Deeds to our property

I also see that several people have stated how they've got it on record with the Land Registry if anyone is doing anything re their property. So was I at the time the neighbours decided to steal my retaining wall - and it did not protect me from that. I'm used to getting a little email at intervals saying "No activity on your account" - but there then came an email saying "such and such solicitors are taking action on your account" (or words to that effect). That was a shock - as I'd taken that precaution to protect myself. It was the Land Registry's own solicitors taking that action - ie to help my lower neighbour grab my retaining wall off me (in the course of having their house Registered for the first time). I fought back obviously - but, as stated above, the LR gave them that bit of my garden (even though at least I managed to lob that expensive future bill at their house in the course of their thieving - which is the plus side of that).

I still think it's worth people doing that thing with the LR - but it isn't the full answer people think it is to protect their property. Can't recall the details - but I've flung another "ring of protection" round my property since - in case of any further attempts at theft. As far as I recollect - it equals I have to be notified/give my consent to any further moving around of my borders. Obviously that won't be possible for me personally to do that when I die and no longer need my house - but I've got a proper will with a local solicitor and I'll leave them to sort that out.

I felt it necessary because this is such a "land grab" area imo. Next door neighbours were trying to make out they had the right to use my front garden to park in/known road-owners (it's an unadopted road) tried to make out they owned a communal bit of land that no-one actually owns and we all managed to get new "known road-owners" to accept that our land is OUR land and not theirs (but it took a fight to do so). I kept finding various neighbours trespassing in my garden generally. It has been quite a long hard fight to get and keep the neighbours out of my garden (apart from the bit one of them stole). I've had to put up a gate, put up security cameras and come out and yell at them on various occasions before they finally shut up and behaved normally and argue with the "known road-owner" re our communal land (not on anyone's title plan - and so belongs to all of us).

You’ll find that most records are now digital and available via the Land Registry

Can you please tell me how you sign up to receive that information, Oppsadaisy1 I would like to do that.

Apologies if this has already been said, it's all electronic now so you shouldn't need a copy. If you are selling your solicitor will get a copy if he needs it.

I think my mortgage provider holds the deeds until I pay it all off. I have a copy at home somewhere.

Ours are held in deedstore by our mortgage company even though we are mortgage free, it costs us £15 per year

2 years ago I sold and moved and I already had the deeds for my old house as I had paid the mortgage off years ago. However, the buyers solicitor never needed them as they were supposedly on the internet somewhere. (Although I was never aware of this as I had been in my house almost 43 years!). When I left the house, I left the deeds for the new couple as it had a lot of interesting stuff in there such as who had owned the house in the past.

On leaving school I worked in a solicitor's office. One tear on I was allowed to type Deeds and then bind them on the side with purple ribbon. Typing was terrifying as absolutely no rubbing out allowed on the thick paper. Have bought a few properties since those days and the Deeds have always been disappointing, just plain white paper and stapled, now not even stapled.

We bought our property in 2010 and keep our deeds in a safety deposit box I bought from Costco along with those from another property I owned and later sold.

We’d been paying £15 a year for the solicitor who made our Wills to store the deeds to our house. When we moved house five years ago I told the conveyance solicitor I’d get the deeds out of storage but she said they are now digital and paper ones are no longer required which came a surprise to us. Shame cause as others have said the old ones were an interesting thick bundle of paperwork going back years.

Ditto

Our deeds are held with our mortgage provider free as we agreed to have £50 outstanding on our mortgage. That was over 40 years ago and in that time have never needed to view them and the outstanding mortgage has jumped up all of £2.50! GSM has been mentioned above, what a goldmine, why did she go, anyone know?

Ours were returned to us by Halifax Building Society when we paid off the mortgage. There was no charge. They are absolutely fascinating, and beautifully handwritten. We're in the process of selling the property at the moment, so we'll pass them onto the new buyers when the time comes.

Ours are also beautifully bound and include a very large old key! They also state that we have the right to “pass and repass with manservant, maidservants cattle and kine” over our neighbours garden! (We’re on a main road through an old market town)

Dizzyribs do you keep your rights active?

I understand deeds are now kept on electronic memories. I guess any solicitor's assistant can tell you how to retrieve a paper or electronic copy.

When I sold my old home, last year, the solicitor explained that these days most deeds have been transferred to the Land Registry's digital service and safely centralised. It took him 10 days to obtain digital copies.

This is very topical for me. After my husband died I tried to update my Will with the solicitors we had used several years ago, and who had the previous Will and the house deeds. I then discovered that they had been taken over by a large National company and had moved from my home town. I then did a new Will and LPAs with a local firm, and decided I would like the house deeds to be with the new company in order to keep everything together. So I had to chase up the larger company - emails, telephone calls. Eventually I was asked to five items of identification: Passport, selfie of me with passport held up, utility bill, husband's death certificate, updated Official Copy Register of Title (This item floored me a bit). Finally sent all this off. SUCCESS! The deeds arrived a few days ago, and are very interesting as they contain several covenants I had forgotten about. If everything is now with the Land Registry, how do you know about the covenants unless you have the deeds?

Contact the Land Registry. If your house is registered it will cost about £20.00.

My daughter is sorting out getting the copy deed for me. I have already received the plan of where our property is so nearly there.
It's been quite an active response to my original question and I have read with interest your comments.
Jean

What a mess
Update on my original question.

My daughter kindly took over and downloaded everything that the GOV site land registry had for our property. It seems from the attachments that there are no deeds on their database for our property purchase in 2007.
I have found a letter I sent to our solicitor when purchasing the property thanking him for offering to keep our deeds safe which proves they are responsible for keeping the deeds for us.
When I contacted them a few years ago about a copy of the deeds I was told they didn't have them.
I'm clearly going to contact them but I guess our solicitor from that time is probably retired by now.
Failing this I am not sure what to do other than see another solicitor for advice which is going to cost me.
Helpful comments on what to do next would be appreciated.
Thank you

Around 2008 I finished my mortgage with Nationwide.
They sent me the deeds. No charge.
I've never read them.

Our mortgage had been paid of some years before. We had just left work and were in retirement the same year we moved to this property.

SORTED
After some research I managed to find the solicitors who had taken over my solicitors who had done the conveyancing in 2007.
After one phone call to them a lady rang me back from their conveyancing department and explained what the statement meant on the information Land Registry had sent.
Restriction: no disposition etc Tenants in Common not Joint tenancy.
Now we can change our wills each leaving our assets to whom we preferred.

The best advice my GP gave me was “don’t walk around barefoot”. I now wear ‘Theatre/nurses clogs’ indoors. Exercises can be found on the NHS website too. I find standing on a stair with just the ball of the foot on the stair, holding on to the banister, gently drop your weight and holding that position for 10 seconds to start building up to 30 is simple and very effective. Good luck.