Is this Britain's first private house SWAP? Downsizing couple and a young family bypass estate agents by agreeing to switch their homes

David West and his wife Margaret, from Kinross, were thinking of downsizing
Contacted by John and Kelly Davie who wanted to arrange a house viewing
Mr West mentioned plans to downsize so suggested the idea of a home swap
Davies paid difference between £135,000 property and West's £189,000 one
Have you ever swapped your house for another property? Contact rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk

Published: 09:16 GMT, 19 December 2017 | Updated: 13:46 GMT, 19 December 2017

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A couple and a young family saved hundreds of pounds worth of estate agent fees by agreeing to switch their homes.

David West and his wife Margaret, from Kinross, near Edinburgh, wanted to downsize so changed houses with John and Kelly Davie, who were looking for a bigger home.

Mr West, a duty manager at a student residence, listed his three-bedroom, detached family home worth £189,000 on a website in May this year.

John and Kelly Davie (right) outside their new £189,000 home, previously owned by David and Margaret West (left), at Leven Place in Kinross, Scotland

They have become the first homeowners in the UK to swap their houses permanently following a HouseSimple home viewing. Pictured: The Wests new £135,000 home at Muirs in Kinross

John and Kelly Davie and their daughter Lucy, 2, with David and Margaret West inside the Wests' new home (previously owned by the Davies) at Muirs in Kinross

John Davie found Mr West's house on the HouseSimple website and put in a request to visit the property, as he was looking for a larger house for his wife, Kelly, and their two-year-old daughter, Lucy, to live in.

While he was looking round the house Mr West mentioned that he and his wife Margaret were thinking of down-sizing as their two adult daughters were leaving the family nest.

When Mr Davie, a data analyst, mentioned he had a £135,000 two-bedroom semi-detached house they had not put on the market yet, Mr West suggested the idea of a home swap.

How to swap your house

The legal process concerning a house swap is identical to that of a normal sale or purchase - the only difference is that neither party has to pay estate agency fees if they do not use one.

Buyers in England still have to pay stamp duty and those in Scotland Land and Buildings Transaction Tax on the sale value of the property.

Buyers and sellers must also pay a solicitor for conveyancing, which involves the legal title of the property being transferred from seller to buyer.

Sellers must also pay for an energy performance certificate costing £60 to £120 to show how much energy the property is likely to consume.

In Scotland, buyers must commission a homebuyer's report before going through with a sale. This costs £400 and notes any structural issues with the property. It might also include a valuation. This is voluntary in England.

If the two parties commission a professional to value their houses this must also be paid for.

He and his wife then viewed Mr Davie's house in Kinross and both parties confirmed a home swap and put in offers on each other's properties, which are just five minutes drive around the corner from each other.

The Davie's paid the Wests the difference between their two homes, which came in at just under £55,000.

The Wests paid an estimated £880 worth of Land and Buildings Transactions Tax, the Scottish equivalent of Stamp Duty, on the sale of their home while the Davie's did not breach the threshold so paid nothing.

In addition, the Wests paid an estimated £695 fee to HouseSimple for the cost of advertising the property.

They swapped homes on October 12, 2017.

Mr West said: 'The house swap allowed us flexibility on the move date and enabled us to solve moving-in issues such as finding the stop cock when I needed to isolate the water in the bathroom, and the knack to locking the patio door.'

Mr Davie said: 'The house swap made perfect sense as both our properties had what the other wanted.

'The process of finding David's house online made it convenient to find the property we wanted.'

The West's old house on Leven Place is a three-bedroom detached house with parking space for four cars and a garden at the front and back. Pictured is the kitchen

The advert claims the property is an 'ideal' place to bring up a young family with spacious rooms including this open-plan dining room, pictured

Leven Place is a quiet cul-de-sac within walking distance of a primary and high school and includes this sitting room looking out onto a garden

Pictured is the front door of the house on Leven Place, which the Davie's will now live in after swapping with the West's

Muirs

The Davie's former home sold for £135,000.

It is a two-bedroom end of terrace house with a grey concrete exterior and a flat roof.

Inside is an open-plan sitting room and dining room and a kitchen looking out onto a small garden.

The Muirs is a busy B road with a mixture of detached and semi-detached houses.

Leven Place

The West's former home sold for £189,000.

It is a three-bedroom detached house with parking space for four cars and a garden at the front and back.

The advert claims the property is an 'ideal' place to bring up a young family.

Leven Place is a quiet cul-de-sac within walking distance of a primary and high school.

The standard £695 fee pays for professional photographs of the property, a valuation report, advertising the property online and a dedicated account manager.

HouseSimple, which allows homeowners to sell properties direct to buyers, said it was a first for the online estate agent.

Sophie Gosling, co-founder of HouseSimple, said: 'David and John have provided a glimpse into the future of home buying.

'Our service has meant that John could easily find David online, and we're really happy for them and their families that they have found their dream homes in time for Christmas.'

The Davie's former home is a two-bedroom end of terrace house with a grey concrete exterior and a flat roof. Pictured is the living room

Inside is an open-plan sitting room and dining room and a kitchen looking out onto a small garden

The Muirs is a busy B road with a mixture of detached and semi-detached houses. Pictured is the staircase which leads from the open-plan dining room onto a landing

This double bedroom on the first floor includes two windows looking out onto a garden

Mr West, pictured with Margaret West, said: 'The house swap allowed us flexibility on the move date and enabled us to solve moving-in issues such as finding the stop cock when I needed to isolate the water in the bathroom, and the knack to locking the patio door'