Arrange a Home Exchange? Free Advice and Information!

Questioner

I have a question about a possible home exchange. My father has a house (single-family house) and I have a house. He wants to live on the ground floor, and I want more space because I have a son. His house is perfect for my family, and my apartment is perfect for him and his girlfriend. His house was bought for approximately 360,000 euros. My apartment was purchased for 235,000 euros. What are the possible options for exchanging homes?

Lawyer

Home exchange is not very different from a normal purchase and sale procedure in legal terms. For the home exchange to be successful, the purchase agreements must be well aligned and the same dates must be used in both agreements. It is therefore wise to seek good advice on this.

Lawyer

A problem can arise because you cannot pay the purchase price because a bank does not cooperate. In that case, you could argue that your father's house is bought at the same or lower value, but the tax authorities can see the negative equity that is forgiven by your father as a gift. So attention must then be paid to the following question, namely whether your father may and can use the one-off increased gift amount for children in connection with their home. Tax advice is therefore certainly a must here.