Grandmother's property

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Land Registry questions.

toonjohn32

Hello, I am after some advice as the most efficient/inexpensive way to deal with my predicament. My grandmother who owns her own house has just been moved into care. She has lived in the house since 1956 but it has never been registered with the land registry so I, with power of attorney, am currently going through this process. To help mitigate the care fees, I have renovated the house at a cost of approximately £55000 (which I funded) and have rented the house out.
When my grandmother dies she has left the house to her four grandchildren (myself and my three cousins). The house is the only thing of value that she has. When she does die I would like to purchase the house outright from my cousins - they are fine with this as they all live in Australia. Can I transfer ownership to myself, pay stamp duty, pay the care fees owed to the council and the difference left to my cousins or will I need to involve a solicitor? My aunty (my cousins mother) and I are executors of the will.

silvercar

toonjohn32 said:

Hello, I am after some advice as the most efficient/inexpensive way to deal with my predicament. My grandmother who owns her own house has just been moved into care. She has lived in the house since 1956 but it has never been registered with the land registry so I, with power of attorney, am currently going through this process. To help mitigate the care fees, I have renovated the house at a cost of approximately £55000 (which I funded) and have rented the house out.
When my grandmother dies she has left the house to her four grandchildren (myself and my three cousins). The house is the only thing of value that she has. When she does die I would like to purchase the house outright from my cousins - they are fine with this as they all live in Australia. Can I transfer ownership to myself, pay stamp duty, pay the care fees owed to the council and the difference left to my cousins or will I need to involve a solicitor? My aunty (my cousins mother) and I are executors of the will.

If your grandmother is alive, you can't do anything without her consent and acting on her behalf. Does she have a LPA in place? I'm not sure you can sell the house now and in any case selling it now would mean paying stamp duty, if you wait you could avoid that totally.

I'd be inclined in getting the money you have already spent documented as a charge on the property. People can act differently when there is £££ in the offing. How does your aunt feel about not inheriting anything?

user1977

toonjohn32 said:

Hello, I am after some advice as the most efficient/inexpensive way to deal with my predicament. My grandmother who owns her own house has just been moved into care. She has lived in the house since 1956 but it has never been registered with the land registry so I, with power of attorney, am currently going through this process. To help mitigate the care fees, I have renovated the house at a cost of approximately £55000 (which I funded) and have rented the house out.
When my grandmother dies she has left the house to her four grandchildren (myself and my three cousins). The house is the only thing of value that she has. When she does die I would like to purchase the house outright from my cousins - they are fine with this as they all live in Australia. Can I transfer ownership to myself, pay stamp duty, pay the care fees owed to the council and the difference left to my cousins or will I need to involve a solicitor? My aunty (my cousins mother) and I are executors of the will.

None of that really sounds like a land registration question. You'd probably be better starting your own thread.

propertyrental

toonjohn32 said:

Hello, I am after some advice as the most efficient/inexpensive way to deal with my predicament. My grandmother who owns her own house has just been moved into care. She has lived in the house since 1956 but it has never been registered with the land registry so I, with power of attorney, am currently going through this process. To help mitigate the care fees, I have renovated the house at a cost of approximately £55000 (which I funded) and have rented the house out.
When my grandmother dies she has left the house to her four grandchildren (myself and my three cousins). The house is the only thing of value that she has. When she does die I would like to purchase the house outright from my cousins - they are fine with this as they all live in Australia. Can I transfer ownership to myself, pay stamp duty, pay the care fees owed to the council and the difference left to my cousins or will I need to involve a solicitor? My aunty (my cousins mother) and I are executors of the will.

Definitely get the 'loan' you've made (ie the £55K unless it was a gift) registered as a Charge and recorded as an interest-paying or interest-free loan. Note any interest you earn is income taxable).

Then read
https://www.gov.uk/update-property-records-someone-dies

Is grandmother declaring the rent to HMRC?

toonjohn32

Thanks for your helpful replies. Just for clarification, my grandmother does have an LPA in place - I am the only representative on the LPA. My aunt is wealthy and is very supportive of my grandmothers wishes to pass on the proceeds to us. I have not declared the annual rent as income as it falls below the lower rate threshold (rent is £900 per calendar month). There is no intention to sell the house before grandmother dies as this would move her into the self-funding category with regards to her care fees (and her care fees would almost double). What I am hoping to do, when she dies, is purchase the house and continue to rent it out. This would involve paying the money due to the council, subtracting the money I have payed in and dividing the remaining value by four. What I am trying to establish is when she dies can I use my own money to pay the council and three cousins and register the house in my name. The house is currently worth about £210000. 

With regards to the money I have spent, it is effectively an interest free loan. Where do I register this as a charge?

user1977

toonjohn32 said:

With regards to the money I have spent, it is effectively an interest free loan. Where do I register this as a charge?

You would register it over your grandmother's property.

But as I said, the rest of your post isn't about registration - this thread is for queries about the mechanics of land registration (and seeking input from the Land Registry rep here) - so you're probably better posting your own thread about your other queries, possibly on the Probate board.

Land_Registry

toonjohn32 said:

Hello, I am after some advice as the most efficient/inexpensive way to deal with my predicament. My grandmother who owns her own house has just been moved into care. She has lived in the house since 1956 but it has never been registered with the land registry so I, with power of attorney, am currently going through this process. To help mitigate the care fees, I have renovated the house at a cost of approximately £55000 (which I funded) and have rented the house out.
When my grandmother dies she has left the house to her four grandchildren (myself and my three cousins). The house is the only thing of value that she has. When she does die I would like to purchase the house outright from my cousins - they are fine with this as they all live in Australia. Can I transfer ownership to myself, pay stamp duty, pay the care fees owed to the council and the difference left to my cousins or will I need to involve a solicitor? My aunty (my cousins mother) and I are executors of the will.

When she dies you’ll need probate to deal with her estate. Once obtained the executors can transfer the legal title as appropriate 
https://customerhelp.landregistry.gov.uk/guide-external-start/?guideid=e0861516-8882-eb11-a812-000d3ad48f95

Brie

To clarify things - are you saying that she is self funding all of her care fees?  State pension, other pension and the bit of rent cover all her needs?

GrumpyDil

toonjohn32 said:

Thanks for your helpful replies. Just for clarification, my grandmother does have an LPA in place - I am the only representative on the LPA. My aunt is wealthy and is very supportive of my grandmothers wishes to pass on the proceeds to us. I have not declared the annual rent as income as it falls below the lower rate threshold (rent is £900 per calendar month). There is no intention to sell the house before grandmother dies as this would move her into the self-funding category with regards to her care fees (and her care fees would almost double). What I am hoping to do, when she dies, is purchase the house and continue to rent it out. This would involve paying the money due to the council, subtracting the money I have payed in and dividing the remaining value by four. What I am trying to establish is when she dies can I use my own money to pay the council and three cousins and register the house in my name. The house is currently worth about £210000. 

With regards to the money I have spent, it is effectively an interest free loan. Where do I register this as a charge?

Rental income might be 900.00 per month but does your grandmother have any other income such as a state pension which takes her over the tax threshold

sheramber

You need to read

https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/paying-tax

Property you personally own

The first £1,000 of your income from property rental is tax-free. This is your ‘property allowance’.

Contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if your income from property rental is between £1,000 and £2,500 a year.

You must report it on a Self Assessment tax return if it’s:

• £2,500 to £9,999 after allowable expenses
• £10,000 or more before allowable expenses

Register for Self Assessment

If you do not usually send a tax return, you need to register by 5 October following the tax year you had rental income.