Your mum should definately see a solicitor to help draft a will, and if the house purchase goes ahead to act as her conveyancer.

You and your mum should include your brother in all of this as well so that he is aware that it is all fair and even. (I'm not saying you aren't already)

Regarding the stamp duty, you will have to pay this at the proper valuation, which if you are buying with a mortgage the valuer that the mortgage company sends will provide.

In the past a friend was in the same situation buying a property for their daughter, and then selling it to them (at a reasonable price) and the taxman came calling for what they believed to be the stamp duty for the correct value.

You will need a solicitor to act on your and your mortgage companies behalf for the purchase.

A financial advisor may be able to give some guidance as to the best course of action.

Best of luck with it.

Sparky

Hello Ellejay,

Wow, lucky you!

I completely agree with Huckster. This is a complicated situation, so both employing seperate solicitors is really wise. I do think you need to consult a legal professional who can examine the situation carefully and give advice tailored to your position.

Your mother will also need to redo her will once this is all sorted, to make sure your brother's inheritance is secured to him. Even with (especially with?) family, it is sensible to get situations like this formalised. That way if anyone ever does fall out, there are binding agreements in place.

I would be interested to hear what the answers to your questions are, particularly the disposal of assets query, so please do let us know.

Good luck with it,

Felicity

ellejay

Both your mother and you should employ separate solicitors to act. From what I understand Solictors do not like acting on behalf of both parties in this situation. Perhaps your mother should go a solicitor first of all to get advice on all the issues you have outlined i.e Sale and the various tax issues. Once your mother has the full facts then she can decide on the best course of action. Once you commence buying the house you can then arrange solicitor to do the conveyancing.

Sorry I cannot advise you any further. But as you say there are complex legal issues here, which can only be looked into by a solicitor or legal professional with all the information.

huckster

Hi there,
I intend to buy my Mums house from her ( value approx. £ 440,00 - £480,000 ) but only pay around half.She will then use the money I give her to buy herself a flat to live in and this would become her only residence.Upon her demise,the flat will be left solely to my brother as his inheritance that would have been the equivalent to half her original property (which I would now own).
My questions are :
If I buy the whole house outright for " half price " will I have to pay Stamp duty at the 'proper' market value ?
By whom, and how would the property be valued?
If Mum sells at a low price, could this be seen as disposal of assets?
Would there be any advantage to buy half the house and Mum gift the other half to me ( presuming that she lived for the seven year period after gifting ),

I understand that she could be entitled to £600,000 IHT allowance, as my father died more than fifteen years ago without assigning any of his allowance, so I believe her estate would fall under that limit at present, but I do intend to improve and extend the property which in turn is likely increase it's value. I presume that if she does still 'own' half the house when she dies, the increased value will be the one taken into account, not the value of the house when I purchased it. Therefore, the estate may become subject to IHT.
If so, would the cost of the building and improvements we will have done be taken into account and put against the increased value of the house ?

Sorry it's so complicated, then isn't life ?
I would be very grateful for any help.