What to do if solicitor loses deeds to property

O

Orga

Registered User
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Hi everyone,

I'm involved in a local sports club. The club's solicitor has lost the deeds(registry of deeds not land registry stuff) to the club grounds. What are our options?

Thanks.
 
Do the club want to sell or remortgage at the moment? Or is it just that they want to know the deeds are there if they ever need them?
 
Yes, the club is looking at its options re raising finance through bank loan/mortgage or possibly realising the value in its site by selling, either way it would be good to have deeds in hand. As I understand things, without the deeds ( and they are truly gone! and registry of deeds don't do copies I believe) we have no way of proving that we own the grounds - HELP!
 
Lost deeds will result in delays; but nothing that cannot be overcome.

The reason I asked is my initial question is that the urgency of the situation dictates the next step. If the situation is not urgent, then the solicitor can take steps to re-constitute the title documents; She can perhaps get copies from third parties (depending on the title). Alternatively, if the title was a long leasehold, steps might be taken to buy out the freehold - which kinda gives the title a fresh start. A third option in the case of a registry of deeds title would be to start the process of applying to register the title in the Land Registry - difficult when your deeds are lost, but by no means impossible.

On the other hand, if you are about to sell or re-mortgage, there might not be time for any of the above, so you might need to take out a title bond - which is a form of insurance.

The club solicitor should be able to give all of this info.
 
Thanx every1 for the advice - in summary the solicitor refuses to do anything about the deeds, it is unknown whether it is a long leasehold or not as all that is known is that it is unregistered. I have contacted the land registry and they tell me that a certified copy of the memorial is just as good as the deeds - does anyone know if this is the case? I ask as my experience on the phone with these agencies is that information can change from call to call and especially as I'll have to go into the Registry of Deeds in Dublin I don't want to make a big trip for nothing.

Many thanks.
 
Orga said:
Thanx every1 for the advice - in summary the solicitor refuses to do anything about the deeds, it is unknown whether it is a long leasehold or not as all that is known is that it is unregistered.
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Has the solicitor accepted, in writing, that he / she lost the deeds?
 
So - did they lose the deeds or did someone else lose the deeds? Or can you not say for certain who may have lost the deeds. Is it possible that the solicitor did not lose the deeds?

Its just that if you are absolutely certain that it is the solicitor who is 100% at fault you can contact the Law Society who will at the very least get you an answer. You can contact another solicitor either and ask them to try and track down the deeds. Solicitors do make mistakes but, more often than not, once it comes to light they will try and deal with it or pass it to someone to deal with.

My own experience on this board is that the eventual set of facts in a specific scenario can often be quite different to the original simplistic set of facts in the first post.

mf
 
mf1 said:
My own experience on this board is that the eventual set of facts in a specific scenario can often be quite different to the original simplistic set of facts in the first post.
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Indeed! That's why I was interested in what the solicitor had to say
 
I appreciate your advice and you taking the time to offer an opinion on this matter.

The original presentation of facts is entirely accurate. The solicitor has lost the deeds. The solicitor will not put this in writing nor formally admit it but has admitted it to me. (Would you put it in writing if you were a solicitor? I think not!)The solicitor will not engage in rectifying the matter despite extensive negotiation. If the solicitor would engage on the matter then I would not be seeking outside advice.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter
 
"Its just that if you are absolutely certain that it is the solicitor who is 100% at fault you can contact the Law Society who will at the very least get you an answer. You can contact another solicitor either and ask them to try and track down the deeds."

mf
 
Can you prove that the solicitor had the deeds at one time (when property was purchased for example) and can the solicitor prove who the deeds were given to. There should be a trail. I recommend a registered letter to the solicitor from the club requesting the deeds and I would do everything in writing from now on. Also was anyone else present when the solicitor stated the deeds were lost? A witness perhaps.
 
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