I HAVE been trapped in a predicament for the past 10 years with no sign of any solution, having bought two neighbouring shops in an old building with three bedsits above, each owned by separate absentees, one of whom agreed to sell.
The building had not been maintained or repaired for many years and the shops were unusable due to leaks from the roof which eventually caused the ceilings to cave in. I hoped to either encourage a joint renovation or buy the empty property to allow
me to proceed with the work.
Unfortunately, despite advertising in the local newspaper and carrying out exhaustive searches, I can find no trace of one owner.
The building had deteriorated to such an extent that last year the council arranged for the roof to be taken off for health and safety reasons. I have agreed to pay my share of that expense. However, it seems I can do nothing as long as the other owners remain unidentified or unwilling to accept responsibility.
In the meantime, as I am the only identified owner I receive all the flak for the state of the building in a prominent position in a seaside town.
GBRachael Kelsey, partner at Pagan Osborne, writes:ANY member of the public can attend Registers of Scotland at Erskine House in Edinburgh, or instruct their solicitor, to obtain copies of relevant title deeds showing who the owners of the property are. However, if they have since moved, perhaps the current owners or neighbours could help locate them. Alternatively, one can employ a specialist tracing agency.
The fact the roof has already been taken down indicates the serious nature of the deterioration of the building. It is therefore perhaps unlikely that anyone owning the bedsits will wish to shell out a significant outlay to restore the property. Perhaps the only way any further works can be funded would be by obtaining a local authority grant.
The best advice here is that you should speak direct to the local authority grants department. Also arrange a meeting with the local authority representative from the appropriate department dealing with statutory repairs and housing. Provide them with all the information you have obtained. Ask them to explain in detail the position regarding statutory repair notices. By issuing a notice the other owners are compelled to become involved, otherwise the local authority can take action against them to recover costs.
Finally, a word of warning. Grant funding is becoming much tighter. There is a real possibility that any grant funding currently available in local authorities will dramatically decrease next year.
Can equity release help me avoid IHT?IF I have a house valued at £500,000, when I die my estate would have to pay a substantial amount of inheritance tax. Now, supposing I had taken equity release of, say, £100,000 some years ago and was now due the supplier £200,000. Would my £300,000 estate now be due any inheritance tax?
IM, EdinburghValerie Smart, head of tax at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Edinburgh, writes:
IF THE house was your only asset at date of death and you had made no lifetime gifts within seven years of death, the inheritance exposure would be £75,200, being £500,000 less the nil rate band of £312,000 at 40%.
Assuming that you don't still own the £100,000 released, either because you have spent it or because it has been used to buy an annuity which ceases on death, it is correct that the value of the taxable estate will only be £300,000 under both arrangements described above.
As that is less than the nil rate band, no inheritance tax would be due.
