misplaced deeds

Hi there, I wonder if anyone could help or have been in a similar situation. I am in the process of selling a property and am about to emigrate but have been stuck in a process regarding deeds, I have a buyer for the property for the last 6 weeks but my deeds seem to have got lost or misplaced in the post, the buyer is now threatening to pull out I am moving abroad next week and stil no sign of the deeds! is there anything I could do without having the deeds to get a contract signed? can the land registry do anything or am I just stuck in limbo. Any help would be appreciated

[FONT=&quot]I was in a similar situation last year (in my case the solicitor hadn't registered the deeds under our name).
The solicitor you used to buy the house in the first place had to take an undertaking to lodge the deeds with the land registry (change of ownership) and then return them to the bank (if you had a mortgage).
You can ring the land registry office and explain your situation, first (and foremost) make sure that your property is in your name...if not go back to the last solicitor and ask why he didn't finish the job he was paid to do. The bank themselves, should have been waiting for the deeds (as they hold onto then during the life of the mortgage)......if it's either of their fault....then threaten to sue (so they try to do something about it).....but even at that, you may still loose the sale.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Hi gafar

No you're pretty stuck, I'm afraid.

What happens if the Deeds are gone - for good? A Vendor would be well advised not to sign Contracts where Deeds are missing until (a) they have been found and (b) a closing date without delays can be fixed or until its quite clear the Deeds are absolutely gone, not coming back but can be "re-constituted" with appropriate indemnities and insurance.

Its probably not a great idea to be emigrating while at the same time trying to sell a property ( sorry, I know thats not much help!) because when problems arise, as here, its just so much more stressful trying to fix them.

Nowadays, its not too hard in any event to arrange closings where clients are abroad what with e-mail, fax, mobiles and couriers. So, it may be just a question of finding those deeds or losing your current purchaser.

mf