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First Time Buyer Scheme (FTBI) - Stuck - Unable to sell or rent!

245

Comments

  • Flyboy152
    Flyboy152 Posts: 17,118 Forumite
    edited 4 January 2011 at 4:59PM
    ray123 - I've tried this too - the council will offer 6 months exemption - but after the 6 months you have to start paying again - I'm in the process of figuring out if I can say I'm occupying for 1 month then saying it's unoccupied - start the cycle again.

    As far as I am aware you can only claim the exemption once in a twelve month period. However, many local authorities have different rules for the second six months.
    We bought a property last year that we would not be living in straight away. On speaking to the council we found out that the rule for exemption is that it can be applied to a property for 6 months as a single period and only ONE time in the property's lifetime. So they had to check out house had never been exempt before under a previous owner. Luckily for us it hadn't. So unless the rules have changed then that plan wont work.

    Hope you get some good advice on how to sell it
    I have never come across this before and can't see it making any sense, to be honest.
    The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark
  • ray123 - I've tried this too - the council will offer 6 months exemption - but after the 6 months you have to start paying again - I'm in the process of figuring out if I can say I'm occupying for 1 month then saying it's unoccupied - start the cycle again.

    We bought a property last year that we would not be living in straight away. On speaking to the council we found out that the rule for exemption is that it can be applied to a property for 6 months as a single period and only ONE time in the property's lifetime. So they had to check out house had never been exempt before under a previous owner. Luckily for us it hadn't. So unless the rules have changed then that plan wont work.

    Hope you get some good advice on how to sell it

    I thought there would be something like that in place - although different councils do vary - I guess I can but try! Thanks for the advice!
  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Can you not re mortgage it to get rid of the FTBI, then let it out.
  • bris wrote: »
    Can you not re mortgage it to get rid of the FTBI, then let it out.

    As the property is in negative equity I can't get a mortgage to cover the amount required to buy-out the FTBI. That was one of my original ideas.
  • Flyboy152
    Flyboy152 Posts: 17,118 Forumite
    As the property is in negative equity I can't get a mortgage to cover the amount required to buy-out the FTBI. That was one of my original ideas.
    Is the LTV effecting the buy-out of the FTBI?
    The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark
  • I can't see how or why any first time buyer initiative should write off the negative equity you have built up. Are you sure about this? If so, I'm off to buy one!
  • Flyboy152 wrote: »
    Is the LTV effecting the buy-out of the FTBI?

    Yes. Essentially the value of the property is now just above the current mortgage balance. In order to buy-out the FTBI I would need over a 100% mortgage. And I'm also cautious about buying in to aproperty that has already lost so much money. Why put more in to something that isn't doing good?
  • Flyboy152 wrote: »
    Is the LTV effecting the buy-out of the FTBI?

    I'd be amazed after a 40% drop in value if the LTV didn't already have 3 digits!
  • BadgerFace wrote: »
    I can't see how or why any first time buyer initiative should write off the negative equity you have built up. Are you sure about this? If so, I'm off to buy one!

    myfirsthome.org.uk/content/1/25/repayments.html

    See the section on repayment in a falling Market. Too good to be true. But it is!
  • flyboy, that was 100% what we were told by Hambleton District Council (North Yorks). We also applied for exemption for my dad's empty house after he died so I have applied for it twice (on two different properties) and been told that was the rule. This was only last year, but like I say it may have been changed since.
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