To tell people we're still renting when we bought outright.

This feels silly and odd to me. Just tell people you rented it, the landlord wanted to sell and you bought it from him. It’s really not that deep.

In the US, yes, depending on state laws, it will tell you if there is a mortgage, and also how much the mortgage is for. Not every state will allow this, or even allow it to be viewed online, but some states do.

"Caveat emptor" does not apply in most states. Sellers are required to declare nearly EVERYTHING (except, for some weird reason, and only in certain states, whether or not the property has ever flooded. You must ask. If you ask, they must tell the truth). There's a lot more "comeback " in the US on sellers, even after the property has changed hands, so sellers have to be upfront.

Buyers, however, have to put down a deposit with the offer (nominal), then a full deposit (around 10-20% of the purchase price), which binds them for a certain number of days. If you pull out before then, you are refunded. If you pull out after that date, you lose your deposit.

In the UK, the Title will name a mortgage company if there is one (if the register is up to date), but not the amount of the mortgage.

People are nosy op. I have owned then rented and it seemed to be looked down upon. I think only those who have rented will possibly have experienced this. In the uk buying a home is seen as an achievement. Although many are buying homes with money that is from inheritance etc. You have saved hard to buy your home enjoy it and you don’t need to tell anyone your story.

Agree. I always buy the register and plan before viewing!!

Oh feck that.
I would not be able to stop myself saying.
"We saved hard whilst in our flat and have bought the house outright, thanks for asking."

It’s conversation op, it’s not them asking for your bank statement- they’re not asking how much you pay/ paid etc but you’re possibly afraid it’ll go there and you’ll tell them your mortgage free and they’ll make assumptions you’re rich etc etc. just say yes we bought, we love it etc!! Own it!!

OP, we bought my current home outright, because I sold my house in the UK, and my late husband sold his in Germany, so we had enough to "downsize" although it's still quite a big house. People buy outright for lots of reasons. I wouldn't worry about it.

Yes, I do this for every house I think I'm serious about putting an offer in for. I pay for both the title register and the title plan. It saves a lot of time and hassle if you do your research before offering (I once found out that a house in London that we really wanted had been registered improperly, so that although the house was freehold, as were all the other houses in that terrace, the roof space, where the plant for the building was put, was registered still under the builder's name, not the owner of the house!). So, we would have ended up owning a freehold house but not the roof space!

Once a title is registered, it cannot be "unregistered" so the only option would have been to add a note to the register, and hope that the next person we sold to would not notice (or their solicitor!).

So we walked away from that one in a hurry! If I hadn't paid the £7 for the title plan, it would have been hundreds of pounds in solicitor's and surveyor's fees before we had found out. It turns out the vendor and estate agent knew already, but of course thought we'd never check.

The title register will also tell you who actually owns the property. If the estate agent tells you that it's owned by five siblings, because probate has cleared, you can check the register. If it still says "owner is Mrs. Old Lady" then you know it's likely that it hasn't cleared probate yet. (caveat: Land Registry has a backlog of work, so the Title you download from the website may not be 100% current, but the plan should be).

Always buy the register and plan!

As other PPs have said, it should also mention "charges" - especially if there is a mortgage company involved. If there isn't, then it's likely that the house was bought outright, or the mortgage has been paid off.

yup, me too. I have rarely had to use it but "why do you ask" stops it dead.

You should definitely also consider the fact that if you told someone you were renting and for whatever reason they discovered you actually own the property (regardless of mortgage or not), they will know you lied and given that it’s such an odd thing to lie about, will then lead them to think all sorts of things about about.

OP, I have a tactic that I use when asked any question that I feel is overstepping the mark…
Them: Have you bought your house or are you still renting?
Me: (smiling) Why do you want to know?
Them: (completely flustered) Well.. em… I was just wondering… (nobody has ever admitted because I’m nosey!)
Me: (still smiling) Oh, were you…. ? Nice long pause ….

works every time.

YABU. It’s quite unusual in this country for a couple who could afford to buy a house (even with a mortgage) to choose to rent instead, so people are just interested. I really don’t understand why you have a problem with this. There’s absolutely no need to go into the specifics of mortgage/no mortgage.

I get where you're coming from. We recently paid off our mortgage. I haven't told anyone this in real life because it sounds kind of smug (we are in our late 50s, so not some super-boast).

However, I would lie if someone asked me directly.

People on this thread have said that they pay money to land registry to find out if people they know have bought so clearly, some people do care 🤣

Buying property is standard small talk among my friends and family. Renting is seen as a waste of money, something annoying you have to do before you buy.

Everyone is delighted when someone announces they are buying but nobody would dream of asking if they are buying with cash or a mortgage. That's private and a mortgage is assumed. You are taking it too personally and it seems overly secretive not to say you're now an owner.

I've never heard of being congratulated or given flowers for a new rental place.

Because they wouldn’t expect you to be decorating a rental?
It’s just chit chat. Anyway well done for buying outright! Mortgage free - the dream.

I think it’s a normal question. People are not really bothered either way, they are just moving the conversation along. The other option is to just say “oh great!”. But I would definitely not tell anyone I’ve bought outright, people can be really weird about it and get resentful or jealous

Oh thank god, so it IS an OK thing to ask - I was needlessly cringing at myself 😂😭😂😭😂

Oh thank god, so it IS an OK thing to ask - I was needlessly cringing at myself 😂😭😂😭😂

Oh god I’m that person who asks and I really really don’t mean it in a horrible gossipy way, I’m just curious and (if people own their house) I want to start telling them about that new amazing paint I found at B&Q for half price or about that great landscaper that I found on FB and I can recommend them etc

Im an absolute oversharer and enthusiastic chatterbox so sometimes I forget not everyone else is…

Need to be more careful!

However I’d never expect to know deets about the ownership situation so if it’s bought outright or mortgage or auction or whatever that’s a bit too much info, so OP I don’t think you need to worry about that, you can just say (if you want) that you’ve bought the place

Yes this 100% - people are just making small talk, no one really cares and will not give the conversation another thought 5 minutes later..

You just say you bought it and move on.

Read your own post back - you say these nosey Parkers are only acquaintances so you absolutely don't owe them any explanation about your living and financial arrangements, you don't owe anyone that information in fact.

just shut the conversation down and change the subject,

No- it wont tell you the amount of the mortgage.

It will simply say something like "A charge dated 15 March 2022 in favour of Nationwide Building Society" etc

It will be listed as a charge on the property from the mortgage lender. Thats it. It wont tell you any financial details about it, just that there is a charge.

I'm a bit baffled why people are apparently paying for this information though - why? so what if someone has a mortgage or not?- I dont get how that affects other people's lives in any way. What a stupid waste of money

you have very weird friends. I have no idea whether most of my friends have a mortgage or not, and am not overly invested in whether they are renting or buying. No need to hide it of course and if you're good friends they would know anyway as you would likely be talking about the houses you were viewing, but I don't think even my best friend knows whether I have a mortgage or not. Nor would she care.