Parent signed home over to me, how does that affect me?

ArtOfMotion

My dad recently passed away which came as a huge shock to the family as he and my mother were/are both in their early 50s. My mum has since began planning ahead should anything happen to her - things like sorting out her will. In addition to this she signed the family home over to me and I'm a little confused as to what that means exactly. I have several questions and I appologise if they seem silly, I really have no idea about this:)


1. She went to her solicitor and took care of transferring the house into my name, but I had no say in this and wasn't involved at all. I signed nothing. Is she really able to gift me the house without me accepting?

2. Assuming the home is now mine, am I now her landlord since she continues to stay there? Do I need to declare anything or tell anyone about this? Do I need landlord insurance or anything similar?


3. To complicate this further she has decided she wants to buy a new house, which means I will either have to rent out the current one or sell it. If I choose to rent or sell it, do I have to pay some kind of tax since the home was recently gifted to me?


4. By gifting me a house I now no longer count as a first time buyer and so won't be eligible for any of the help to buy schemes. If I transfer the house back to her, will I again count as a first time buyer should I buy my own home? Can I transfer it back and reset everything she did? (I suspect the answer is no!)


Thanks for any advice

Sea_Shell

Do you live in the house too?

Do you know what your mum is hoping to achieve by doing this?

Do you have any siblings?

ArtOfMotion

Sea_Shell wrote: »

Do you live in the house too?

Do you know what your mum is hoping to achieve by doing this?

Do you have any siblings?

No I don't live there, I rent in another city. She's the only one that lives there. I'm not sure she was hoping to achieve anything, we have an extremely small family and I'm basically the end of the line, no brothers or sisters, so she was probably trying to plan ahead and tie up any loose ends should anything happen to her.

FTBAngst

It sounds like she’s really scuppered with what she’s done. Also if you’re the ‘end of the line’ wouldn’t the house have gone to you anyway? Perhaps you’ve got siblings unbeknownst to you? Not sure about the other stuff but no4. You no longer count as a first time buyer.

From gov.uk: A first time buyer is defined as an individual or individuals who have never owned an interest in a residential property in the United Kingdom or anywhere else in the world and who intends to occupy the property as their main residence.

I’d be less concerned about help to buy schemes and more peeved about the loss of stamp duty first time buyer relief.

Has she actually transferred it to you? Re- reading your post, it doesn’t sound like you’re sure she has. Did she tell you she has? How did you find out?

Mojisola

ArtOfMotion wrote: »

1. She went to her solicitor and took care of transferring the house into my name, but I had no say in this and wasn't involved at all. I signed nothing. Is she really able to gift me the house without me accepting?

If your mother won't show you the paperwork that was done at the solicitors, see if you go with her to them for them to explain.

It sounds bizarre.

kazwookie

'If' you now own the house, and can legally prove this via a solicitor, and your mother now wants to buy a new house, she should have to fund that herself.

You now legally (subject to proof) own the house your mother lives in, legally you do NOT have to sell it just because your mother wants to move, she should have sold / moved first, morally it might be the right thing to do.

I strongly suggest you take legal advise from a solicitor other than the one your mother used, and get facts.

davidmcn

You can't register property in somebody else's name without their consent, so either she's confused about what's happened or she's deliberately talking nonsense.

ArtOfMotion

kazwookie wrote: »

You now legally (subject to proof) own the house your mother lives in, legally you do NOT have to sell it just because your mother wants to move, she should have sold / moved first, morally it might be the right thing to do.

I should have said, she doesn't need me to sell the house in order for her to move into a new one. Going on the last time we spoke, she has decided she wants to move out and leave me with the house. I'm not sure if I can then rent that out or sell it and keep the money, without paying some kind of capital gains tax. Ideally I'd like to reverse this whole thing so that it never happened, but it doesn't look like that's an option now.


Looks like I will have contact her solicitor and find out exactly what she has done and what it means for me.

ArtOfMotion

davidmcn wrote: »

You can't register property in somebody else's name without their consent, so either she's confused about what's happened or she's deliberately talking nonsense.

She's probably just confused. I'll get in touch with the solicitor and find out what is going on, thanks

Owain_Moneysaver

ArtOfMotion wrote: »

2. Assuming the home is now mine, am I now her landlord since she continues to stay there?

3. ... If I choose to rent or sell it, do I have to pay some kind of tax since the home was recently gifted to me?

4. ... Can I transfer it back and reset everything she did? (I suspect the answer is no!)


Thanks for any advice

Yes, you are probably her landlord and need landlord insurance, a valid gas (and depending on your location, electric) safety certificate. You are also now responsible for all maintenance and repair bills. Even if dilapidation is caused by wear and tear, for which the tenant is not liable, you are still responsible for maintaining the property.

You should be aware that unless you give your mother a written tenancy agreement (which she signs) she may become a protected tenant - which can affect the insurance you get, as most insurers assume a standard short assured tenancy or equivalent.

You will have to pay income tax on any rent received (less permitted expenses) and Capital Gains Tax on the gain in value when you come to sell it, as you won't have the exemption for living in it as your home.

You may have to pay Inheritance Tax on it if your mother dies within the next 7 years and the total estate is over £350k - she may have lost the additional residence nil-rate band which would reduce the amount of any tax payable.

If your mother needs to go into long-term care then this gift may be treated as deprivation of capital and she not be eligible for local authority funding.

If you need to claim any income-related benefits, the house must be declared to DWP as it will form capital from which notional income is derived, while your mother is living there rent-free.

You and she should also be aware that if you get divorced or go through bankruptcy, or are sued for any reason, the house your mother lives in is now part of your assets and might be siezed, making her homeless.

1 and 4. I don't know, but I would be a little concerned if a property can be registered in your name at the Land Registry without proof of identity, which you would have had to provide.

da_rule

Provided there was no declaration of trust (which there wouldn’t be if it was transferred to your sole name) or no additional clauses added to the transfer deed, only the transferor (the person selling the land) needs to execute a transfer deed. (See section 3.12 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/registered-titles-whole-transfer-tr1/guidance-completing-form-tr1-for-the-transfer-of-registered-property#how-to-complete-panels-in-form-tr1)

The solicitor should still have asked to see you to confirm identity etc.

You could pay £3 for a copy of the title register and see what it says: https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do?_ga=2.130458122.484082826.1555863380-1906148164.1553629502