Writing a Will (the estate as opposed to life insurance and pension).

mp203

Regards my daughter losing out on FTB status; what might the implications of this be? I did Google it but, as usual, my brain was fried after trying to read through a handful of results. I did note that one of the govt. schemes wasn't as good as it first appeared (buy a new home at a discount; but if you sell it you have to sell it at a discount too).
Regards SDLT my guess is that if she were to buy a house or a flat it would be a relatively modest one, even if she was using her inheritance as a deposit.

Keep_pedalling

mp203 said:

Regards my daughter losing out on FTB status; what might the implications of this be? I did Google it but, as usual, my brain was fried after trying to read through a handful of results. I did note that one of the govt. schemes wasn't as good as it first appeared (buy a new home at a discount; but if you sell it you have to sell it at a discount too).
Regards SDLT my guess is that if she were to buy a house or a flat it would be a relatively modest one, even if she was using her inheritance as a deposit.

Losing her FTB status might not be that painful, but having to pay the additional 5% SDLT will be. It will be even more painful if she buys in Scotland where the additional dwelling supplement is 8%.

RAS

You do realise that in England and Wales anyone can set as an estate agent? Some do training, others wing it. Based on the garbage related by posters here, rather a lot wing it.

And legally your daughter or her trust are liable for any mistakes made by the EA. For example, fail to pay the deposit into a registered scheme and you can be sued for a penalty fee, even if the deposit is returned without deduction.

And would your daughter and her mum cope with the tenant from hell, who fails to pay the rent, has to be evicted and trashes the house or sets up a grow house? That would make a decent dent in your daughters inheritance as well.

mp203

Keep_pedalling said:

mp203 said:

Regards my daughter losing out on FTB status; what might the implications of this be? I did Google it but, as usual, my brain was fried after trying to read through a handful of results. I did note that one of the govt. schemes wasn't as good as it first appeared (buy a new home at a discount; but if you sell it you have to sell it at a discount too).
Regards SDLT my guess is that if she were to buy a house or a flat it would be a relatively modest one, even if she was using her inheritance as a deposit.

Losing her FTB status might not be that painful, but having to pay the additional 5% SDLT will be. It will be even more painful if she buys in Scotland where the additional dwelling supplement is 8%.

Thanks.
With FTB status you don't pay any SDLT on your first property up to £250,000; is that correct?
And without it, you pay 5% in England; is that correct? If so, if you bought a house without FTB status for, say, £200,000, you would pay £10,000 SDLT; is that correct?
My daughter could make more than £10k in rental income, maybe (depending on the period of rental). And she'd have the option of living in the property herself, at then end of the latest tenancy agreement period.

mp203

RAS said:

You do realise that in England and Wales anyone can set as an estate agent? Some do training, others wing it. Based on the garbage related by posters here, rather a lot wing it.

And legally your daughter or her trust are liable for any mistakes made by the EA. For example, fail to pay the deposit into a registered scheme and you can be sued for a penalty fee, even if the deposit is returned without deduction.

And would your daughter and her mum cope with the tenant from hell, who fails to pay the rent, has to be evicted and trashes the house or sets up a grow house? That would make a decent dent in your daughters inheritance as well.

Thanks.
By estate agent do you mean letting agent? The deposit/regstd. scheme sounds like a small issue. As for the tenant from hell; would this actually cost the landlord anything at all if the landlord was insured?

RAS

Yes and yes. Read the threads here about tenants "exploiting" landlords who think using an EA absolves them of legal requirements.  

mp203

RAS said:

Yes and yes. Read the threads here about tenants "exploiting" landlords who think using an EA absolves them of legal requirements.  

Thanks, RAS.
I had a look but couldn't find any, but I hear what you're saying.
It also inspired an idea.
If my ex didn't fancy the idea of being a landlord; what if she just kept the property (not lived in it, just kept it empty) until our daughter reached the age of 18?
Maintenance would be minimal (pop in once a week - she lives nearby - have a look around, any repairs would be rare, I imagine).
There would be some expense (insurance, council tax*, small gas and electricity bills) which could be paid for from the estate (my ex being the trustee). But the property would (hopefully) be appreciating in value, which would outweigh any expense, hopefully, and it would be empty (no tenants) when my daughter turned 18.
Also, my daughter could visit the property any time, which could help with the bereavment process, especially initially, I'd imagine (her and her Mum could even sleep over the odd time). To lose her dad would be hard enough without losing her second home at the same time.

*I just read a council may give a discount on an empty property.

Keep_pedalling

mp203 said:

Keep_pedalling said:

mp203 said:

Regards my daughter losing out on FTB status; what might the implications of this be? I did Google it but, as usual, my brain was fried after trying to read through a handful of results. I did note that one of the govt. schemes wasn't as good as it first appeared (buy a new home at a discount; but if you sell it you have to sell it at a discount too).
Regards SDLT my guess is that if she were to buy a house or a flat it would be a relatively modest one, even if she was using her inheritance as a deposit.

Losing her FTB status might not be that painful, but having to pay the additional 5% SDLT will be. It will be even more painful if she buys in Scotland where the additional dwelling supplement is 8%.

Thanks.
With FTB status you don't pay any SDLT on your first property up to £250,000; is that correct?
And without it, you pay 5% in England; is that correct? If so, if you bought a house without FTB status for, say, £200,000, you would pay £10,000 SDLT; is that correct?
My daughter could make more than £10k in rental income, maybe (depending on the period of rental). And she'd have the option of living in the property herself, at then end of the latest tenancy agreement period.

That’s only true until the end of the financial year when stamp duty kicks in at £125k the additional SDLT tapers upward over £125k. There are far simpler and more tax efficient ways of saving for her than property. 

Savvy_Sue

mp203 said:

If my ex didn't fancy the idea of being a landlord; what if she just kept the property (not lived in it, just kept it empty) until our daughter reached the age of 18?
Maintenance would be minimal (pop in once a week - she lives nearby - have a look around, any repairs would be rare, I imagine).
There would be some expense (insurance, council tax*, small gas and electricity bills) which could be paid for from the estate (my ex being the trustee). But the property would (hopefully) be appreciating in value, which would outweigh any expense, hopefully, and it would be empty (no tenants) when my daughter turned 18.
Also, my daughter could visit the property any time, which could help with the bereavment process, especially initially, I'd imagine (her and her Mum could even sleep over the odd time). To lose her dad would be hard enough without losing her second home at the same time.

*I just read a council may give a discount on an empty property.

An empty property, even if heated, can quickly fall into a sad state. Garden needs to be maintained. Cleaning still needed. Plus risk of squatters.

PLUS many councils are now charging double for empty properties. 

There's a period after death when no CT may be due on an empty house, but it doesn't last forever.

RAS

Councils are now under pressure to identify empty properties and get them occupied.

They will charge multiple rates for an empty property. There've been several cases on the housing forum here when buyers of probate properties have been hit immediately by penalty CT rates because the estate has already ready breached the time limit.

And another recently where they "offered" to compulsory purchase if nothing was done to occupy the property