You know what you own but can you prove it?
There are two ways to prove ownership - the first is by being the registered owner at the Land Registry and the second, where a property is not registered, is by producing the title deeds. Title deeds may consist of a large quantity of old, fading and often very difficult to read documents.
It is to your advantage to have your property registered at the Land Registry. It avoids doubt of ownership when selling or mortgaging a property and gives you greater protection against losing land to squatters. It also makes it far simpler, quicker and therefore cheaper to sell or mortgage your property.
Once registered, the land registry title document sets out clearly the matters that may benefit or affect the land and also provides a plan showing the extent of the land and boundaries.
Copies of all documents are held by the Land Registry which means you don't have to worry about mislaying important documents. This also means that copies are easy to access should they be needed. You can access the Land Registry on line.
Voluntary Registration is a painless process! All you need to do is take your Deeds along to your solicitor who will deal with everything for you. The Land Registry fee for a Voluntary Registration is 25% less than for a normal application. The fee is based on the market value of the land to be registered and ranges from £30 (for land valued up to £50,000) to £525 for land valued in excess of £1,000,000). Your solicitor will also make a small charge for work done.
It is as simple as that!