what is a first time buyer?

poppy10_2

_Andy_ wrote: »

The definition varies from lender to lender.

For stamp duty the definition is static, and set by HMRC. For first-time buyer mortgages then the lenders have different definitions.

Doozergirl

bryanb wrote: »

What about someone who has inherited a home, but never bought one?

Not a first time buyer. If you have ever owned a house, or a share of one, you are not a first time buyer according to the rules. Even if you are a genuine FTB buying with someone who is not under the definition, you do not qualify.

CupOfChai

So you are not a FTB if for example someone else financed the purchase of a property, but your name was put on the deeds? E.g. as a gift, or I have heard of people buying property for their children to live in at university, but putting their child's name on the deeds?

purcel

CupOfChai wrote: »

So you are not a FTB if for example someone else financed the purchase of a property, but your name was put on the deeds? E.g. as a gift, or I have heard of people buying property for their children to live in at university, but putting their child's name on the deeds?

If your name was on the deeds then you're not a FTB, no matter whether you've paid it yourself or not.

We're going through this process atm and we've received a form to fill out with different questions , for them to assess whether we qualify for the stamp duty relief (we do:) ).

Blodwen

Interesting thread. If I own a property but my partner has never owned one, could he get one as a FTB (i.e. just him on the deeds) but have us both on the mortgage in order to borrow more?

googler

Blodwen wrote: »

Interesting thread. If I own a property but my partner has never owned one, could he get one as a FTB (i.e. just him on the deeds) but have us both on the mortgage in order to borrow more?

You haven't read the HMRC definition that's linked to above, have you?

G_M

Until the OP (Wig) confirms which definition he is looking for, this entire thread is speculation.

Blodwen

googler wrote: »

You haven't read the HMRC definition that's linked to above, have you?

Actually I have, thanks for asking, and it didn't answer my question.

If it was just his name on the deeds does me being on the mortgage also make an 'owner', or do I have to be on the deeds too? We weren't planning on trying to 'get round' paying stamp duty or anything, but seeing this thread just made me wonder out of interest.

Wig

googler wrote: »

You haven't read the HMRC definition that's linked to above, have you?

I haven't because I don't find the HMRC website very user friendly, and the link kindly provided by someone else is a pdf file which I can't open.

But some other posters have come up with scenarios I was also thinking of, i.e.

A person who's never owned before buys with their partners/friends cash - no mortgage only they are on the deeds, are they a FTB?

A person buys on a joint mortgage but the one with the most influence on getting a big mortgage is not named on the deeds is the person on the deeds a FTB? Probably impossible to do? I imagine the mortgage lender would want both names on the deeds?

Blodwen

Wig wrote: »

Probably impossible to do? I imagine the mortgage lender would want both names on the deeds?

I wondered about that but just thought someone might know one way or the other. It's pretty much hypothetical in my case as I'd want both names on the deeds, but it'd be interesting to know. As someone has already mentioned on here sometimes parents etc put houses in their kid's name - I know someone whose stepdad did this and presumably the mortgage wasn't in the stepson's name (as he was a student with no income at the time)