Any reason to hold on to old house purchase docs?

[Clariman]

I'm having a clear out. I have detailed correspondence and schedules for all our property purchases from our first flat in 1981 to the present day. Is there any reason that I should retain them and what else can I do with them?

Possible reasons to retain?

• Legal reasons? - Surely not, apart from say the most recent purchase and sale (that was over 10 years ago)
• Family history? - Might have marginal interest to Master C when we are dead and gone, but doubt it.
• Sentimental reasons? - Not that sentimental about property
• I've seen old docs for sale on Ebay but I don't see any reason there would be any value in this lot. Maybe in 200 years time

I'd probably keep the sales schedule/particulars of each for family interest etc, but bin the rest?

Any thoughts?

C

[bungeejumper]

Shred, possibly. Bin, probably not.

I've kept the property purchase docs for my last two houses, but not for the two before that. (1974-1982.) I'd have hung onto them, though, if there had been anything unusually legal about them. (Sales because of divorce, shared ownership arrangements, or anything which might help to mitigate a capital gains demand.)

We were surprised recently to find that the Land Registry (or whatever they call it nowadays?) still had a forty year old bank charge on our commercial property wrongly listed as current, whereas in fact the charge had expired in 1984 when we'd paid off the loan. Getting the charge annulled wasn't difficult (you can do it online), but having the ancient paperwork made it much easier to nail down the specifics.

BJ

[Mike4]

It's quite entertaining to look at the estate agent sales leaflet for old houses, and expostulate at how the one you nearly bought for 7k back in 1976 but couldn't get a mortgage on is now worth about 3/4m.

DAMHIK.

[richlist]

I tend to keep mine after going thru the files & throwing out the obvious rubbish it gets archived. I've got everything since 1971......property purchase/sale, extensions, house builds etc but I do have lots of space for it.

If you don't need it ......it burns well on a log burner or garden fire pit or when shredded can make ideal bedding for rabbits.

[bungeejumper]

It's quite entertaining to look at the estate agent sales leaflet for old houses, and expostulate at how the one you nearly bought for 7k back in 1976 but couldn't get a mortgage on is now worth about 3/4m.

Oh yes, been there, got the scars.

The rooftop flat in central Bath that was refused by my lender in 1979 because there was a swanky restaurant on the ground floor, and they didn't do "mixed tenancies". Then £12,000, now £510,000. The tiny rectory that refused my cheeky £16,000 bid and was last estimated at £770,000. (Damn, I should have offered another three grand. Would have clinched it.)

BJ

[Redmires]

I tend to scan to pdf - then shred. I have payslips and other docs going back 40 years or so and it's fun looking back sometimes. When my gross annual salary was £3300 with (£600 in tax), when the fixed mortgage was 8.5% (which I thought was a decent rate) and when we were earning 7% interest with the Icelandic banks, just as the 2008 financial crash happened.