Re: House Ownership


"None" <nospam@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:iE0sf.40712$q%.39197@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> My ancestors lived in the same house from before 1830 to at least
> 1918. Since my ancestor was a builder he may have built his own
> house. The house is made of granite and is still there today. I don't
> know whether they owned or rented the house, but the length of
> occupancy I would guess indicates they owned it.
>
> My question is how would I find out who became the occupant
> immediately after my ancestor died in 1918?

Old telephone directories?

The title deeds frequently contain all or most of the contracts of sale
right back to when the property was built. They sometimes also contain other
things like lists of items included with the sale. Many people have never
seen the title deeds to their own property because the file is sent from one
mortgage company to the next via their solicitor. If you wanted to inspect
the deeds to this property you would have to contact the current owner of
the house, explain who you are and ask if he could arrange for you to see
the title deeds at his solicitors office. He or his solicitor would need to
write to the mortgage company to make the request and you would probably
have to pay the mortgage company a fee to release and return the deeds from
their storage facility. Add in the solicitors costs and the exercise could
easily cost £100-£200.

>And is there a way to
> get internal plans for the house?

Planning Applications are public documents and can be inspected at the local
council planning office (can usually be copied for a fee). I've done this
several times. The best way is to visit in person and tell the receptionist
you want to see any planning flies relating to the property. You may have to
locate the property on their maps. One problem is that their index system
isn't always very good. I enquired about a property once and was shown a
file full of applications. A year later I discovered there was another file
full that related to the same property.

Colin


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