Discussion
I am looking to sell my flat in the next couple of months. Currently I have a flexible account mortgage with no balance i.e. the mortgage is paid off.
Apart from the ability to drawdown vs. the flat, is there any advantage to keeping the mortgage deeds with the bank ?
Areas I am thinking about
- should the worst happen like fire or flooding will it be beneficial to have the bank acting as the owner of the property - legal fees, surveying costs, general clout and dealing with the hassle etc.
- how much easier will it make the selling process if there is no mortgage
- if I understand it correctly, title to the property will show on the HIP, if I am shown as the owner and not the bank will this make a difference to what people are likely to try and offer (very subjective question I know)
Apart from the ability to drawdown vs. the flat, is there any advantage to keeping the mortgage deeds with the bank ?
Areas I am thinking about
- should the worst happen like fire or flooding will it be beneficial to have the bank acting as the owner of the property - legal fees, surveying costs, general clout and dealing with the hassle etc.
- how much easier will it make the selling process if there is no mortgage
- if I understand it correctly, title to the property will show on the HIP, if I am shown as the owner and not the bank will this make a difference to what people are likely to try and offer (very subjective question I know)
You are the owner and the bank has a charge against the property. Can't see it making a sod of difference to anyone (except slightly less workload for your solicitor I guess)...certainly if I was buying, someone not having a mortgage or having a mortgage would not make the house any more or less of an attractive buying proposition. Re the bank offering clout, I don't imagine they would really get involved, your insurance at the end of the day and it would be you dealing with the insurance company.
If it were me I would let them sit on the deeds I think.
If it were me I would let them sit on the deeds I think.
If the mortgage is paid off, the bank won't 'own' the property, you will. With normal mortgages the banks will keep hold of the deeds for safe keeping for a nominal fee (i believe)
I think if the worst happens as in floods etc, it would still be up to you to sort things out whether or not there is a charge on the property.
Selling process would, i think, be the same whether or not you've got a mortgage, except you'll get all the proceeds from the sale (after estate agent/solicitor fees etc).
What is shown on the deeds in the HIP won't make a blind bit of difference, no-one is bothered about looking at them, all the people buying your flat will care about is whether the property is 'for them' or not.
All the above IMHO
Best of luck with the sale
I think if the worst happens as in floods etc, it would still be up to you to sort things out whether or not there is a charge on the property.
Selling process would, i think, be the same whether or not you've got a mortgage, except you'll get all the proceeds from the sale (after estate agent/solicitor fees etc).
What is shown on the deeds in the HIP won't make a blind bit of difference, no-one is bothered about looking at them, all the people buying your flat will care about is whether the property is 'for them' or not.
All the above IMHO
Best of luck with the sale
Some Banks are actually starting to stop holding mortgage deeds and title documents as the move to electronic conveyancing continues. If your Bank is efficient at providing deeds on demand and doesn't charge you much for doing so/sitting on deeds then you may think that it's a reasonable deal.
The Bank doesn't "own" the property if it has a mortgage, whether or not there is any money owing on the mortgage. Even where Bank's repossess and sell they are not the owners, simply the mortgagee exercising their right to sell, the owner stays the same unless or until the Bank sells it to someone else.
People may assume that you are desperate to sell if they see a mortgage on the title from the HIP or a land registry search, but that is a bit of an assumption as most people have mortgages. They are more likely to pick up desperation from body language/the state of the property.
Having said that, I am not a conveyancer and you may want to run it by one if it concerns you.
If the Bank lost/damaged the deeds then it is likely that it would be liable to you.
The Bank doesn't "own" the property if it has a mortgage, whether or not there is any money owing on the mortgage. Even where Bank's repossess and sell they are not the owners, simply the mortgagee exercising their right to sell, the owner stays the same unless or until the Bank sells it to someone else.
People may assume that you are desperate to sell if they see a mortgage on the title from the HIP or a land registry search, but that is a bit of an assumption as most people have mortgages. They are more likely to pick up desperation from body language/the state of the property.
Having said that, I am not a conveyancer and you may want to run it by one if it concerns you.
If the Bank lost/damaged the deeds then it is likely that it would be liable to you.
you are talking about the title deeds. If you have bought the property recently ie in the last 50 or so years it will be registered land and the records centraly held. Your title deeds are office copy entries - a print out of your ownership held by the landregistry. If you lose them it doenst matter. You can easilly get another copy from the LR.
if the property was very old and first up for sale now and not registered land then yes title deeds are important although insurance can be bought to protect if they are lost.
If the bank charge to hold the 'deeds' then hold them yourselve. When you sell the buyer will search the LR and get the same docs anyway.
if the property was very old and first up for sale now and not registered land then yes title deeds are important although insurance can be bought to protect if they are lost.
If the bank charge to hold the 'deeds' then hold them yourselve. When you sell the buyer will search the LR and get the same docs anyway.
2something said:
- should the worst happen like fire or flooding will it be beneficial to have the bank acting as the owner of the property - legal fees, surveying costs, general clout and dealing with the hassle etc.
Your insurance company (assuming you have insurance) would deal with all that.2something said:
I am shown as the owner and not the bank
I know this has been covered, but I'm just astonished by the question - did you realy think the bank owned your property?Thanks for all the helpful replies.
The property was bought within the last 10 years, so there should be no problem with the title deeds.
My bank doesn't charge to hold the deeds, so I think I will leave them there.
Apologies for mis-use of the word ownership. I was interchanging ownership of certain rights vs. outright ownership.
Now onto the messy part of selling ...
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