Land transfer

Glenalla

My mother want to give myself and wife a parcel of land which is part of her garden, do we have to do the transaction through a solicitor or can we draw up an agreement between ourselves and have it witnessed by a professional?
There is no planning on this land, she wanted to hand it over before she sells her house and downsizes.

Victor

To do it properly, you need a solicitor. In fact you should have one each to get advice. You don't want things to go hairy a few years down the line.

Mary Hairy

In theory there is no need for a solicitor, in reality you would be mad to try and avoid using a solicitor. There are a multiplicity of issues involved and it would be the ultimate false economy to do a DIY. The last thing you want is to spend time and money in the future trying to fix things up.

Glenalla

Mary Hairy wrote: »

In theory there is no need for a solicitor, in reality you would be mad to try and avoid using a solicitor. There are a multiplicity of issues involved and it would be the ultimate false economy to do a DIY. The last thing you want is to spend time and money in the future trying to fix things up.

Hi
Thanks. I really should have asked was it a requirement by law to have a solicitor handle a land transfer or does an agreement signed by both parties and witnessed suffice in the eyes of the law.

Lorraine_ie

You'd be better off getting a solicitor and having the whole transaction done properly as if you ever wanted to go for a mortgage in years to come, you wouldnt be able to properly identify the parcel of land transferred as there wouldnt be any title deeds except for the deeds to your mother's house and thus any charge would be registered against the whole of the land and not just your parcel of land.

123easy

When you are making the decision you should take into account that a lot of the posters here work or are involved in the legal profession and will always say get a solicitor per se.

However if I was you I would get on for this.

Lorraine_ie

i think a lot of people dont want to be made liable for giving incorrect advice. im not sure if you mean that people are trying to increase their business by advising the poster to go to a solicitor. You will find that it is the moderators who usually make these suggestions and i assume its so that people dont rely on what could possibly be incorrect advice.

I work in a law firm and did property law for years so i'm giving advice from my experience in these situations. Some people are just trying to help. No ulterior motive

edanto

Glenalla wrote: »

My mother want to give myself and wife a parcel of land which is part of her garden, do we have to do the transaction through a solicitor or can we draw up an agreement between ourselves and have it witnessed by a professional?
There is no planning on this land, she wanted to hand it over before she sells her house and downsizes.

To be frank, the fact that you're asking this question shows that you need a solicitor. There are massive pitfalls when it comes to land ownership and transfer.

Of course you can save yourself some money - you could find out as much as possible about the site from the land registry (which is one of the first things the solicitor will do anyways), and the answers to that will help you to get an accurate quote from various solicitors about the work involved and hence the cost.

Glenalla

Thanks all, will get a good solicitor and make sure it is transferred legally and properly.