You can instead set up a Trust for your kids, to hold the properties on their behalf. You could be the Trustee, to ensure the properties are safeguarded and managed correctly. Provided you do not include yourself as a beneficiary of the Trust, there’ll be no IHT liability to pay after seven years.
You can only put a maximum of £325,000 into this kind of Trust – £650,000 if you’re a couple – without incurring Inheritance Tax at 20%. But if you stick to those limits, you can do it again in seven years’ time. So, if you start early enough, you can create multiple Trusts for your kids at seven-year intervals.
However, all the same issues regarding CGT still apply as for direct gifts.
