Imminent marriage - house not selling!!! - HELP

GettingMarriedLouise

Hi there,

My fiancé and I own a house each, located in separate sides of the country - Our plan is to sell his and for his to purchase another one nearer to me. We are getting married in may next year - my husband to be is trying to sell his - but in the current climate we are not getting any interest. so we think we will incur some financial difficulties which could mean us having to cancel the wedding - I don't really understand the complexities of what I need to pay the government if we own two houses 

His plan was to sell his house and buy a new house nearer to me (we live on opposite sides of the country). We will then rent mine out as a separate residence. He is living with me a couple of weeks a month, we move between the houses, but I have to be in my areas for work. this is working fine for us. 

The impending marriage is worrying me - if his house doesn't sell before we are married we go into the marriage with two primary residences. Are we charged for this by the government as we have two homes as soon as we get married - If he then sells his home is he then charged again for stamp duty on this new property

This would financially ruin us, and we need to make decisions now as to whether to cancel the wedding or not - I don't think his house will sell in time, we cannot be burdened with this amount of financial risk and plan a marriage - Im going slowly grey with the thought of all this 

SDLT_Geek

GettingMarriedLouise said:

Hi there,

My fiancé and I own a house each, located in separate sides of the country - Our plan is to sell his and for his to purchase another one nearer to me. We are getting married in may next year - my husband to be is trying to sell his - but in the current climate we are not getting any interest. so we think we will incur some financial difficulties which could mean us having to cancel the wedding - I don't really understand the complexities of what I need to pay the government if we own two houses 

His plan was to sell his house and buy a new house nearer to me (we live on opposite sides of the country). We will then rent mine out as a separate residence. He is living with me a couple of weeks a month, we move between the houses, but I have to be in my areas for work. this is working fine for us. 

The impending marriage is worrying me - if his house doesn't sell before we are married we go into the marriage with two primary residences. Are we charged for this by the government as we have two homes as soon as we get married - If he then sells his home is he then charged again for stamp duty on this new property

This would financially ruin us, and we need to make decisions now as to whether to cancel the wedding or not - I don't think his house will sell in time, we cannot be burdened with this amount of financial risk and plan a marriage - Im going slowly grey with the thought of all this 

The concern here seems to be stamp duty on him buying another property.  That would come into focus at the time he completes the purchase and yes, it would make a difference whether or not you are married at that point.

People will be able to help more if you answer these questions:

Have I understood the concern? 
Is the property he would buy be in England, so the relevant stamp duty is stamp duty land tax? 
The purchase would be entirely with his money, not with yours?

Brie

I'd be more concerned with renting a house out if you've never done so before.  It's a minefield and not something to be entered into lightly.

Personally I would just continue to try to get his place sold and the 2 of you move in to yours and then look at whether together or separately you'll buy a place to rent.  One thing at a time rather than everything all at once.  

He'll have to pay stamp duty on almost anything he buys - as I understand it.  And if finances are that tight I assume you won't be able to buy outright so you'll need to be considering BTL mortgages.  If you have a mortgage and move in with him then you'll need to change your mortgage to a BTL.  Again - another bit of complexity at a busy time.  I don't think he'll be looking at much if anything for capital gains tax given that he's living there currently.

Council tax will need to be paid but it may not be too bad if he is actively selling the house.  i.e. just the normal amount not a premium - or at least that's how I read the gov.uk website.

How Council Tax works: Second homes and empty properties - GOV.UK

ReadySteadyPop

GettingMarriedLouise said:

Hi there,

My fiancé and I own a house each, located in separate sides of the country - Our plan is to sell his and for his to purchase another one nearer to me. We are getting married in may next year - my husband to be is trying to sell his - but in the current climate we are not getting any interest. so we think we will incur some financial difficulties which could mean us having to cancel the wedding - I don't really understand the complexities of what I need to pay the government if we own two houses 

His plan was to sell his house and buy a new house nearer to me (we live on opposite sides of the country). We will then rent mine out as a separate residence. He is living with me a couple of weeks a month, we move between the houses, but I have to be in my areas for work. this is working fine for us. 

The impending marriage is worrying me - if his house doesn't sell before we are married we go into the marriage with two primary residences. Are we charged for this by the government as we have two homes as soon as we get married - If he then sells his home is he then charged again for stamp duty on this new property

This would financially ruin us, and we need to make decisions now as to whether to cancel the wedding or not - I don't think his house will sell in time, we cannot be burdened with this amount of financial risk and plan a marriage - Im going slowly grey with the thought of all this 

The solution is to drop the price on his house until it gets interest and sells, then invest the money and don`t buy another house, why would you need two houses if you are a married couple?

Brie

More thoughts.....you are both currently paying for 2 properties.  That might continue after you are married - so nothing changed there. 

So the wild card is the wedding (as opposed to getting married). 

Weddings can be very expensive but don't have to be.  Call in favours, be creative about what you are doing for this celebration.  It doesn't have to be all champagne and stretch limos.  But presumably you've already started to make plans and maybe booked things and paid deposits.  Why not check what can be cancelled without a penalty.  I mean if you've paid a deposit for you and all your friends and relatives to be in Seychelles for a week then you might not be able to get out of that without a scratch.  But it may be possible to get out of a weekend at a posh hotel on the basis that they will be likely to sell a prime time for someone else's occasion.

