- Got the survey report and the only red dots are to speak to legal advisor about conservatory and dormer permissions plus get the electricity checked before exchange…
- Life Insurance is not sorted yet due to checks required since some issues <10 years ago, but some insurers only care about <5 years ago.
- My critical illness not sorted yet but I’m not sure that essential to move forward now. Anyone know if we can skip it at this moment and get it later?
- We also need the ownership/will/deed of trust stuff sorting
Our situation isn’t terribly complicated (currently unmarried, he has children, I don’t) but needs to be done properly and we don’t understand the options really (like a monkey playing cymbals when given something to read again) so want to speak to a human to have it explained.
As for the vendors - last we heard they had an offer accepted. Our uneducated plan was to hold on until we got the survey so we were sure there wasn’t a £15k roof joist/subsidence issue (basically nothing that would need a renegotiation on the selling price) then start the massive push forward. I guess that has now come to pass?
Yes - time for the big push forward! Conservatory etc permissions checking is not an issue, and as said above you can just purchase an indemnity policy in the event the required reassurances are not forthcoming (these are cheap - typically £100-ish - you can buy one yourself, it doesn't have to be bought by the vendor - it's often worth just paying the £100 to save the hassle of trying to persuade the vendor to do it... (people get nervous)).
Electrics check on the survey isn't something I'd worry about at all - they basically always say that unless someone happens to have a certificate of recent professional rewiring - which of course no-one does! Personally I'd ignore that suggestion for simplicity, and maybe get a sparky in to look at it post-purchase. It's all about removing as much stress and hassle from the purchase process as possible. Don't worry - there will still be plenty!
Your solicitor should be able to explain the ownership options obviously, but for a basic overview:
The simplest (and most common for couples - not that that's a recommendation necessarily): You can own it together ('joint tenants') - this means you both own all of it, as if you were one entity, '5t3lla-and-partner'; both signatures will be required for anything, mortgages, selling, etc. In this situation if one of you dies the other 'half' of the entity continues to own all of it, in the same way you'd continue to own eg your car if your legs were chopped off. The house is taken outside the scope of the dead partner's will, because the other partner already owns all of it. This also takes it outside of inheritance tax calculations - basically the ownership isn't being transferred, so it's not being 'inherited'.
The other way is 'tenants in common' - where you and your partner will own defined shares (adding up to 100%). In this case you get to choose what the percentages are (can be anything from 99%-1% (or even more extreme) to 50-50% or whatever). You just decide. These ownerships are considered separate 'units' so that one partner can will their share independently of the other partner, and indeed independently of their wishes; even sell their share unilaterally (this rarely happens in practice because owning part of a property with someone opposed to you owning it is generally a bad idea). It is for this reason that deeds of trust are often used in this situation - the deed will basically be an agreement as to how these things will be handled should they occur - it can be agreed that neither will sell without the other's permission (and/or that if one wants to sell the other has to agree), how it should be willed in the event of death, and indeed anything else that would normally be the preserve of a property owner (what colour to paint it, what plants you want in the garden, anything!).
A deed of trust can also be used with 'joint tenants' - typically this might be because eg your partner wants the house to go to his children after his death, but is happy for you to continue to own it while you live should he go first. Without a deed he has no control what happens after his death because it would be 100% yours to do with as you want. A typical deed might be that you are holding the house 'in trust' for the children while you live - ie you can't will it to someone else. It might also include clauses giving the children beneficial interest [means they are legally allowed the benefit of the house - ie can use it, visit, live there; in contrast to the legal interest, which is the actual ownership in law. These usually go hand in hand, but they don't have to] - this would prevent you eg banning them from the house if you became 100% owner. The deed can also include anything else you want - it's basically an agreement between you as to matters of the house - the only limit is your imagination (but I'd advise keeping it simple
). All the aspects of a deed described in this paragraph can also go into a deed with tenants in common too of course.
Hope that's slightly illuminating!
e2get the right way round of the joint and in common tenants (thanks to
Glitter )!
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