Buying for a friend abroad

skycatcher

A friend doesn't get along with his neighbour. This neighbour is now selling his property but won't sell to my friend so my friend has asked if i will be the "purchaser" and he will cover all the costs and "buy" it from me upon completion. I'm in the UK and the property is in Ireland.
Are there any particular issues i need to be aware of (tax etc) in doing this for him? 

Thanks.

elsien

If he’s giving you the money to buy it with, that throws up all sorts of money laundering implications. How are you going to evidence the source of the funds? 

I think this is very simply a “don’t go there” one. 

user1977

You (or your friend) would probably be better asking somewhere Irish rather than here (where we mostly understand the UK jurisdictions), I don't think the fact you happen to be in the UK is all that relevant.

But as above, it may be a difficult one to explain from a money-laundering point of view (assuming you don't already have enough of your own cash to buy).

Any reason why your friend thinks he won't get on with whoever the buyer happens to be?

flaneurs_lobster

Couple of thousand Euro for a car and a very good friend I might give some thought to.

Property, overseas, much money? 

Nah.

skycatcher

elsien said:

If he’s giving you the money to buy it with, that throws up all sorts of money laundering implications. How are you going to evidence the source of the funds? 

I think this is very simply a “don’t go there” one. 

I had thought about money laundering and evidence.
The property is basically a plot of land with an outhouse so there cosy is likely to be <€100k which i would have anyway.

skycatcher

user1977 said:

You (or your friend) would probably be better asking somewhere Irish rather than here (where we mostly understand the UK jurisdictions), I don't think the fact you happen to be in the UK is all that relevant.

But as above, it may be a difficult one to explain from a money-laundering point of view (assuming you don't already have enough of your own cash to buy).

Any reason why your friend thinks he won't get on with whoever the buyer happens to be?

It's basically a plot of land that my friend wants to incorporate into his garden. I would have enough cash to evidence it.

flaneurs_lobster

Well if you've got a spare £100k knocking about and want to help out a mate, can't see why you wouldn't jump at the chance to own your own chunk of Ireland, albeit briefly.

skycatcher

flaneurs_lobster said:

Well if you've got a spare £100k knocking about and want to help out a mate, can't see why you wouldn't jump at the chance to own your own chunk of Ireland, albeit briefly.

By nature I'm a cautious person and was just trying see any pitfalls in doing this.....though not sure if were being sarcastic above (if not I apologise!)

_Penny_Dreadful

skycatcher said:

A friend doesn't get along with his neighbour. This neighbour is now selling his property but won't sell to my friend so my friend has asked if i will be the "purchaser" and he will cover all the costs and "buy" it from me upon completion. I'm in the UK and the property is in Ireland.
Are there any particular issues i need to be aware of (tax etc) in doing this for him? 

Thanks.

I imagine there would be stamp duty to pay when you purchase the land.  I'm not familiar with the Irish tax system but I did find the link below which suggests stamp duty of 7.5% for non-residential property and I think you need to apply for a Personal Public Service (PPS) number which is similar to the UK's Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).  No idea about any taxes you could face when disposing of the land when you sell it to your friend.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning-a-home/buying-a-home/stamp-duty/

flaneurs_lobster

skycatcher said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Well if you've got a spare £100k knocking about and want to help out a mate, can't see why you wouldn't jump at the chance to own your own chunk of Ireland, albeit briefly.

By nature I'm a cautious person and was just trying see any pitfalls in doing this.....though not sure if were being sarcastic above (if not I apologise!)

No need to apologise, I was being very sarcastic.

Seriously, forget about the land deal, do you know this pal of yours well enough to give them an unsecured loan, on open terms, of £100k?

Or, howabout - 

You buy the land for £100k. Your pal drops dead (or disappears, or doesn't want to be your friend anymore). You are left with a chunk of bog that's really worth £5k. 

silvercar

Better for your friend to buy through a solicitor and instruct the solicitor not to reveal their identity. The rich and famous must do this all the time. Or they can say it’s for security and let the seller think they are connected to the military/ police/ crime witness….