Deeds and where to keep them

[footcushion]

We will shortly pay off the remainder of our mortgage - after 25 years! And we're wondering where to keep the deeds - they are currently with our mortgage company. It's possible we are worrying over nothing and they are now electronic and the papers are just symbolic and losing it is no big deal (legally).

Does anyone know?

I think my parents keep theirs with a solicitor. I think they are actual paper copies!

With your passport and other important docs? Buy a small lock box or safe?

Just to add if you are planning on keeping them yourself, make copies and leave them with someone you trust in case of a house fire or something.

We paid a one off fee to solicitors for them to store them. It was much cheaper than I expected.

Electronic now - in the past you got paper copies and to be safe would pay solicitor to keep them but that was a long time ago. you wont get any paper copies now

i think you can pay to have a paper copy but all the records are held electronically so there is no issue with keeping paper copy safe if you decide to get one

The paper deeds are now technically obsolete once a property is registered with the land registry and they are stored electronically with them (most houses fall into this category) however it can still be nice to keep the paper ones as they can be interesting and they may be useful if they have more information than the electronic record.
We were given ours when we bought our house - actually I was given the whole bundle of deeds, mortgage transactions and all paperwork for every house owner since it was built in 1870. It is a fascinating read. We have the original indenture for the house framed on the dining room wall as it's a thing of beauty.
Some people pay solicitors to keep them, or they keep them in a fireproof box (google - widely available) but as they are technically no longer needed it matters less than it used to.

Thank you all so much - the house is 1850's...looking forward to seeing them just out of interest.

We have ours as the mortgage company didn’t wish them, was only seven years ago we bought. I bought a small fire proof safe and keep them in there.

We were given ours a couple of years ago, they are fascinating (Victorian house), we keep them in a safe.

check that your property has been registered electronically and keep the paper version as memento.

Worth keeping them anyway.
Had an issue on sale recently where the buyer’s solicitor claimed the version at the land registry was illegible. Looked fine to me. Anyway, had the original.

@islandsopen

Electronic now - in the past you got paper copies and to be safe would pay solicitor to keep them but that was a long time ago. you wont get any paper copies now

This ^ we paid off our mortgage in 2004, never saw the deeds, now moved to our new home, cash from sale purchase, deeds electronically stored at LR.

Yes, electronic now but it would be worth notifying the land registry that the mortgage has been redeemed. They can amend the deeds and remove the charge from your deeds. I would keep the old pre-registration deeds as may be useful when you come to sell if there is a query.

I have the original deeds for my house and my late parents house. Yes they are interesting to look at (especially the older property).
I keep them in a fire-safe, relatively inexpensive and easy to tuck away under the bed or at the back of a wardrobe.

If your property is in England or Wales. Should be held electronically at the land registry. Maybe worth a call to mortgage company to check,
Most likely mortgage company will send you them once it's paid off, if they are registered at land registry historical value only.

Congratulations on getting paid off