House swap due to mobility issues

fledge

Hi.
I am new to the forum but wanted to ask for some advice.
My partner had a stroke 3 months ago and an assessment was taken on her 2 bed semi. On discharge from rehab she will need 2 x carers 4 times a day.
Her home being too small is not adequate for long term use.

I own a 2 bedroom ground floor flat with easy access. 
Ideally we would like to swap our homes, both have no mortgages but what would legally be the implications surrounding her care?
We have never shared finances and we do not have over the £23.500 in savings 
The properties are about the same value give or take £10,000. 
Could we rent each others places, what would that mean?
Could we legally just buy each others home? 
Any advice would be most helpful 

lincroft1710

You can rent each other's home or buy each other's home both are perfectly legal. The disadvantage of .renting is that you both become landlords with all the associated problems  BUT if either action is likely to affect the care provision you should discuss it with the body that is authorising/paying for the care and get their response in writing.

km1500

you can swap homes at market value but will have to.pay legal fees and stamp duty (if any)

Albermarle

OP,
You do not mention your age. If you are older then going from an easily accessible ground floor flat, to a 2 bed semi is sort of going in the wrong direction. Hopefully not but you may have health/mobility problems at some point.
Swapping houses may seem the easiest option in the short term but long term maybe not.
Alternatives could be your partner buying a new property altogether, or you both move into a bigger property together. Having carers come in 4 times a day is no substitute for having someone there most of the time. Plus carers sometimes need careful supervision.

fledge

Thank you so much for all your replies. I am 52 and my partner is 58 so not very old to be having these issues but here we are. I think the house swap would be the better option currently. They are roughly the same in value so it would just mean literally exchanging the owner. 

Herzlos

That should be easy to achieve, just instruct a solicitor to deal with the paperwork, but you will need to treat it as 2 sales that essentially cancel each other out and thus you'll potentially need to pay stamp duty.

What's your longer term plan regarding living arrangements? Can she move in with you and sell hers? Can you buy something bigger and more suitable together?

ka7e

Herzlos said:

That should be easy to achieve, just instruct a solicitor to deal with the paperwork, but you will need to treat it as 2 sales that essentially cancel each other out and thus you'll potentially need to pay stamp duty.

What's your longer term plan regarding living arrangements? Can she move in with you and sell hers? Can you buy something bigger and more suitable together?

I'm assuming the OP does not want to progress to shared property at this time. As a live-in "partner" there is the possibility that local authority will expect them to take over some responsibility for care. Even if it isn't a formal arrangement, the fact that someone is on-hand often leads to a reduction in care visits.

Albermarle

Even if it isn't a formal arrangement, the fact that someone is on-hand often leads to a reduction in care visits.

On the other hand having someone on hand, means they can keep an eye on the carers. I do not necessarily mean they will get up to anything bad, but they do have a tendency to arrive late and shoot off as early as possible.