selling your house to your tenant .............

[answerbanker]

My son is renting his house out - the tenant has expresed an interest in buying it.
The mortgage ha just gone up (interest-only period ended) amon is going abroad with his job so he is thinking of selling it.
What would be the best / cheapest way of handling it ??
Could they just request a change of bane on the mortgage (he does not expect a proffit)
advice please

[answerbanker]

sorry - key board went hay wire
### Could they just request a change of name on the mortgage (he does not expect a proffit)#####
advice please

[nungate]

We sold our house directly to a neighbour last year. You will still need a solicitor, however, you should have a valuation done, and inform the buyer of the property's value and take it from there. The solicitor is the one who has to do all the actual conveyancing. I won't be possible to just change the name on the mortgage as the ownership of the property has to be transferred into the buyer's name.

[ladybirder]

The fact that the prospective purchaser is already living there won't make any difference other than saving on estate agents fees; the usual procedures will have to be gone through. The tenant will have to apply for a mortgage and the property will have to be valued and a mortgage valuation survey done. They will both need to engage a solicitor.

[bednobs]

and he'll need to pay capital gains tax?

[answerbanker]

how much capital gains would he pay ?
He owes £77000 and wants to just get enough to pay the solicitors and pay the mortgage off ??

[buildersmate]

Oh I see - he thought he could avoid capital gains tax (CGT). Sorry, but that just won't wash.
We can't answer the CGT question because we don't have enough information. If this rented house is not his 'principal private residence' (and it seems it isn't as he doesn't live there), he is liable for CGT assessment on the difference between what he bought it for and what he sells it for. The tax rate is 18% of the 'profit', however it isn't as bad as that because he can deduct costs of buying and selling (mainly solicitor and estate agent, if used) and any improvements he has made that he has proof of. Also in the year of the sale, each individual of 'allowed' around the 1st £10k of a capital gain in the tax year without paying the tax.
That's as much info as it is possible to provide for you.