First time buyer - If just one of the couple is

kavid

I know it sounds obvious - person who has never bought a house before (and for the purposes of not having to pay stamp duty), not owned one anywhere in the world.

Anyway, we currenly have our house up for sale which is actually in my name as i bought it long before we met and married. We're going to get the new mortgage on the house we buy in joint names. As my husband has never owned a property before, are we still liable to pay stamp duty on any new property or can we avoid it because he is classed as a first time buyer?

TMoose

You will have to pay stamp duty, as to be able to reclaim, you BOTH have to be first time buyers.

This article explains it well...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/mar/26/stamp-duty-first-time-buyers

Moose

GWEPM

If two people are buying together, and only one qualifies as first time buyer, what is to stop that person buying outright and then at a later date transferring a 50% share to their partner?

kavid

Would be great if one of us could do that but a.) we couldn't get a mortgage based on just one of our salaries and b.) by the time you come to the transfer of equity, you'd still have £500 of solicitors fees to pay for and the property we're looking at is stamp duty of £1570 so I don't think in the long run we'd make a huge saving.

Great idea in principle!

GWEPM

Kavid,
I am not in this specific situation, but for different circumstances my solicitor advised that my wife and I could alter the share that we each have in our property simply by putting it down in a letter. Gifts between husband and wife are free of tax so we could change the ownership from 50:50 to 70:30 as simply as that.

Transferring ownership when one owns nothing would I guess be more difficult as you would be changing the name(s) on the Deeds and this would need a solicitor, plus their fees!

But as regards getting a mortgage, both the names on the Mortgage Contract don't necessarily have to also both be on the Deeds? i.e. two of you could get the mortgage but only one become the owner. I guess it needs a high level of mutual trust though!