - and since they also keep my will (and the rest of the family) this made sense.

birdsong · 10-11-2009, 08:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0lphin

Thanks for the replies - sounds like they're not as important as they used to be due to the Land Registry being computerised.
I think I will phone the solicitor who dealt with our wills and see if they can be kept with the wills, if not I guess under the bed will have to do!

Your solicitor won't want to keep them as he is unlikely to have the space and they are irrelevant now if your property is registered.

09-11-2009, 16:55	#1
d0lphin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,748	Deeds to your property Where's the safest place for deeds to be kept? We mananged to pay off our mortgage today (hallelujah!)and asked about the deeds and they said that these days they're not that important as everything's computerised but we didn't feel this was very safe. So we paid £50 for the building society to receive them but we also don't feel they'll be safe in our house in case of a break in or fire. If we don't collect them/have them posted out the building society shred them! So what do people do these days? Dowe need to pay a solicitor to keep them? How safe would this be?

09-11-2009, 17:08	#2
Jimmy Connors Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Services: Sky Posts: 36,200	Mine are in the bottom of the wardrobe Like you, I was told they are on computer (land registry or something) The bank even posted them to me in the normal post.

09-11-2009, 17:32	#4
ianradioian Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,715	Mine are in a drawer upstairs.

09-11-2009, 17:35	#5
missmaisie Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 106	First of all, congrats for paying off the mortgage I have my house deeds, which were sent to me by my solicitor when they moved to a new building - initially I treated them like the crown jewels, but now they are at the bottom of a drawer!

09-11-2009, 17:37	#6
player1 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Glasgow Services: every Sunday at 11:00 and 18:30 Posts: 1,361	My lawyer stores mine ( free of charge )..I paid for the building society discharge and there are no further fees for holding them..I think I'll also give her my will to hold...its at the back of a filebox right now

09-11-2009, 17:42	#7
queenofthenile Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 693	Deeds in paper form are no longer relevant The Land Registry has them online. You can look them up online if you want to and download a copy. You can also look at anybody's else's deeds online - for a small fee of course.

09-11-2009, 17:49	#8
Espresso Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 5,823	Mine are in a drawer in the kitchen. If your house is listed on the Land Registry website, then you don't need to actually posess the deeds, much less pay someone to keep them in a safe place for you. Even if you do lose them and then want to sell your house you can get a copy from the Land Registry for a few quid.

09-11-2009, 18:03	#9
d0lphin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,748	Thanks for the replies - sounds like they're not as important as they used to be due to the Land Registry being computerised. I think I will phone the solicitor who dealt with our wills and see if they can be kept with the wills, if not I guess under the bed will have to do!

09-11-2009, 18:16	#10
ianradioian Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,715	They can be kept with your Will, no problem.

09-11-2009, 19:13	#11
davidmcn Forum Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 418	Any solicitor wanting them in the future will just get an up to date version from the Land Registry. You may as well keep them handy for reference rather than have them cluttering up a safe.

09-11-2009, 19:22	#12
hatpeg Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 373	If you pay of the mortgage, but leave £1 owing, the Building Society will keep the deeds, and it saves having to pay to have them kept in a safe place.

09-11-2009, 20:52	#13
SkipTracer Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The City and County of Bristol Services: Foxsat HDR, Technomate 6900, Sony HXD770DVD/PVR,Onkyo TX-SR606 AV, PS3. Posts: 400	The solicitor that done my conveyance on our house held the deeds for 7 years free of charge, but.... a couple of months ago when I was driving pass the solicitors office, bearing in mind I have not seen my solicitor for seven years, I had a thought to my self,what would we do if I came pass in 6 month or so time and the office had gone. This started to niggle me a bit so I went in and got them back and are now in my safe. Having read some of the stuff in the deeds via HM Land Registry help form, there is a bit in there that says “please take care of this certificate and keep it in a safe place because, although it can be replaced, possession of it is a protection against possible misuse and its loss would cause you inconvenience and expense.” The way I read that is that you can get them replaced but you would probably have to get solicitors involved which will cost you a arm and a leg.

10-11-2009, 07:03	#16
grumpyscot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 1,158	The solicitors we used to remove the charge that the Mortgage Company had offered to store them for free - and since they also keep my will (and the rest of the family) this made sense.