House Swaps? How would you stand?

Thrifty_Ruby

Hi Everyone,

My parents have made an offer on a property but have not sold thier own house! The agents have valued it but have not taken it on their books & my parents haven't signed anything as yet! The Vendors of the other property are now interested in my parents house with view to a swap! What I want to know is, can the agents charge my parents for 'selling' their house even though no money has changed hands & they havent signed a contract & also if its a swap & the houses are valued just below £300k is it legal to swap at £249.995 so that you would fall into the 1% stamp duty bracket?
Thanks in advance

Dx

Jowo_2

Thrifty_Ruby wrote: »

.. also if its a swap & the houses are valued just below £300k is it legal to swap at £249.995 so that you would fall into the 1% stamp duty bracket?


Dx

can't answer that question but they should consider the potential risk in doing this when they come to sell again later as valuations are based upon transactions recorded in the land registry so they are depressing the value of their property.

quite routinely, buyers look at sold properties in that area and the previous purchase price when trying to work out what they are willing to pay so if the owner has artificially depressed the price, they could suffer from their action later on.

Doozergirl

If the house is not on the agent's books then, no they would not entitled to a fee. They would only be entitled to a fee if your parents were on their books and they had signed a 'sole selling rights' agreement.

If it is reasonable that £250,000 could be the market value of the houses, then yes, they could be sold for that price. SDLT is based on market value - the prices aren't a million miles away from each other.

Thrifty_Ruby

Thanks for your reply!
My parents are going to go & see a solicitor to see how they stand! Fingers crossed they can do a good legal deal that will saved them a few quid for their retirement.
Dx