!st time buyer & stamp duty.

jojo_the_joyful

First, thank you to all who read & reply to my query.. (my hubby calls this site "money saving Superman" 😁.

This will be a long post because I don't want to leave out relevant details.

So, my hubby has been in the army for 43 years.😮. He has one pension & will have another next year when he is 60 .

We have lived in military accommodation all our married lives. He was left a £280 inheritence from his mother. He has invested & paid @££190 depossit & a mortgage for £71,000.

Now this is where it gets complicated, please forgive my rambling whist I explain.

I'll start in the village. My Grandad bought several properties in the 1930's from the Sharpham estate in Devon. Ever since then his cottage (I’ll call it No.2, it is grade II listed & is 400 years old.) has ben a family home.

In the 1970's my Nana had a stroke & he sold of a large proportion of land to build a house with a downstairs toilet, for my nana. ( property FR) His eldest daughter bought NO.2 from him & his son, My uncle bought the lot next door.

Then DEATH happened as it always did. The rest of the properties in the area were in my Nanny’s name & when Grand dad died it was all split between the 3 siblings, who sold off the other properties.

My Aunts death led my Mum & her brother to own 1/2 of No.2 & his new build (FR).

Then my Mum died, Christmas day 2002, leaving her shares to myself & 3 brothers.

My brother the executer sold Mums house in North London there we all grew up, suggested I buy out my brothers 1/8th share which I did. So now I own 50%.

Then my Uncle died leaving both his shares to my Aunt. ( I love my aunt. (she is not blood, but my Uncles wife. She was there when I was born & has been a very very big part of my life. So no complicatio0ns there vat all,)

My Aunt sole her shares of No. 2 to to my brothers & my middle bro bought out his bro's other shares so he now owns NO. 2. She said she will keep FR to live off & will leave me the other 50% in her will. She is 89 & I hope & pray to god she reaches 100. This bit is probably irrelevant.

It is her sister & BIL who live in FR. Have done since we got married over 33 years ago, & have always been good & kind to us & our kids & eviction is not an option.

So we put an offer in on a bungalow. In my husbands name ( daughter suggested we might avoid stamp duty.) it was accepted. Then We had to declare any property I might own as we are married & co habiting etc, which we did.

No proof of deed was asked for, No valuation asked for no info on the property asked for. So we were told we had to pay a £6,000 inheritance fee. OK, We are not trying to cheat the system.

Now the solicitors say we have to pay £17,150, in stamp duty. OK, but if they don't know how much my 1/2 share is worth how can they choose the figure. Our purchase is £271,500.

Please advise. Thanks in advance & sorry for rambling.

jojo_the_joyful

PS, I have not received a penny over the £1,000 gift my aunt gave ne for dental work, over 15 years ago

Caz3121

If your 50% of the other property is worth £40k or more then the £17,150 figure looks correct. The figure is calculated on the purchase price of the property

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/

the only way to avoid this would be to sell your share of the property prior to purchase of new property (there will be likely be CGT to pay on the sale)…then it would be £3,575 that would be due instead

jojo_the_joyful

Also, our solicitor has requested proof of his mothers inherence % proof his brother has forwarded the said inheritance. which we have. Photo statements. Now they are asking for proof that my BIL has sent such documents, from my BIL. Is this normal.

jojo_the_joyful

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82046691#Comment_82046691

Thank you. That confirms our bad news. I appreciate you replying so quickly. May be one day the universe will give us a break . x

Bigphil1474

Sorry, I couldn't follow all that, but there are some slightly different rules for the military. Did you and your husband own a property together that you rented out while he was in the military? If so, he could nominate that as your primary residence whilst you were living in military accommodation. Not sure how far back they will allow it to be backdated but worth taking a look . That will help with the capital gains tax. If the part owned property was your primary residence and you sell that and buy a new house, you may not need to pay the extra SDLT, just standard.

No idea what an inheritance fee is. I would query that. If you inherited part ownership of the property the estate would pay any fees owed, up to it being given to you. You don't pay any inheritance tax on something you receive from a will.

sherlock228

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82047109#Comment_82047109

nomination of primary residence must be made within 2 years of having a (new) "combination" of residences. That time limit applies whether military or not.

the only combination OP has is her 50% share of property FR (dating from 2002 inheritance) and their service quarters. So it is now too late to nominate FR

Bigphil1474

Said with such confidence, but not quite correct. From the RAF families federation -

"If your home was rented more than 2 years ago

Many home owners are unaware you need to nominate a privately owned home for CGT purposes. Therefore, late nominations are allowed – as referenced in the Chargeable gains Act of 1992, section 222(5A). This is predicated on the premise that all but one of your residences during the period you are nominating have negligible capital value (i.e. SFA that is rented where a third party has invested the capital)."

Someone living in SFA (Service Family Accommodation) can nominate beyond the 2 years.

sherlock228

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051241#Comment_82051241

for the sake of clarity that is not a clause related purely to military service or occupation of SFA
The legislation deals with the situation where a person has no material interest in the property they occupy.

it applies to many employment scenarios, eg: a farm worker living in a "tied cottage"

jojo_the_joyful

hello all.

Thank you so much for your replies.Sorry I am late in responding & thanking you all for your replies.

So yes we owe the £17Kin stamp duty. We are fine with that ( legally not financially) & hubby has increased hi mortgage and reduced his deposit.

Now for the fun part. And thanks Bigphil. Your reply made us dig a little deeper. The £60 was for the AML & 6they now want another £40 as the £60 didn't cover it. My BIL, the executer of his mums will is really not happy with all the photocopying & time consuming work he is having to do as he feels it is non of their business. However, the law says differently😪so we are perservering. Thanks again.

Advice to any other people in our situation, Buy a tent.! !

ETA, After a "lightbulb" moment, I searched & found out that probate once cleared is public record. WE can purchase a copy for just £16. These solicitors didn't even suggest how to obtain the paperwork, Instead, they are charging us to do their legwork. Oh Hum…