Transfer of equity

When personal circumstances involving your property and living arrangements change, a transfer of equity may be required. This is where someone is added to, or removed from, the ownership of a property.

Why might I need a transfer of equity?
There are a variety of reasons you may choose to undertake a transfer of equity.

As a property owner, you may decide to add a partner, husband or wife to the title of the property or, during a separation, you may decide that one party is to be removed from the property ownership.

What are the stages of a transfer of equity?
The process for a transfer of equity will be different depending on each individual case and the type of transfer required.

As an example, for a transfer of equity from joint names to one name, where we are acting for the person remaining on the title to the property, the process would follow these stages:

1. If there is a mortgage secured on the property, you will need to either arrange a remortgage to repay that loan (and any monies you have agreed to pay to ‘buy out’ the outgoing owner) or get permission from your current lender to transfer the property and have the mortgage in your name.
2. A transfer of equity questionnaire will be sent out for you to complete and return to us.
3. We will check the property title and prepare a transfer.
   The transfer is then sent to the outgoing party or the outgoing owner’s solicitors (we cannot act for the outgoing owner).
4. Once we receive the signed transfer we will send it to you to sign and return.
5. If there are funds to transfer or a remortgage to complete, we will arrange this alongside your transfer of equity.
6. Once we have funds in place and have received the signed transfer, we can arrange to complete the transfer of equity, pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax and register the new ownership at HM Land Registry.

What might I need to consider before a transfer of equity?
Although we are not able to give tax advice, we would draw your attention to a couple of financial considerations which may have an impact on your transfer of equity.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
You may need to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when all or part of an interest in land or property is transferred to you and you give anything of monetary value in exchange. You should ensure you are aware of any SDLT liability before completion. Any SDLT payable must be paid within 14 days of completion. For more information, click here.

Capital gains tax
Capital gains tax is raised when you sell or gift an asset for more than you bought it for.