Any reason why vendor would lie about living at the property?

Angela_D_3

tsolrm said:

SpiderLegs said:

Have they let the property?

No, the house is just empty.

Capital gains tax then ?
view before you exchange,  check the boiler works,  turn on every tap,  check the lights - take light bulbs with and something small to plug in if youve not had an electrical survey - which personally i think is the best  £120.00 one can spend 

annetheman

macman said:

annetheman said:

ProDave said:

The NO 1 thing as eluded to is MAKE SURE they have not let the property and it WILL have vacant possession on completion.

This ^. Saw another thread recently about an inherited property which has tenants with no formal agreement living in it. It seems to be absolutely impossible to legally get them out if they are unwilling to move, should you "inherit" them as part of the purchase! Very messy...

I know of someone who knows of someone who knows of someone who doesn't live where they live but is saying they do for favourable tax purposes. I really can't think of any other reason why that would be of benefit to the vendor.

As has always been the case, if there is a legal tenancy, then it simply continues under the new landlord/owner. If they wish to end it, they can certainly do so, but only by issuing an S21 and waiting for the 6m notice to expire. Perfectly legally possible, but under the present restrictions it could take a year or more to gain possession.

I mentioned that in the thread I was talking about there is no formal agreement - I meant an AST. The new landlord/owner could not issue an S21 if the tenancy is not an AST. Whole situation sounded very messy!

davidmcn

tsolrm said:

SpiderLegs said:

Have they let the property?

No, the house is just empty.

Well, if they know you've viewed an empty property, why do you think they're maliciously lying about living there? They may well just have interpreted the question as meaning that nobody else is occupying the property. I think you're reading too much into it.

tsolrm

davidmcn said:

tsolrm said:

SpiderLegs said:

Have they let the property?

No, the house is just empty.

Well, if they know you've viewed an empty property, why do you think they're maliciously lying about living there? They may well just have interpreted the question as meaning that nobody else is occupying the property. I think you're reading too much into it.

I have no idea tbh. It's very difficult to misinterpret the questions on the property information form - they are pretty clear. Not to mention that it was told numerous times to be by the agent that the vendor lives at the property. Perhaps I am, but I like to have my eyes open. As mentioned in this thread, if this was a lie for the purpose of dodging CGT then who knows what else could have been lied about?

tsolrm

Angela_D_3 said:

tsolrm said:

SpiderLegs said:

Have they let the property?

No, the house is just empty.

Capital gains tax then ?
view before you exchange,  check the boiler works,  turn on every tap,  check the lights - take light bulbs with and something small to plug in if youve not had an electrical survey - which personally i think is the best  £120.00 one can spend 

Yeah I do plan to carry out extensive checks of-course. Cheers for the advice.

sm77j

Perhaps selling their house and moving in with a partner/family and already staying with them? Is there a chain above them? 

GDB2222

I suppose, being charitable, that 'living there' is a bit vague. Is it their main residence? Is it their sole residence? Those are more precise questions, if you need very much to know what is going on. On the other hand, they could reasonably ask what it has to do with you.  

If it's a second home, can they not reasonably say that they live in it if that's only at weekends and they live somewhere else during the week, or vv? (But obviously not during lockdown.)

davidmcn

tsolrm said:

davidmcn said:

tsolrm said:

SpiderLegs said:

Have they let the property?

No, the house is just empty.

Well, if they know you've viewed an empty property, why do you think they're maliciously lying about living there? They may well just have interpreted the question as meaning that nobody else is occupying the property. I think you're reading too much into it.

I have no idea tbh. It's very difficult to misinterpret the questions on the property information form - they are pretty clear. Not to mention that it was told numerous times to be by the agent that the vendor lives at the property. Perhaps I am, but I like to have my eyes open. As mentioned in this thread, if this was a lie for the purpose of dodging CGT then who knows what else could have been lied about?

Well, like we've said, is it at all possible that they were living there and have recently moved out? Why does it matter? The important thing is whether anybody else has any rights to live there - but if the property is obviously empty then that seems unlikely too. "CGT dodging" is a red herring like I said above - if they were doing that, it would be via the completely separate paperwork they have with HMRC.

Mickey666

Perhaps they have bought a new home without selling the old one?  I've done that before now and it makes moving home a whole lot simpler in terms of coordinating chains etc.  If so, trying to evade CGT is unlikely be to be the issue as I understand the final 18 months of ownership always qualifies for PRR so never any CGT liability for that period.

maisie_cat

I know of more than one person who has moved in with their boyfriend and left their property empty while deciding if the relationship was going somewhere and also to continue to claim benefits.