how to 'give' my son my house

designeditdesignedit

I am just wondering the possiblilty of giving my house to my son and how to go about it;

Briefly, I have a house valued approx 130k. Outstanding mortgage is £30k .

Son is self employed,

Am I right in saying that I could do something called Gift of Equity , so that he owns the £100k equity

Are there any alternatives you can think of?

Thanks

kaMelo

What are you trying to achieve by giving ownership of your home to your son?

If we know the why, then it may be possible to suggest a how.

Brie

And have you talked to your son about it? Does he want the house??

designeditdesignedit

yes, we have talked about this, its basically that I dont see the point in leaving it until Im ready to pop off before he can inherit the property.

Brie

So it's not someplace you are living? Or are you thinking you will live there but he'll own it with you somewhat like his tenant? Who'll be responsible for maintenance and all the other things? What if he marries and divorces and the house needs to be sold as part of the financial split? What if he (hopefully not) dies and his spouse inherits and doesn't want you living there? What if you run out of money and want the house back to sell for your own benefit? So many questions…..

Neil49

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980275#Comment_81980275

Where do you intend to live?

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6666075/how-to-give-my-son-my-house

You can't (except in specific circumstances like divorce) keep a mortgage and change the deeds without your son going on the mortgage. You can own a home in whatever ratio you want, but if there is a mortgage you both need to be on the mortgage. You could get a sole owner, joint borrower mortgage if you wanted to gift the property but remain liable for the mortgage, though this would make your son jointly liable for the mortgage.

p00hsticks

Are both he and you currently living in the house ?

What if he wants to sell up and move somewhere else - perhaps with a partner ?

And if he's not living in it, then he'll lose out on any first time buyer status, and be racking up a potential Capital Gain Tax bill when the house IS sold, whcih would;nt be the case if he inherited on your death.

This is (very) rarely a good idea, even if you owned the property outright. Giving someone a house that they didnt choose, that they don't feel they can sell (because the donor is still living in there) but that they'll have all the responsibility for maintaining is a bit of a 'white elephant' gift in my opinion.

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980275#Comment_81980275

Do you live elsewhere and (aside from the value of the house) do you have sufficient money/other assets to cover any care costs?

Does your son want the house with all it entails, or (presuming you don't need the money tied up in the property) would he prefer the monetary value of the house that would be realised by selling it - having the cash also avoids him losing his FTB status if that's applicable.

Are you doing this to avoid funding care for yourself if you need it? Look up "deprivation of assets" the local authority will take the view that the house (value of) is yours and so should be sold to cover care costs - giving it away doesn't work, you're still treated as though you have the house and will need to self fund.

Keep_pedalling

Assuming that this is you home rather than a second property this idea is nuts. It does not avoid care costs should you need residencial care because it regarded as deliberate deprivation of assets, you risk loosing the roof over you head should you son get divorced, go bankrupt or die before you.

If you son does not already own his own home it means he will have lost his first time buyer status and will pay additional 5-8% tax (depending on which part of the UK he lives) when he does by his first home. There will also be a potential capital tax liability when the house is eventually sold unless he lives with you.

The fact that you have a mortgage on the property will also make this difficult to do as well.

ACG

I think it is important to understand the "why" also.

If you need care or can see that being possible in the foreseeable, it might not be the outcome you think it will.

Likewise, what happens if your son meets someone, or just wants to sell up?

It is difficult to give someone something with strings attached (ie you remain in the property). Its worth getting advice from a tax adviser.