Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, has recently been called in twice by people whose homes have burnt down and who have as a result had some or all of their documents damaged or destroyed.

"This experience has taught me how absolutely essential it is to have certified copies of all property title deeds, and all other important documents, lodged with a lawyer or a reliable relative or friend. Without copies to hand, weeks will be spent in getting those from the deeds office, banks, insurance companies and the like," said Steward.

These fires have also shown the importance of making an inventory of all the possessions in your home - which should be backed up by a video or photographs of every room.

A serious fire, said Steward, is a traumatic experience and those who go through such incidents often simply cannot remember everything they once owned.

Steward also recommended that all property, financial and insurance details be uploaded to online document storage facility such as Google Cloud.

"This," she said, “is a totally confidential service and, as a password is required to access your information, it is safe from prying eyes or exploitation by an outsider."

A copy of the title deeds will, said Steward, always be lodged at the owner’s bank if he or she has taken out a bond, but if the home has been paid for in cash, it is possible that the attorneys may not have passed the deeds on.

If title deeds are not replaced, said Steward, the eventual sale or transfer of the property to heirs will be seriously delayed.

For further information contact Lanice Steward on 021 671 9120 or email lanice@anneporter.co.za.