Swapping Not Selling - Can it be done?

[Cityliving]

Hey guys,

I have a nice apt in town worth approx 650K in todays market and I`m thinking of moving away from the city to maybe a 3 bed semi in the suburbs. The obvious way is to sell and buy a new one but is it possible if you know someone who has a property of similar value to simply swap the ownership of the properties and thus avoid the associated costs of a sale (agents, solicitors, stamp duty(???)).

Any advice would be great.

 

[Taximan]

As far as I can see you will only save on agents fees, you will need a solictor to do the conveancy and you will be liable to Stamp duty at the open market value of the property.

 

[ClubMan]

This strategy might avoid estate agents' costs (which can also be avoided by selling privately anyway) but I don't think that you'll avoid tax (e.g. SD/CGT) liabilities (since the transfer of assets even where no money changes hands triggers these) or legal costs (since the conveyancing still needs to be sorted and it would be prudent for each party to the transactions to get their own independent legal advice).

Post crossed with Taximan's.

 

[Cityliving]

Cheers guys.