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ARTICLE · 09 JULY 2020

Executing Real Estate Deeds During Lockdown – Where Are We Now?

Mayer Brown
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The facility agreement is finally agreed. The execution versions of the ancillary documents have been deftly zipped and are ready for email circulation to the wider team.

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Alice Miller
Alice Miller
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Why do real estate lawyers ask for deeds to be signed in “wet ink”?

The facility agreement is finally agreed. The execution versions of the ancillary documents have been deftly zipped and are ready for email circulation to the wider team. A real estate lawyer interjects that the charge needs to be executed in “wet ink” and the original document sent by post. The invariable incredulity arises as to what makes real estate different from other areas of law, requiring hard copy documents and original signatures.

The situation is even more particular on pure real estate transactions such as the sale and acquisition of property, the completion of leases, deeds and easements etc. Execution version documents, referred to as “engrossments” by real estate lawyers, are sent out in hard copy for signing in original (the part signed by seller or landlord) and counterpart (the part signed by the purchaser or tenant). A typical journey of the counterpart engrossment would take

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