Legal Update - What happens if you lose the Title Deed to your Property?

If you purchased a property and you obtained bond finance from a Bank, in order to pay for some or all of the property, the Title Deed would have been retained by the Bank for safe keeping, as security against the loan. After transfer you would accordingly have not received the originals from the Conveyancers – they could however send you a copy for your records.

However, if you paid “cash” for the property, about a month to 6 weeks after transfer, the original Title Deeds should have been sent to you for safe keeping. These documents are very important so what happens if you lose them?

Thankfully it’s not catastrophic. If you have misplaced the deed and the deed has not been pledged or ceded to any third party, you can instruct us to make an Application to the Deeds Office for what is called a “VA” copy also known as a certified copy of the deed. This is not a very costly exercise.

If you are selling your property, this application, in most Deeds Offices, may be lodged at the same time as the transfer documents however some Deeds Offices require the application to be made BEFORE you lodge your transfer documents. Your Conveyancer (or us) will know what to do.

Courtesy: da Costa Inc - Attorneys, Notaries, Conveyancers

Your professional, personal and efficient conveyancing firm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

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