Albermarle

As others have said you seem to making things a bit more complicated than they need to be.

However I was more concerned with the fact that just the prospect of paying more stamp duty  would financially ruin us, 
This would indicate your finances must be on a bit of a knife edge, which is not a good place to be.

Sounds like you both  selling your houses and buying one between you,  and putting some cash in the bank would be a better idea. 

Slinky

Brie said:

More thoughts.....you are both currently paying for 2 properties.  That might continue after you are married - so nothing changed there. 

So the wild card is the wedding (as opposed to getting married). 

Weddings can be very expensive but don't have to be.  Call in favours, be creative about what you are doing for this celebration.  It doesn't have to be all champagne and stretch limos.  But presumably you've already started to make plans and maybe booked things and paid deposits.  Why not check what can be cancelled without a penalty.  I mean if you've paid a deposit for you and all your friends and relatives to be in Seychelles for a week then you might not be able to get out of that without a scratch.  But it may be possible to get out of a weekend at a posh hotel on the basis that they will be likely to sell a prime time for someone else's occasion.

In my experience, cancelling a wedding even in very good time for the operator to resell to someone else, will result in the loss of the deposit. Happened when we changed our mind for a on venue 10 months in advance of a Friday in May. It's generally written into the contract, and is a nice little earner for the establishment. If there wasn't another wedding taking place on that day I'd eat my tiara.

Mark_d

GettingMarriedLouise said:

Hi there,

My fiancé and I own a house each, located in separate sides of the country - Our plan is to sell his and for his to purchase another one nearer to me. We are getting married in may next year - my husband to be is trying to sell his - but in the current climate we are not getting any interest. so we think we will incur some financial difficulties which could mean us having to cancel the wedding - I don't really understand the complexities of what I need to pay the government if we own two houses 

His plan was to sell his house and buy a new house nearer to me (we live on opposite sides of the country). We will then rent mine out as a separate residence. He is living with me a couple of weeks a month, we move between the houses, but I have to be in my areas for work. this is working fine for us. 

The impending marriage is worrying me - if his house doesn't sell before we are married we go into the marriage with two primary residences. Are we charged for this by the government as we have two homes as soon as we get married - If he then sells his home is he then charged again for stamp duty on this new property

This would financially ruin us, and we need to make decisions now as to whether to cancel the wedding or not - I don't think his house will sell in time, we cannot be burdened with this amount of financial risk and plan a marriage - Im going slowly grey with the thought of all this 

Why not just rent his house out so you both live at your current place?

In my block of flats, the flat opposite me sold for 25% less than I believe it was worth.  Flats in my building just aren't selling at the moment.  So if we were desperate to move, then we'd just have to rent this place out and possibly make a loss each month.

As it happens I was in a similar situation when I got married 20 years ago.  I moved in with my spouse but had my flat sitting empty for a good 6 months before it sold.  It meant our wedding had to be low budget...but we made up for that with a huge tenth wedding anniversary celebration.

saajan_12

GettingMarriedLouise said:

The impending marriage is worrying me - if his house doesn't sell before we are married we go into the marriage with two primary residences. Are we charged for this by the government as we have two homes as soon as we get married - If he then sells his home is he then charged again for stamp duty on this new property

This would financially ruin us, and we need to make decisions now as to whether to cancel the wedding or not - I don't think his house will sell in time, we cannot be burdened with this amount of financial risk and plan a marriage - Im going slowly grey with the thought of all this 

No, if you already own two properties between you, then the act of getting married doesn't trigger a charge. However if you buy a 2nd (or 3rd etc) property WHEN you are married, that could trigger a charge, subject to any exceptions. 

Eg assuming you're in England
* If fiance moved house pre-marriage --> Then normal SDLT due as he's replacing his main residence
* If you got married and moved into 'his' house, renting yours out. Then sell 'his' house and simultaneously buy a new one --> Then normal SDLT due as youre both replacing your joint main residence
* If you got married and moved into 'your' house. Then later sell 'his' house and buy a new one --> Then higher rate SDLT due as you're not replacing your main residence. 

Or you could just sell his house and stick to one, investing the rest of the money and saving the headache. 

Emmia

If your finances are really on a knife edge, I'm going to presume you're just doing a registry office on a Tuesday, with two witnesses, and clothes you already own... 

Rather than a white meringue dress, posh venue, 200 guests, free bar, sit down meal, DJ, band... Chi chi photographer etc. and taking out a loan to cover a lot of it.

People obsess on "weddings" but your wedding day is just the start of your marriage journey, and life as a couple when the food, drink, and dancing is just a memory.

If you really need to sell the other property, drop the price.

Bigphil1474

Totally agree with Emmia. Plus you are over complicating. Whether his house has sold before or after you get married, changes nothing, until you buy a new property. But why buy a new property if you are going to live together? The idea of owning a second home which you can rent out and make a few £ is fine, but the reality is that it's not a passive job where you just wait for the money to roll in. It does need a bit of work. If you invest the proceeds of sale wisely, you will probably be no worse off (given the ongoing costs of being a landlord).