Transferring the house deeds from parents to a child's name.

Karagounis78

Hi all,

I understand I'm going to have to take legal advice on this at some stage, but I would appreciate your collective thoughts initially, if only to point me in the right direction.

My parents live permanently in Greece (both parents are Greek) but my dad owns a house in London in which I have been living for the last 15 years. Recently they suggested that it might be a good idea to transfer ownership of their house to me, as I am an only child and whilst they are currently both in relatively good health thank goodness, this may not always be the case.

What is the normal procedure of doing so? Also, as my parents do not intend to visit the UK in the near future, how do we go about proceeding with the transfer? I would highly appreciate if people give me some kind of information on this issue. I believe there are many people in a similar situation. Looking forward to reading your suggestions and opinions.

Thank You.

Kind regards,

Karagounis78

SmlSave

You'd need to complete form TR1 and AP1 - available from the Land Reg. You may have to pay stamp duty, its best to call the Land Reg for advice.

Your parents will have to sign the forms but it can all be done by post.

If there's a mortgag eover the property then the mortgage compnay has to give permission to the transfer

tyllwyd

Also, there is no gift tax in the UK but your parents need to check whether they might need to pay tax in Greece.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

tyllwyd wrote: »

pay tax in Greece.

Why?

Nobody else does......:whistle:

Karagounis78

Thank You for the information...

By the way...people DO PAY tax in Greece...

It's the corrupt politicians who put us in this mess...unfortunately.

Richard_Webster

Not as easy as you think. The Land Registry will want to have the parents' ID.

They either have to attend a Land Registry or get a solicitor licensed conveyancer to certify their copy ID or they have to have a solicitor acting for them who can check their ID.

I had this recently with a parent who spoke only Chinese and was resident in Hong Kong wanting to transfer flat to her daughter in UK. In that case although I acted for the mother I had to make sure that a) she understood the nature of the transaction and its implications for her and b) I could sign the LR AP1form to say that I had checked her ID. I did this by getting her to go to a dual qualified HK/English solicitor in Hong Kong who could explain the transaction and send me certified copies of ID documents. Because Hong Kong Law based on English principles this was not too difficult.

Trying to do the same with a Greek Lawyer might be more problematic, but I don't think even that option is open to you if you don't use a solicitor. However I would contact the Land Registry and explain the issue and see what they suggest.