Reply to: House ownership

[Peggy3733]

To Board Game Geek and others

Thanks for all the replies, especially to Board Game Geek.
Looks like we are penalized always for trying to do the right thing.
So no matter which way we turn, we just have to try and sell the house
(not good - in todays market). Well thanks for the input folks.
Peggy.

[Ruprect]

Any transfer of ownership whilst alive and you'll have to pay stamp duty.

Yep pretty sure this is true - govt will get its grubby paws on your/you mum's money somehow... Also, I think the value against which you pay the council tax has to be independently assessed (i.e. you can't say that the property is worth a tenner and pay the duty on that amount)

[Board Game Geek]

My father is 90 and has a bad heart. I would like to know if there is any way that he can put his house into my name, in order to move into rented warden assisted housing.

We are not trying to avoid CGT but they say that the government will not let him rent if he owns his own property. Does anyone know the ruling on this?

It varies from council to council, but it does seem common that if a retired parent wishes to move in to rented accomodation (like a warden assisted scheme), they need to have enough "points" to do so.

This is based on their savings, the value on their home, and so on.

To give an example, my mother is 76 and lives in her own home in the country (2 bed detached) and was interested in joining the council housing list to get something easier to manage and close to town, with a warden on site.

The council sent her a 20 page document, asking her every detail of her life. They wanted to know bank details of ALL accounts and savings, all assets in her name, her sexuality, her race, her colour, etc etc.

Then there is an assessment sheet with the form that grades each applicant, so you can calculate where you stand. Because she owns her own house and has savings (<250K in total overall), she is considered to be not elegible for housing.

Essentially, the council say that she can sell her property and use the proceeds and some of her savings to buy her own property.

She asked, hypothetically, about if she wanted to go in to a care home. The council representative said that provided she sold her home and used her money to pay for her care, there would be no problem at all.

[Clippy]

Sorry folks - I have just joined tonight in order to ask this question.

My father is 90 and has a bad heart. I would like to know if there is any way that he can put his house into my name, in order to move into rented warden assisted housing.

We are not trying to avoid CGT but they say that the government will not let him rent if he owns his own property. Does anyone know the ruling on this?

Ain't Google great - helps resurrect old threads just like that!

[Lockhouse]

Any transfer of ownership whilst alive and you'll have to pay stamp duty.

[Peggy3733]

This is not actually a reply, but another question.

Sorry folks - I have just joined tonight in order to ask this question.

My father is 90 and has a bad heart. I would like to know if there is any way that he can put his house into my name, in order to move into rented warden assisted housing.

We are not trying to avoid CGT but they say that the government will not let him rent if he owns his own property. Does anyone know the ruling on this?

Re: .

"how do I arrange the transfer, do I have to involve the solicitor who holds the deeds ( I am not sure who holds the deeds just now)
",


I'll look after the deeds for you

Milan in 'helpful' mode.

Re: .

If she gets the house, what do you get?

Spod - In "contractor" mode!

Re: .

If money doesn't changes hand for the purchase then it will probably be ineffective for IHT Purposes (assuming mother survies the requisite 7 years anyway).

If money doesn't change hand for the rent then a tax bill could accrue to mother for the notional rent that should have applied. [Great eh, give away a portion of the house, still get taxed on death and also pay tax to live in it]

It might be a good idea to look up the [new] preowned assets tax.

IHTH

Re: .

Look up 'tenants in common' - not totally sure how this works but it may be a useful way of handling this situation financially and legally.

The basic principle is that the property would be jointly owned by your mother and sister and if anything should happen to either of them the property passes to the other automatically. This is a very common arrangement between unmarried couples, etc nowadays.

Re: .

you failed to answer a single one of the questions

Ah, one of the hazards of asking questions at CUK.

Re: .

does money have to change hands ?
No

Ivor, I do not think that is strictly correct. If EO's mum does not pay his sister a commercial rent if she continues to live in it after signing it over, the house would not be removed from EO's mum's estate when IHT is calculated.

Re: .

ivor
thanks, how do I arrange the transfer, do I have to involve the solicitor who holds the deeds ( I am not sure who holds the deeds just now)



ATW - oink

.

> all serious plus any Russian contributions are welcome

swine :rolleyes

Where there's a will there's relatives

Yep, your mum can do anything she wants.

Can she simply transfer ownership my sister ?
Yes

Can she simply move to joint ownership ?
Yes

does money have to change hands ?
No

are there any cgt implications ?
No if main home for sister. If before 7 years then IHT type taxes apply.
If second home then CGT applies on a ten year sliding scale - unlikely to be a problem - house prices falling.

In normal life, Inheritance is THE biggest windfall for couples. If you don't get a sniff of a normal payout (say 150K) that is the equivalent of 5 years saving on decent contract wages. It makes you think eh?

Perhaps you should visit her more often!