House deeds

[LynneMcF]

How important are house deeds? My elderly mother can't find hers and hasn't seen them for 30 years! Can we get replacements, and can you sell a house without them?

[WendyW]

They are important but you can get duplicates. Best thing to do is speak to a solicitor he/she will be able to deal with it for you. If you want to sell the house then you will need to get replacement deeds prior to the sale.

[RCP]

You may find that her bank/solicitor actually has them for safe keeping. It might be worth checking.

[darth vader]

Yes, deeds to houses are very rarely kept with the house and are kept by the solicitor who dealt with the last exchange of possession (i.e. to your mother)

[WendyW]

If there is a mortgage on the property then the financial institute that loaned the monies will still have the deeds. If there was a mortgage but it is paid off then it is still worth check as they may have the deeds as often they were left for safekeeping.

[LynneMcF]

Thanks Wendy RCP and Darth! We have tried the solicitor, bank and building society,with no luck. The mortgage was paid off years ago. I strongly suspect that my mother threw them out when she had a clear out of old papers (why do they do these things?) after my father died. (Is this far too much information?0, so Wendy's mention of duplicates is what I need. Anyone else out there ever had to do this?

[cupra]

If it is a simple case of lost deeds than you can (normally) obtain copies from the Land Registry (a solicitor can help you do this).... If, as somtimes happens with older properties, there is no original deed then I'm afraid you'll have to register for the first time which is more complex (and more costly).

[LynneMcF]

Thanks, Cupra. The phrase "a simple case" makes me feel better!