Has anyone experience of this please?
Specifically in relation to CGT and how to prove that I am not not liable for the tax as I will mainly be in the "old house".
For context after our family is expanding unexpectedly - not more children who are all grown up - but with parents coming to live with us.
This was not on the cards a year ago but recent bereavement has made it the best option for all of us - and we are happy with that.
We recently saw the perfect property to suit all our needs and in a good location (less than mile from current home). We (me) put in an offer and this has been accepted. I am a cash buyer so no need to mortgage thankfully.
I do know I am liable for additional stamp duty as this is technically a second home and I know that I have three years to sell to get a refund on the extra % I will pay.
The vendor has offered on a property and that has been accepted (that is also chain free) - so things should move fairly quickly.
I don't want to put our current home on the market til about Spring 2024 due to current market and also because there will be one or two things to sort to make it attractive to buyers (jobs I have put off for five years as I wasn't planning to move for a while!)
My question is - when and if I do sell my current property how do I prove that it was my main home? We will move some things to the other house when sale goes through esp as don't want it to seem vacant - and it gives us a great opportunity to get the new house how we all want it. The plan is to occasionally stay there - but not on a day-to-day basis until we sell our current house.
Any advice would be great - I am perhaps overthinking and want to do it properly. For context the current house (and the new one) will be in my name (and later transferred to tenant in common when older relative has sold their property - which is less likely to sell in next three years and is also abroad)
Many thanks