Signing A House Over

[Oldilocks]

how do you go about signing a house over to someone else

[Richard1966]

If the property is owned outright then you need to transfer the deeds to the new owner. This can be done with a change of the land registry is its a registered property. However for tax or benefit purposes this could be seen as a transfer under value unless money changes hands.

If the property is mortgages, them the only way if for the new owner to remortgage in their name only and buy out the old mortgage that was presumably in joint names. Otherwise whatever you do with the property the liability for the mortgage remains.

[Gizmonster]

Just arrange it with a solicitor.
You obviuosly won't be able to do it if there's a mortgage or secured loans on it, as it's not your's to sign over.
My dad recently signed his house over to me - it was straight forward enough :)

[Gizmonster]

*obviously* .... damn typos =/

[Graham-W]

However................ If the transfer is intended to avoid paying inheritance tax or to avoid paying care home fees it may complicate things in the future.

[FredPuli43]

And if the property has not changed hands for many years it may not be registered with the Land Registry. That makes life complicated and you definitely need a solicitor; really you need one anyway because there is more to conveyancing than ticking a few boxes, and do- it- yourself amateurs have nobody to sue if it all goes wrong.

[Peter Pedant]

use a licensed conveyancer rather than a solicitor

the solicitor will tell you to seek tax advice

You need to know the tax implications before doing this
as some transactions cannot be un-wound ( = reversed )
but the forward transaction attracts tax
and then back wards (restoring status quo coz it turns out to be a a bad idea) transaction attacts a tax charge

[FredPuli43]

A competent solicitor will, of necessity, advise of the tax liability and consequences of doing things a certain way. A licensed conveyancer need to have any qualification in law at all. No normal solicitor will advise you of some whizzo tax avoidance scheme of doubtful validity with HMRC or not;not that any transaction of the type you mention is going to involve any complex tax considerations (you are not planning to put it through a company in the Cayman Islands , are you?). And he is governed by a professional code which is far stricter than that for any licensed conveyancer. And I would not allow any licensed conveyancer within a mile of anything involving unregistered land.

[Peter Pedant]

You are quite right St Fred

I gave up on solicitors when one told me to consult my accountant
and I had to tell another how to transfer part ownership in equity - and he didnt: we found out later that he had only transferred partially when later there as question to title.

[Peter Pedant]

.

Donns of Manchester had a truly truly whizzo licensed conveyancer
who seems to have been completely unappreciated since they fired or retired him and pulled out of Land Law ten or so years ago - I thought because he wasnt pulling in enough money

[FredPuli43]

Yes, PP, incompetence is found in all professions. But a solicitor who advises using an accountant at least has the sense to know his professional or personal limits; a licensed conveyancer may have no such compunction or understanding.

Only time I used a licensed conveyancer he came as part of a package promoted by a large estate agents. I didn't know that I was not getting a solicitor. When I googled and investigated him, I discovered a long list of complaints about him and previous companies associated with him. Then his current firm went bust and the work was transferred to another company, also run by him. The work was, eventually completed; had it not been the simplest possible conveyance, I'd have stopped it in the first place. I can't think that a solicitor in his position, with his record, would have been allowed to practise; the professional body does not like solicitors who go bust or run up a long list of compaints

[Peter Pedant]

Fintan O'Brien of Police St M
was also very good
but the good ones I know - besides you St Freddie - are either retired or dead.

I suppose it is like finding a good Doctor - you have to go by reputation. A surgeon is easy - ask an anaesthetist - otherwise it is the usual
you pays your money and takes your choice.

or an accountant
I have recently buried mine - she was dead I assure you.

[conormcc]

if my sister was signing over our parents house to me that hasn't been lived in for the last 6 years and the flat roof came through do I have to pay signing over money?? thanks