DO WE OWN THE HOUSE IF WE HAVE THE HOUSE DEEDS?

by **merla15** » Mon May 07, 2012 3:36 pm

myself and my husband got a mortgage on a property 6 years ago.whilst we lived in the property,our solicitor sent us the whole deeds for the house ever sinse it had been built,right up to us been the last owners.we moved out of the property 5 years ago but still have the deeds.(the mortgage wasnt paid off),does this mean that the house belongs to us?

by **ardwyad** » Mon May 07, 2012 3:41 pm

no the deeds should not have been given to you they are to be held at the local land registry offices,
you signed the house over to the new occupants when you exchanged contracts.
The only thing they are used for is to find out when it was built and what laws protect the property if someone wanted to knock it down or extend it

by **garret** » Mon May 07, 2012 3:44 pm

Are you sure they are not copies
Its normal for the banks/lenders to have the deeds until the mortgage is paid

by **seme22** » Mon May 07, 2012 3:53 pm

no, it's not yours, if you didn't pay it off there's a lien on the property to the mortgage company.

by **aescby** » Mon May 07, 2012 3:58 pm

no, it's not yours, if you didn't pay it off there's a lien on the property to the mortgage company.

No.
Property in England and Wales has to be registered with the Land Registry. Once it is, the pile of documents known as "the deeds" become superfluous. It's likely that the house was registered when you bought it and that is why you have the deeds. You could give them to the person who now lives in the house or you could throw them away. You can check with the Land Registry website (for a fee) whose name is on the Land Registry Certificate, but even that doesn't necessarily prove who owns the property.

by **zadok** » Mon May 07, 2012 4:07 pm

Not necessarily. You don't say where you are but in England and Wales it least it became compulsory to register land when a mortgage is created on it from 1998. For Registered Land ownership (and any charges against it) are recorded at HM Land Registry and proved if required by a document known as a Land Certificate (or Charge Certificate). Previous deeds and documents no longer prove anything in that respect.

What you have is doubtless a bundle of historical documents which, while important, don't prove the current ownership or any encumbrance by a mortgage.

by **maddox** » Mon May 07, 2012 4:14 pm

You seem confused about the nature of ownership. You can own something, subject to the rights of someone else. The deed and the mortgage are separate documents and having a deed does not mean that there is no mortgage.
If you are trying to ask if you signed another deed, transferring ownership to someone else, I have no idea.

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