Keeping it in the family
Q. I have a small cottage in Wales which is my second home. I would like to sell this it to my son, at less than the market price. Is the process just the same as selling to a stranger?
A. If your son is borrowing money to buy your house the lender will insist on a survey (to ensure the house is worth the amount your son is borrowing) and that a solicitor is involved in the transaction. So it will be very similar to selling a house to a stranger, although you obviously won’t need to involve an estate agent and you may be able to cut short preliminary inquiries about fixtures and fittings and so on. But the sale will give rise to Capital Gains Tax issues and you may end up with a significant tax bill. The reason for this is that in the case of a sale that is not an “arm’s length” transaction it is necessary for the gain in value of the property to be worked out by reference to the open market value rather than the price being paid.

Neighbour encroaching
Q. Builders working next door put up a new fence for my neighbour but in the wrong position. They nailed it to my wall, cracking a brick and moving the downpipe to my conservatory so that the water now just gushes into a hole in the ground. It’s only a matter of inches, but should I insist that the fence is put back where it was? The planning department says it’s a civil matter.
A. It’s not the council’s job to get involved in fence wars. Assuming your title deeds confirm that the original position of the fence was correct you will almost certainly be entitled to have the fence put back into its original position. Your first move should be to ask your neighbour to arrange for the fence to be moved back and for the downpipe to be reinstated. If for whatever reason your neighbour is not prepared to do this, the next step will be to ask your solicitor to send a strong letter threatening proceedings. Court proceedings are likely to be expensive, but it will help you to succeed in the proceedings if you have evidence (ie photographs) showing where the fence was originally.

Tow the line
Q. My neighbours have recently parked a caravan on their drive close to the wall of my house. The deeds to the houses in the road clearly state that owners should not keep caravans, boats etc on the property. Who should be enforcing the covenant?
A. If you live on an estate it’s possible the covenant will have been put in place by the developer, and you could ask the developer to enforce it, although the developer is unlikely to want to get involved unless you agree to fund the costs of enforcing the covenant. Generally, where there is a “Building Scheme” the owners of the houses comprising the estate will have the benefit of restrictions like this and it will be possible for you to action the covenant directly. Restrictive covenants give rise to complex legal issues and you will need to obtain the advice of a solicitor in order to establish the best means of enforcing the restriction.

Freehold purchase
Q. I want to buy the freehold to my house. I have lived here for the last 20 years since the property was built. My understanding is that after five years of paying ground rent the landowner is legally bound to sell me the freehold for a maximum of ten years’ ground rent. Is this true? After an initial discussion the landowner won’t even reply to my letters. Should I withhold further ground rent payments until he does?
A. There is no rule that says the landowner is bound to sell you the freehold for a maximum of ten years’ ground rent. If you can’t agree on a price for the freehold you may have to take the matter to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal can also force a sale under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 if the landowner isn’t being co-operative. You may need a solicitor’s help with this, and unless your ground rent is high it may not be worth your while to pursue it. Don’t withhold payments if you receive a demand. The Leasehold Enfranchisement Advisory Service (0207-374-5380) is very helpful if you need further advice.

Hemmed in by creditors
Q. My elderly parents have recently made a will, but I’ve been told by friends that I am unlikely to see any of their money because of debts hanging over me, such as a mortgage repossession, loan arrears and credit card debts. They say these organisations would grab their chunk first, and there’d be nothing left for me. Is this correct?
A. They would only be able to take your inheritance away from you if you are a declared bankrupt. If you came into money – or it looked as if you were about to come into money – during the period of your bankruptcy, the trustee-in-bankruptcy would be able to intercept it to pay off your debts. Your parents may want to redraft their will at least temporarily! Probably the best arrangement will be for your parents’ estates to pass into Discretionary Trust. It will then be a matter of the trustees waiting until your position is more financially secure before distributing your inheritance to you.