To ask how to avoid 2nd home rate stamp duty

[Stampdutywoes]

Hear me out before you attack.

Currently living in rental property after splitting with ex partner. We own the home he is living in jointly.
The landlord of my rental wants to sell and I would like to buy it but the additional 5% stamp duty rate for what would count as a second home is a killer.
Are there any conveyancing solicitors who could advise on how to avoid (not evade) this extra 5%?

@Stampdutywoes ,

‘Anyone would think I was proposing to drown some puppies’

I think you have had some really good advice here, as well as some totally unnecessary bashing.

What you are intending to do is crazy on many levels. The only thing I can think is that you are still together as a couple but prefer to live apart.

However, you have to accept that things can change and what seems a good compromise now would be horrific if circumstances changed in lots of different ways. In any event, you will need really solid legal agreements about who has the right to sell the properties, who decided on the price, and what happens in the event of one of you losing capacity.

This is an odd idea. Surely owning your own home is the best way forward?

Good grief. Any sensible person avoids tax where possible. Evading tax is obviously different.

You really do need to take proper legal and tax advice as you are putting yourself in a situation that could get very expensive financially. It is impossible to provide a simple answer on a forum like this as there is insufficient information on your individual circumstances. It does however sound like what you are planning to is completely idiotic to say the least for a lot of reasons! There are potentially more sensible options available to you but nobody who gets paid to give that sort of high-level professional advice is going to do so on here.

Noted although I don’t think it is idiotic in my circumstances I can see how it could appear to be so

So force a sale.

I don’t want to force him to leave the home he loves

Thankfully not but you don't appear to have given any consideration to the practical aspects of owning two homes with a former partner. Nor are you acknowledging anyone flagging them to you. Its lovely that you trust each other - but that can change in a heartbeat.

How do you propose to offset the benefit to your partner of you paying the higher rate of stamp duty - and the fact you've paid rent for five years whilsyt he has been living mortgage free? That is not a matter of getting a lower purchase price (a seller will not be minded to reduce just because you own two homes).

You genuinely do need to see a solicitor about how to create deeds of trust to cover all practicalities and eventualities for both homes. And you will need to pay money for that. Its all well and good when things are fine but if you don't have it documented what happens in the event of X, Y and Z you are massively vulnerable.

Preumably the second house is much cheaper than the first one (otherwise he would just buy you out like ... normal people). That has implications in terms of what you are paying for upkeep, insurance etc. Are you currently named as having an insurable interest in the first house? If not, you need to be

All costs have been and will be paid 50:50

Any estate agent will value it. If he can’t afford to buy you out, how can he afford half of another property?

Then you have no option but to pay (as you should). Can you explain what either of you will gain from half owning 2 properties, or owning, as it would be seen by law?

Think about it?

No. Anyone without a conscience avoids tax. Some of us pay a lot of tax and accept that because we are privileged to be in a position to even be considering how much we pay.

I have.

What are the arrangements should one of you meet and marry someone else?
Any existing will would be invalidated.

If you are part owner of a million pound house +, why on earth wouldn't you arrange for proper legal and tax planning advice?

So anyone with ISAs, premium bonds, payment in dividends rather than PAYE, trusts to ring fence against IHT is without a conscience?

To quote what you said upthread to another poster,

"Let me get my tiny violin out."

It's in your best interests to have a clean break.

You are in the same position as any couple that owns two homes and so you need to pay stamp duty the same as they do.

Thanks for joining the conversation

There’s no comparison with investing in an ISA or premium bonds. You’re planning to defraud to the tune of thousands. And it would be fraud.

It doesn't sound as though you will own half of two properties each - surely you will own your new home 100%, and a share in the old family home?
So, second home rules totally apply. If you don't want to pay it, you can always sell your share in the original house.

DH and I have a joint home and a joint rental property. The rental property was originally mine only and he now has a 10% share just so we can share the tax return 50/50 (apparently you don't need to own half to pay half the taxes, thanks DH!).
When we bought our joint house this wasn't in effect, but only I was buying a second house, and I couldn't live in the first one as it was rented out. I'm not sure what the rules would be then - this must apply to lots of families with mesher orders - the NRP moving out and needing to buy somewhere, but not selling their half of the FMH.

Would something like this work, maybe, where you are owner of half the original house but rent it to him?

I'm not quite sure why you want to both own both, though.

Check the difference between avoidance and evasion before issuing baseless accusations

What you’re planning is evasion.

Wrong again. The clue is in the thread title.