Key Post Where to store title deeds?

You could scan them and put the scans in Dropbox. That way you'd be able to access them from anywhere. I mean if you scanned them and had the laptop or hard drive in the house you'd lose them anyway if anything happened. At least in Dropbox they'd be secure and you'd be able to access them if needs be.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
muinteoir said:
At least in Dropbox they'd be secure
Click to expand...
I wouldn't consider DropBox "secure", if by that you mean protected from other eyes. I'm a fan, but I would never use it to store personal or sensitive documents. See this article: How Secure is my Dropbox?

TL;DR version:
If you're wanting to keep your music in sync between computers, or want to quickly send a photo to a friend, Dropbox is great. It's incredibly convenient. If it's a file that you wouldn't want another person to have, like your password file or financial documents, you don't give it to Dropbox.
Click to expand...

Also, a scanned copy of the title deeds, while useful to have, wouldn't be a satisfactory substitute for the real thing. The paper document still needs to be stored securely.

And, a month later, I still haven't got around to doing anything about it! :oops:
 
How about leaving your last repayment on your mortgage €1 short? This will ensure the mortgage provider will retain deeds.
 
rayn said:
How about leaving your last repayment on your mortgage €1 short? This will ensure the mortgage provider will retain deeds.
Click to expand...

They'll write off the €1 and send your deeds off to you by registered post.

Frankly, deeds are a massive liability and people need to be prepared to spend money to store them securely. Unless, as is often the case, the deeds are defunct. I checked a client's deeds last week - the only thing we needed was the Folio Number - everything else could be shredded. Not everyone's deeds are as dispensable but a solicitor will review them for a nominal fee.


mf
 
Surely with most properties now being registered in the Land Registry, deeds are no longer that relevant. Main document of title being the Land Cert
 
44brendan said:
Surely with most properties now being registered in the Land Registry, deeds are no longer that relevant. Main document of title being the Land Cert
Click to expand...

In fact, yes, 90% of all titles in Ireland are registered and we have a system of compulsory registration ( on a sale) for all unregistered titles. See below

http://www.prai.ie/land-registry-services/

And the Land Certificate was rendered obsolete in 2006 - it is no longer a document of title.

However, swathes of urban areas ( they reckon some 250,000 titles) are still unregistered titles as in the bundle of original deeds. And they are important - even if you have copies, there is a risk that an owner may have pledged the originals as security. So, they should be kept safely.

Even with registered titles, there will generally be additional documents ( typically planning opinions on compliance) which are important - mind you, a scanned copy of them would suffice.

I keep my own deeds in my own safe in my office and I resolutely try not to store anyone elses - but my little old dears are very persuasive!

mf
 
mf1 said:
They'll write off the €1 and send your deeds off to you by registered post.



mf
Click to expand...

My mortgage with AIB got paid off about 10 years ago but I never received the deeds. I enquired at the local branch and they told me that their mortgage section usually hung on to them just in case I wanted to use them as security in the future... As I didnt want the hassle of minding them myself I let it be.

A relation tells me that they left their deeds into AIB local branch for safekeeping (as a package) and they haven't been charged for it.

Just wondering as nobody in the thread seems to have mentioned banks...
 
"Just wondering as nobody in the thread seems to have mentioned banks."

In general, the banks don't want to keep Title Deeds after a mortgage is paid off or for safekeeping because of the administration and storage costs plus the risk factor if they are lost or burnt.

Your experience would be unusual , in my experience.

mf
 
mf1 said:
Your experience would be unusual , in my experience.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Sounds like I should verify again with AIB, maybe in writing this time. I was abroad at the time the mortgage got paid off so this might have influenced their actions.
 
Sorry to drag up this old(ish) thread but have one more quick question.

I received the deeds to the house today and was wondering what is the "normal" thing to do with them?
Keep them at home or leave them in the hands of a solicitor?

I didn't realise the pay would be so bulky btw.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Why all this fuss about title deeds?

If they are stolen, what might happen? That the thief sells your home without you knowing?

If the house gets burned down, so what?

Both events are extremely unlikely, and you can reconstitute them if it happens.

Brendan
Click to expand...

Could I respectfully suggest that you shouldn't comment so glibly on such a serious matter. Yes deeds get lost - I accept that. My father's deeds were held by his solicitor as my father had noted in writing and verbally to us. But now that my father is dead I have no legal proof that his solicitor held them. To avoid paying for an insurance bond I need his solicitor to sign a declaration that he had the deeds and now cannot locate them. Given that it took me three letters over three months to get a reply from this solicitor (that left me none the wiser) I don't fancy that I'll get such a declaration. You should realise that reconstituting title deeds is not a simple matter. Also, the additional costs are not insignificant. The solicitor I retained for the sale of the house doesn't want to go near the reconstituting of the deeds. So I've retained another solicitor with knowledge of what's involved. I may be cynical, but I believe that if I had given my fathers solicitor the probate business (for 3% of the gross value of the estate) then I'd not be having this hassle over missing deeds. Maybe that's a subject you should be "fussing" about.
 
Last edited:
BTW if anyone is in the unfortunate position of having to reconstitute title deeds the cost isn't as bad as I had expected. I was afraid that the Insurance Bond would be very expensive but a company in the UK has just told me that it would be about £150 per 200k of house value. I was afraid it would be multiples of that. She said that if the cover was to be more bespoke then it would be about £180 per 200k.
 
Some of the bigger Credit Unions provide a facility for the safekeeping of title deeds etc.
 
I keep the deeds in our safe (old one bought at a house clearance many moons ago,cost £5 and weighs a ton). My daughter has a copy of them in her safe. I also have a copy of her deeds. Hopefully both houses (fifty miles apart) won't be burned or burgled together
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top