I want to sell my flat to my son at a discount.

mtah321

Would you expect him to keep it regardless or would you be happy for him to sell it? If it's the later why not just sell it now & buy something more suitable for your needs. Personally I'd hate to be lumbered with a property that held an emotional attachment for someone else.

The flat is getting demolished in a decade or so, if we sell it then the company buying the land will pay over market value for the flat. So, if he doesn't take my offer I'll sell it then.

He can do what he wants with it, even sell it immediately if that's his prerogative. I would hope he has an emotional attachment to the place he grew up in though. If I sell it now (or when it gets demolished), I still have the extra from downsizing that I'll probably gift to him anyways.

mtah321

I have to add, I didn't post this question for people to debate on whether or not I should do this or the consequences. I did some research and found out that I have to go talk to a solicitor about setting this up and not to an estate agent at all, which was my initial question, for anyone finding this thread and wanting to know what the outcome is.

mtah321

What additional things do you think there are to consider when selling to your son other than A. N. Other? 

Well, if you read the thread, everyone is worked up over how this will affect my benefits and my ability to receive residential care in a few decades.

[Deleted User]

mtah321 said:

What additional things do you think there are to consider when selling to your son other than A. N. Other? 

Well, if you read the thread, everyone is worked up over how this will affect my benefits and my ability to receive residential care in a few decades.

And you’ve repeatedly said that’s not what you’re asking advice about so what do you think is different about the mechanism from selling to your son compared with selling to someone else? 

mtah321

And you’ve repeatedly said that’s not what you’re asking advice about so what do you think is different about the mechanism from selling to your son compared with selling to someone else? 

Well my question was how do I go about doing this, if not through an estate agents? I've done some googling and it seems I should just contact a solicitor and go from there. And if him buying it off me and then me using that money to buy a flat was the easiest route to take with this.

[Deleted User]

mtah321 said:

And you’ve repeatedly said that’s not what you’re asking advice about so what do you think is different about the mechanism from selling to your son compared with selling to someone else? 

Well my question was how do I go about doing this, if not through an estate agents? I've done some googling and it seems I should just contact a solicitor and go from there. And if him buying it off me and then me using that money to buy a flat was the easiest route to take with this.

All an estate agent does is advertise the property which you don’t need. Unless you’re confident in doing your own conveyancing then you appoint a solicitor to handle the transaction for you. Your son does the same and if he’s using a mortgage to help fund the purchase he will need a solicitor on the lender’s panel. Once the transaction is complete the funds are yours to spend on whatever you want. You could try to line this transaction with your purchase but you don’t have to.  It’s just the same as any other sale  

mtah321

All an estate agent does is advertise the property which you don’t need. Unless you’re confident in doing your own conveyancing then you appoint a solicitor to handle the transaction for you. Your son does the same and if he’s using a mortgage to help fund the purchase he will need a solicitor on the lender’s panel. Once the transaction is complete the funds are yours to spend on whatever you want. You could try li in if you this transaction with your purchase but you don’t have to.  It’s just the same as any other sale  

Thanks, I've never handled this before, it was all my husband. I just wanted to know exactly where to go to start this process. Thank you very much for your reply.

getmore4less

This is a pretty simple request and and your solution was in your first post.

You sell the property to your Son, get a solicitor to help with that and as he needs a mortgage it will be a fairly  regular/common transaction with by the looks of it a gift of some of the equity.

You buy the place you want with the cash. 

That the main job done.

However you have the issue of gifting assets which as has been pointed out can impact social support and benefits, something you should not ignore.

AdrianC

mtah321 said:
I would hope he has an emotional attachment to the place he grew up in though.

Why?
Even if he does have a generic warm-and-fuzzy towards the precise flat, it's being demolished soon enough.

I have a warm-and-fuzzy towards a lot of things I don't actually want to own, and places I don't actually want to live.

This really is sounding like some sort of a back-door attempt to give your son "an inheritance" that you simply cannot afford to give, you KNOW you can't afford to give, and you don't want people to draw to your attention.

mtah321

I really can't tell if you're being purposefully dense at this point. I know it affects things, I know actual professionals to sort this out with, not to mention, I already know the system pretty well. I am not asking for your approval on this. I'm not ignoring this, nor am I trying to avoid hearing about it. It's like asking someone how to hire an electrician to install an oven and they only ever talk about the dangers of carbon monoxide, like yes, it's a problem, and it's related, but it's not the question.