2nd query, house deeds

[Executor]

This is an unusual situation. I moved to this house 13 years ago. I owned my previous property outright, no mortgage.

During the sale the woman buying it was an absolute effin nightmare.

After I moved I realised I still had the full original deeds (fascinating read!). I wrote a letter to the new owner asking her to get in touch, told her I had a vital document, but she never responded. I called my solicitor and he said to contact her solicitor, which I did. Her solicitor more or less told me I would be billed for requesting he dealt with them. I asked him if he could just call her to inform her and he said no, unless I paid for his services, I declined.

I'm not in a position to visit the house to get details as it's a 2+ hour journey for me to get there, plus the same back home, and I'm not well.

She never got in touch. She has moved away and someone else is in the house. I have no idea who owns it.

What should I do with the deeds? I can't afford a solicitor, especially for something I'm not that bothered about. I just don't want my kids to have to try to sort it out once I'm dead. Thanks for reading

The property will be registered at the Land Registry, and it may be that what you think is a vital document has already been taken into account on the digital record, and isn't actually that vital after all. The fact that the house has been sold since you sold it to the woman would indicate to me that it almost certainly doesn't matter.

What is it that you have?

I have all the full original wax paper copies of all the deeds, going back to around 1725 when the land was initially sold from what appears to be government owned land. Then there is absolutely every succeeding change to the land registry, including change of use permitted (Farm land to private garden), new owners and access changes.

It has all the normal use of property and land alterations and additions, such as right of access for one horse with single cart and the legal uses of a shared outhouse, which is no longer there. Has all the original wax seals, beautiful waxy paper hand written on with ink until around 1870, and then more moderns paper type. really is incredibly fascinating. It has all the original maps that pre-date the first sale.

Happy to know it is not a vital document, I can stop worrying about it now. I didn't want my children to have to deal with this after my death, thank you for your help.

Ah I used to love dealing with those lovely old documents when I was a trainee 2 billion years ago. They will have been included in an abstract/epitome of title decades ago before the house was registered, so don't worry, no one will chase you for them now.

Huge relief, thank you so much.

I love looking at them, it's fascinating, particularly with the old words and uses f instead of s!

Just post them! I'm sure the current owners would be delighted to receive such interesting documentation.