Transferring property ownership to son - advice please

Werdnal

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Surely you are jumping the gun here. What if the council refuse planning permission outright?

I think you need at least outline permission before you know whether it is viable.

We will be seeking advice from planning department as well ... 

Sea_Shell

Werdnal said:

Sea_Shell said:

So, your Son is currently 23 and single, with no children of his own... yet?

What's the longer term plan here?     

What happens in, say, 10 years time, when he's possibly married with children of his own, and they need/want a bigger house?

What would stop him selling up "your" house to pay for it?
What if they divorce?
Or he predeceases both of you?

This is why we are seeking legal advice on the best way to do this to secure our occupancy here for our lifetime ... but before the solicitor can draw up the legal side of things, we need to research the tax implications, hence my questions.  

But by securing your occupancy, you'll also handcuff your son to this house for your lifetime (or until you want to move).

LHW99

Some barn conversions do effectively create more than one property.

If the barn part can be made completely self sufficient, could the land plot be divided so that you create what basically becomes two semi-detached dwellings?

It would need a surveyor to undertake that, and communicate with the Land Registry, but it could be a solution, rather than just making the barn into an "annex"

turnitround

Just suppose it is all possible, planning granted etc has your son thought this through properly?

It may seem great at 23 to get a helping hand onto the housing ladder and he may be so thrilled to have his own place, but-

How does he know what he will want to do in 10 years time. He may want to move away and sell his property. What if he wants to marry and the wife to be does not want to live in a house attached to her mother in law.
Will you be happy to have new neighbours living in the place if he wants to move on?

Will  he be able to move on or is he going to feel guilty about even having the thought of leaving when you are both in your 70s. Will he feel tied to the property and become resentful about the situation. 
What if he wants to marry in 3 years time and wants to divorce in 10 years time.

I think you are putting your son in an  awkward position. It seems a bit like restricting your sons future options so you can hang onto your property at his expense.

lookstraightahead

Myself and my husband are roughly your age with a daughter roughly your son's age who house shares near her work with her friend. She's only really just starting out and who knows what's round the corner for any of us, who she might meet, whether we might move, whether she has children etc etc. I love her and trust her, but honestly I wouldn't risk putting my life in her hands! 

And she'd never want to move to live with us or be responsible for us in her decision-making.

how will you pay for your care if you ever need it?

km1500

from reading your opening post I gather that what you want to do is to add your son into the equity of the whole property. this is simple to do all you have to do is to add your son to the entry at the land registry. it is irrelevant whether he moves into the barn or sleeps there or sleeps in the main house or whatever that is domestic arrangements between the three of you.

you need to have a think about the way you want to hold the property however because if you just add your son then the default position will be that you all own one third each.

you can vary this by a declaration of trust. also you can become tenants in common whereby you all own 100% of it and it will pass to the last survivor in the fullness of time

you need to take legal advice about this however the mechanisms are very simple

lincroft1710

Council planners tend to only grant pp for annexes with the condition they cannot be sold separately from the main house. So it may not be possible for your son to solely own this part if this was your intention.

badmemory

I suspect that your solicitor suggested seeing a financial advisor because what he wanted to say is No that would be a bad idea.  Which is what mine said when I suggested something similar.

jonnydeppiwish!

Separate the property and give the half to your son. Update your wills so he inherits everything when you die. 

He’s secure, you’re secure, everyone wins.

Gavin83

I used to work in this area and I've seen far too many horror stories to ever consider this a good idea. I've seen a number of elderly people end up homeless after signing their house over to their child and then, somewhat ironically expect the council to help them out. Unfortunately they often do help out rather than letting them live on the streets.

This doesn't even take into account the care aspect. Most council funded homes are terrible. If you reach the point you need care you'll be thankful you have the money.