inherited property advice... who to seek advice from?

newdave1975

Hi i am the executor of my late uncles estate, he left his home to his sister as full beneficiary. were in the process of transferring the title deeds to her via the land registry (assent)
once this is done however she has the decision to either rent or sell? she is a pensioner (with 2 small pensions), some savings/investments and owns her own home. There is no mortgage to pay on her brothers property.

What we would like advice on, or opinions is who would be best to go to for advice on the pros and cons for selling /renting? the tax implications of either on my aunts finances? ... we have been given a multitude of opinions from an accountant? financial advisor? tax accountant?

id like to gauge opinions here as to the best move forward..

thanks in advance

dave

getmore4less

The real question is does she want to become a landlord with all that entails.

Finances will be secondary to that question.

newdave1975

if she rents, then the process will be managed by the agent, what shes asking advice on is who will be best to seek advice in making the rent/sell decision taking her best financial interests into account.
selling would give her a lump sum, although house prices are a concern too and would she be better waiting for a year or so?

renting would provide a regular income (presuming all goes well finding the Tennant) ...this will have an impact tax wise too.

so who is best to run these prospects by? who can give her the advice, taking into account tax questions? which road would be financially better?

dave

G_M

Why transfer the property to her before she makes the decision!!??

If she does not want to keep the property, it is far easier, quicker, and cheaper for you to sell it as Executer, and then pass her inheritance to her in cash.

Have you obtained probate yet? Is there Inheritance tax to pay? Are there sufficient funds for that anyway?

My instinct for an elderly person is not to rent it and become a landlord unless she is on the ball, has experience, wants the challenge.

* New landlords: advice, information & links

As a landlord she must consider income tax. If she currently is below the threshold, the rent might push into a new tax threshold.

Capital Gains Tax would apply if she later sold (but not if she kept the property till death).

But for serious advice, we'd need to know

* her current income
* her current other savings/investments
* the value of the property
* her state of health
* her life-style and ambitions
* whether she has family and whether she might want to help them (deposit for grandchild's 1st home/wedding etc)
* whether she has life/health insurance
* whether she might need a care home in future, and whether this would be self-funded

edit: does she receive any means tested benefits?

getmore4less

newdave1975 wrote: »

if she rents, then the process will be managed by the agent,

Seriously look at what running a letting business entails.

using managing agents is not some magic safetynet.

newdave1975

hi thanks for that last bit of advice. Our situation is a little complex. Probate was settled years ago, my uncle passed in 2007. no inheritance tax to pay. Were only getting around to sorting this out now, due to family ill health, family passings and me moving away.
Whats prompted it is the council tax has shot up to 150% and that is financially unsustainable for my aunt. (eating through savings)

She has a basic pension and a 2nd works pension as far as i can remember, she is a basic rate tax payer. The property was valued in 2007 at a higher price than that it stands now, so no CGT as far as we can tell.

But like ive indicated our situation is rather complicated, not just by the time elapsed since probate was settled. so thats why im asking who would it be best to go to, to put these questions?

Dave

G_M

I cannot believe you have ignored your legal responsibilities as executer for all this time and held onto your aunt's inheritance.

If the property has dropped in value, she could quite rightly hold you liable for the difference/loss in value.

Has the property been empty all this time? If not, who has been living there? Have you fulfilled your legal duties on the Beneficiary's behalf by charging a rent? What has become of that rent? If it's been empty, why have you allowed this property to lie empty and deprived your aunt of the potential rent. Who has been maintaining it? How have the running costs (insurance CT, utilities etc) been paid? Not, I hope, out of her inheritance.

Whilst I accept we do not know the full story, on the basis of what you've said so far, my advice is

* sell the property asap
* give your aunt the value of the property when it was valued for IT purposes in 2007.
* if that is less than you sell it for, make up the difference yourself
* calculate what rent was/could have been charged monthly for the last 96 months, and give her that too, less an amount for overheads

Then it is up to her what she decides to do. Not you.

You are her Executer, not (so far as we know) her POA.

Stop trying to act as POA, and start acting as Executer.

newdave1975

like ive said, since my uncles passing, we had my nanna (her mum) die, my brother died after that from cancer, my mum had a breakdown and is currently in a nursing home. Through that i had a kidney transplant, before that years on dialysis.
So its unfortunate but all this got in the way. but we are where we are now and we need this sorting.
so my question being who is the best person (professional) to seek advice from?

Dave

Annisele

I'm similarly staggered by the time all this has taken. I appreciate life happens, and things can get difficult, but the estate has taken an extraordinarily long time to settle.

If you were the executor the whole time, I think you need urgent legal advice for yourself (not your aunt) from a solicitor who deals with probate. I think you should be thinking about what you should do to put this right for your aunt, and a solicitor should be able to help you with that.

G_M

As my edited post above says, don't seek advice, just do your duty as Executer (as per my post).

newdave1975

the story is far more complex than i can put on here. my aunt is fully aware of what has happend and why. (at one point she even considered moving into her brothers property and selling hers) .. the 2008 financial crash happened and the value of the property/investments (shares) fell.
I appreciate the advice her and the time people are taking to answer my post. But the deaths did take there tolls, compounded by illness. I guess no one can judge unless they have been in that situation.
My aunt will not be seeking any recompense as we she has been aware of everything thats happend and why.

but we do need this sorting out, she has asked me to find out who is the best person to seek advice from. im not just doing this of my own accord. and no im not her POA nor in my opinion acting as one. she has full knowledge of what im doing.

Dave