Guest Alison1967 Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Our Solicitor has advised us against selling our house to my sister and her husband Apparently legally we cannot sell half of our house, you have to sell them the whole house for halve and then have clauses regarding the rest of the money that won't mean jack s**t if they end up divorcing. Anyway solicitor says if we go ahead with it he won't handle sale as not in our best interests. So now everyone is all upset and distraught and its all my fault because I suggested it. So now looks like we give it another three months with EA no.3 and drop the price again. Don't know how I can make up for all the upset I have caused my family and where to begin trying, wanna get drunk but have to go to work in a couple of hours so not a good idea. Sorry guys just wanted to get it out of my system............... rant over Sorry Again!! Ali xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Sorry to hear your bad news ali... hope it all works out Sending you hugs Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hi Ali My advice is find another solicitor. It is off the wall for a solicitor to tell you what is or isn't in your best interests and then try to hold you to ransom in this wholly amateurish fashion. I strongly suspect that the truth is that your solicitor is a lightweight who only has a hazy idea of what the legal problems could be, even less idea about how to draft the clauses to make the arrangement stick to the wall, and no desire to do anything but domestic conveyancing that is so bog-standard that the average chimp could make a better job of it than most humans because the chimp would not be bored out of its skull by the mind-numbing repetition involved. Any solicitor with an ounce of imagination and skill would leap at the chance to help you if only for the sheer variety. However, it would be quite complex to do and therefore it would be expensive, plus you and the other couple would each need separate legal advice. It would be expensive because nobody would be likely to be willing to do it for a fixed fee and a reasonable charge out rate at the moment is around £200 an hour plus VAT. At least 10 hours work is involved, so most solicitors would horse-trade a bit on the fees. Depending on the value of the property and how complex the transaction proved to be, my instinct is about $1,200 - £1,500 per couple in legal fees. Where the idea would come unstuck is if either couple needed a mortgage from a High St lender in order to owntheir own half of the property. Most commerical lenders would walk away from shared ownership in a situation like this. They like straightforward deals, which this isn't particularly. Another complication is that although four of you could have your names on the Title, what you would have is a Tenancy In Common. The effect of a T-in-C is that any one of the four legal 'owners' can force the sale of the property at any time. If one or more of the remaining three won't buy the other one out (or the other one refuses to sell to any of them - which happens if people become bloody-minded, eg in the event of an acrimonious divorce) then the property would have to be sold. Nor could it sit on the market for a year awaiting a buyer unless all 4 agree, because the 'best price' in a given situation is not necessarily the highest market price possible. Nevertheless, there is no reason - technically - why the exact details of what is called the Beneficial Ownership cannot be recorded accurately in writing, in a way that the Court would have no difficulty giving effect to should push come to shove. It would be a bit of a chore to slog through text-books, precedents and one's own skill as a draftsman to ensure that nothing had been missed out or wrongly recorded, but with two solicitors involved - one for each coople - legal rocket science this definitely isn't. There is no reason in the world why it should cause a family upset either. It sounds to me as if a completely cack-handed solicitor has made a total dog's breakfast of this and has caused totally unnecessary distress to everyone involved in the process, particularly with his arrogant, insensitive, paternalistic - and in my opinion unprofessional - decrees about what sentient adults can and cannot do. The Law contains the machinery to permit it. The guy can obey the Law, not his own blinking wishes, I strongly suggest. It would not be straightforward to do, but if you can do it without needing to involve a High Street Lender, then it can definitely be done if that is what the parties require. I would want to get a tax-specialist to confirm what the CGT position might be (hopefully nil for both couples, but I am not sure.) Depending on the value, Inheritance Tax might also be relevant, and it would be prudent to persuade the parties to consider what they would want in the event that one of them dies prematurely. Ultimately, everyone concerned would need to understand that for practical purposes, each of them holds a stake in the eventual proceeds of sale rather than anything else. It is not the same deal as the ancestral Stately Home which must be preserved in trust for generations to come irrespective of a potentially horrendous liability to tax. However, I am very strongly of the view that whether or not your wish is a wise one is a decision for the four of you alone, and the job of the legal profession is confined to ensuring that each of you is fully aware of what all the possible down-sides could be. It is not up to me to dictate whether or not you should take sugar in your tea, however, and this is no blinking different. Shoosmiths & Harrison would have the skill to do this (and the tax back-uo available in house) and they are a very reputable firm who would not over-charge for the work. I would recommend using them to act for the property's present owners, because the seller takes the lead in drafting the necessary documents in a situation like this. Do a Google search for Shoosmiths + solicitors and their details will come up. They do NOT need to see the land, or to be anywhere near the land geographically. I think they do the domestic conveyancing out of their office in Milton Keynes or in the direction of Oxford. If they decided that it would be best-tackled by their commercial property team (more familiarity with drafting unusual documents) that team was near Fareham just off the M27 last time I heard a couple of years ago. I suggest giving all concerned a chance to unwind and to dry tears which should never have been caused over the weekend. Have a quiet look at the real options here, because they definitely do exist. Cheer up, lassie. All is NOT lost here. Lots of love Gill xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Beki Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 I'm sorry, hope you sort it out! :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Ali ,hopefully you will read Gill's posting soon as it should make you feel much better ,,well done Gill Good luck Ali Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nelson Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Our Solicitor has advised us against selling our house to my sister and her husbandApparently legally we cannot sell half of our house, you have to sell them the whole house for halve and then have clauses regarding the rest of the money that won't mean jack s**t if they end up divorcing. Anyway solicitor says if we go ahead with it he won't handle sale as not in our best interests. So now everyone is all upset and distraught and its all my fault because I suggested it. So now looks like we give it another three months with EA no.3 and drop the price again. Don't know how I can make up for all the upset I have caused my family and where to begin trying, wanna get drunk but have to go to work in a couple of hours so not a good idea. Sorry guys just wanted to get it out of my system............... rant over Sorry Again!! Ali xxx Hey Ali.. Chin up! Gill's advice (as usual) is sound and good. I do feel for you though as we, too, have been right through the mill, the washing machine and then the mangle with house sales! Breathe deeply and don't rush into anything. All will become clear in the end and, whether we realise it or not, everything happens for a reason! ... All the best, Krista Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.