How to protect house and pay off debts - sibling is gambling

J

Jazzjazz

New Member
Hi all,


A family member of mine has a gambling addiction for approximately 3-4 years.


As expected the individual has debts, these total approximately £35,000, in addition to this they have a mortgage on their home. Naturally keeping up with the outgoings had become difficult.


I sat down with this individual and gone through their finances, it turns out on a tight budget they will be left with approximately £400 surplus per month. Relative to the debts, this will take years to clear and incur interest along the way which will reduce the effectiveness of the £400 further.


The individual is a single parent with 4 children aged 20, 13, 14 and 7, the house has 3 mortgage charges all with the same lender, the mortgage is a repayment product and the early repayment charge across all 3 charges is approximately £3,000. I have calculated that if they moved their mortgage to another lender consolidating their mortgages and go onto interest only rather than repayment, their debts can be cleared in approximately 2.5 years.


Now the problem is that this individual has very poor credit rating. What are our options?

We have come up with a plan, this is that if the individual was to gift the property to another sibling who will then get an interest only mortgage this will provide the much needed funds. Once the debts are paid and the individual is clean off gambling the property ownership can be returned


This is a solution that we have with limited knowledge of the legal side of things; however I am keen to know of any other options that may exist.


Thank you for reviewing this post and any input that you may have.
 
R

realdeals

Active Member
This scheme sounds very interesting but I’m not sure how plausible it might be. The mortgage company will want to know who lives at the property, they would be able to see the history of the property and are we to automatically to assume that the sibling in question will be able to afford the mortgage? I’m not sure from a legal point where a father will stand gifting a property to one of their children. Might it fall into the seven-year inheritance tax situation? Or will this be seen as some form of tax dodge by the authorities?

https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts

Thinking about it, why would the current mortgage company agree to transfer the property to a sibling free of charge? The mortgage would still remain with the father until, assuming it was possible, it was refinanced by the sibling. How long would that take? How long is a piece of string...
 
M

MolleySorba

Member
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, there are many ways to get help. Gamblers Anonymous is one resource that can connect you with other problem gamblers in your area. Treatment centers specializing in gambling addiction can also provide support and resources. Many online casinos offer responsible gaming features to help you control your gambling. You can find them on bestonlineblackjack.com. Setting deposit limits and time limits are two examples of responsible gaming features that can help you stay in control of your gambling.
 
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