Selling my house to my girlfriend (who lives in the house)

AndyLap

I live in a house, that I alone own, with my girlfriend and have done for nearly 2 years. We're looking to move soon but we want to take advantage of her first time buyer stamp duty exemption. She has enough savings to cover the deposit on my home and could get the mortgage on her own, and with the money from the sale of my home we could buy another property and she could rent out this one. I'm curious about the legalities of all of this?

Thrugelmir

Not so much a question of legalities as meeting lenders criteria. Any potential stamp duty gain could soon be wiped away. Arrangement costs of the purchase alone would account for much of it. 

greatcrested

If she can raise a BTL mortgage in her sole name, and has the required cash for a deposit (25%?), there is nothing stopping you selling to her, and her buying from you. Would it be market value? I don't believe the first time buyer stamp duty exemption would apply though - see below.

She could then become a landlord. See

Post 7: New landlords (1):advice & information :see links in next post

Post 8: New landlords (2): Essential links for further information

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

If you and she then buy a 2nd property together, you'd pay 3% additional SDLT for a 2nd property.

At Budget 2017, relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) was introduced for first time buyers. The relief applies from 22 November 2017 to purchases of residential property for £500,000 or less, provided the purchaser intends to occupy the property as their only or main residence.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers-guidance-note

davidmcn

greatcrested said:

I'm not sure the first time buyer stamp duty exemption applies to non residential mortgages/purchases though

It doesn't. So another cunning plan bites the dust.

Claire2989

It would make more sense for her to solely buy the next house, you move in and rent out your current one. 

Mutton_Geoff

Claire2989 said:

It would make more sense for her to solely buy the next house, you move in and rent out your current one. 

Or just do what people have done for decades, sell up and buy your new "forever" home together without imagining that BTL is a golden goose.

Marvel1

Mutton_Geoff said:

Claire2989 said:

It would make more sense for her to solely buy the next house, you move in and rent out your current one. 

Or just do what people have done for decades, sell up and buy your new "forever" home together without imagining that BTL is a golden goose.

Also without bothering about looking into what a landlord must do, it's a business, not pocket money.

Claire2989

Mutton_Geoff said:

Or just do what people have done for decades, sell up and buy your new "forever" home together without imagining that BTL is a golden goose.

Not suggesting it’s a ‘golden goose’, merely pointing out an obvious solution to the OP’s dilemma in order to achieve the desired result. If she can’t afford a sole mortgage on their onward purchase then it’s not going to work out. What capacious adults do with their properties is up to them.

Also average people of the baby boomer generation have been BTLing for decades, NOT ‘selling up’. It’s one of the reasons our housing market is in such a mess...

Also without bothering about looking into what a landlord must do, it's a business, not pocket money.

 

I know people on this forum are massively down on landlord but you have no evidence OP and their partner are not taking landlord responsibilities seriously. For a no judgement forum people are very quick to jump to conclusions and dole out the judgement!

[Deleted User]

AndyLap said:

I live in a house, that I alone own, with my girlfriend and have done for nearly 2 years. We're looking to move soon but we want to take advantage of her first time buyer stamp duty exemption. She has enough savings to cover the deposit on my home and could get the mortgage on her own, and with the money from the sale of my home we could buy another property and she could rent out this one. I'm curious about the legalities of all of this?

You can sell your home to who ever you like but your girlfriend won’t get the SDLT relief for FTB when buying an investment property. Does she have enough money for a deposit for a BTL mortgage? Can she even get a BTL mortgage given she doesn’t already own her home? 

What’s the “we” could buy another property? Do you actually mean you and your girlfriend will jointly buy a home together in which case the higher rate of SDLT will apply or do you actually mean that you will buy a new home for the pair of you on you own? 

Petriix

Of course you could sell to her as an owner occupier and then buy your own house and move and then let out her house (with the lender's permission).

Marvel1

Claire2989 said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

Or just do what people have done for decades, sell up and buy your new "forever" home together without imagining that BTL is a golden goose.

Not suggesting it’s a ‘golden goose’, merely pointing out an obvious solution to the OP’s dilemma in order to achieve the desired result. If she can’t afford a sole mortgage on their onward purchase then it’s not going to work out. What capacious adults do with their properties is up to them.

Also average people of the baby boomer generation have been BTLing for decades, NOT ‘selling up’. It’s one of the reasons our housing market is in such a mess...

Also without bothering about looking into what a landlord must do, it's a business, not pocket money.

 

I know people on this forum are massively down on landlord but you have no evidence OP and their partner are not taking landlord responsibilities seriously. For a no judgement forum people are very quick to jump to conclusions and dole out the judgement!

Helping them in the long run, as getting it wrong can cost them ££££'s as seen on many threads when they ask basics questions they should know already and costing them more money than it should.