Keep copy of property title deeds

It sometimes happens that the seller of a house finds his transfer held up because there are no title deeds, says Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

"The attorneys should give all buyers their deeds on taking over the home, but in practice this frequently does not happen, and when the deeds are looked for at the attorney's office, they are simply not there," says Steward.

"This happens most often when the bond has been paid up or the house is sold for cash. It can then take 15 working days to get another set of the deeds from the Deeds Office and transfer is delayed. Sales have even fallen through because of this."

Steward advises all homeowners to check if they have their deeds and, if not, to apply for them now.

"You never know when you might need them," she says. Saturday Argus

Posted at 08:31AM Jun 14, 2009 by Editor in Residential  |