Should I sell my share of the house to my sister without a solicitor

dfg87_again

Me and my sister inherited a house a few years ago. My sister wanted to be bought out, which my parents were able to do. Technically, I now own the house, and my parents have a charge on it so that if I were to sell, they would get their 50% of the value of the sale.

Due to a change in all our circumstances, I now want to sell my half of the house to my sister. (It's a long story). She has the money to pay for my half. 

We went through solicitors to reach this current arrangement. As a way to save the money and hassle of going through solicitors again, how risky would it be to do this transaction without solicitors? I understand we'd need to update and re-register the deeds and the charge with the Land Registry. Are there risks / pitfalls / complications that mean we should go back to solicitors? 

I'm aware that I'm in a ridiculously privileged position. Any advice very much appreciated, thank you. 

auroras_answers

just came here to say that when you instruct a solicitor on your behalf you do so to take the stress out of the transaction... also because the solicitor has the qualifications and expertise to ensure the process is fulfilled with no errors. i am not aware of any risks though in you doing it yourself! hopefully someone else can advise more as it would be good to know.

eddddy

So I think you mean...

• You currently own 100% of the property
• You have a loan from your parents secured by a charge on the property - which equates to 50% of the property's value

So...

• You want to sell/transfer 100% of the property to your sister

• You want to repay your loan to your parents (which equates to 50% of the property value)

• Your sister will get a new loan from your parents, secured by a charge on the property - which equates to 50% of the property's value

Is that right?

Aside from the solicitor issue, you need to work out the SDLT liabilities and Capital Gains Tax liabilities. There may be tax implications for your parents as well, if they have made a profit on the loan to you.

There may be (legal) ways of structuring the transaction to reduce/defer tax liabilities.

dfg87_again

That is an incredibly helpful way of looking at it - thank you - if it doesn't sound too mad, I don't consider it a loan / debt because there are no repayments but you're completely right that's technically what it is. Thank you for pointing that out - and the potential consequences of it.

BJV

Just to be safe I would for the sake of legal fees get a solicitor. For your and your sister's protection to make sure that everything is done in a legal a tax efficient way. A small mistake now could waste a lot of time if ever she wanted to sell and also mean that you end up having to pay lots more in taxes and duty's.. Also very nice people do very strange things for big chunks of money.