buying parents house?

[browndchl]

My husband & myself are wanting to buy my parents house. We thought about taking over there excisting mortgage & giving them an agreed amount,(mortage & finances are not a problem for us) so they are able to buy another house ie(smaller). we thought they could stay in the house & just pay ther bills and maybe a small monthly amount to us, until we needed to live in the house or until they found somewhere else to live.

How do we go about this? What do we all have to do?

What are the legalities? Who do we legally have to involve?

Please advice, appreciate your assistance. Thank you.

[themas]

You have to have a solicitor to do the conveyancing and involve the mortgage lender. But have you considered the Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax implications? If the house is transferred to you at less than its full value, or if your parents go on living there after the transfer without paying a full market rent there could be inheritance tax problems for their estate when they die (depending on whether the estate - including the full value of the house - exceeds the IHT limit of �285K). If you buy the house and don't live in it you will be building up a Capital Gains Tax liability.

[themas]

Just realised - you will also probably have to pay stamp duty on the full value of the house at the time you take it over. The solicitor can advise.