Will this be a legal offer.

capstain411

We viewed a property couple of times and decided to make an offer. We are FTBs with deposit saved.

The house has been on the market for over 12 months. 3 bed detached and should admit a fantastic house in a decent area. The house is up for 290k. We love the property.

1st offer for 247k rejected, now i would like to extend final offer. We would like to offer 249950 to stay with in the SD threshold.But we both genuinely think the house is worth 265k. Now if i say to EA will pay another 10k in cash for all fixture and furnishing will that be legal. The house has been brilliantly decorated just around 1 yr ago and we liked the setup and the condition of it.

We have around 80k saved so far. Can manage another 5k by the time of completion which I assume might take another 3 months if everything proceeds fine.

G_M

If you can justify to HMRC that the F&Fs are worth £10K then yes, it's legal.

Look at ebay. A 2nd hand washing machine = err, £50? Dishwasher the same. 2nd hand curtains in 3 bedrooms.... £70? Carpets.... £200?

It is going to have to be a very fancy set of F&Fs to be worth £10K 2nd hand.

And HMRC are not stupid - they know people at the stamp duty threshold do exactly what you are proposing......

Richard_Webster

If you can justify to HMRC that the F&Fs are worth £10K then yes, it's legal.

Look at ebay. A 2nd hand washing machine = err, £50? Dishwasher the same. 2nd hand curtains in 3 bedrooms.... £70? Carpets.... £200?

It is going to have to be a very fancy set of F&Fs to be worth £10K 2nd hand.

And HMRC are not stupid - they know people at the stamp duty threshold do exactly what you are proposing......

I agree with this!

Cissi

As PPs have indicated, I doubt you have any chance of persuading HMRC that the !!!!!! are truly worth 10k. You'd run a heck of a risk, since they could well come back to you afterwards and claim the stamp duty owed on the full 260k...

Instead, if you truly feel that the property is worth £265k, I'd try offering something around £257k, ie effectively £265k but the vendor paying the stamp duty. That may bring you into the range that they will accept (11% below asking price...). If not, and that's the maximum you can and are prepared to pay, then walk away - better than risking a heavy bill (and possible legal repercussions) later...

Squish_21

So many try this F&F route around the stamp duty threshold. HMRC are wise to it.

john_white

capstain411 wrote: »

We viewed a property couple of times and decided to make an offer. We are FTBs with deposit saved.

The house has been on the market for over 12 months. 3 bed detached and should admit a fantastic house in a decent area. The house is up for 290k. We love the property.

1st offer for 247k rejected, now i would like to extend final offer. We would like to offer 249950 to stay with in the SD threshold.But we both genuinely think the house is worth 265k. Now if i say to EA will pay another 10k in cash for all fixture and furnishing will that be legal. The house has been brilliantly decorated just around 1 yr ago and we liked the setup and the condition of it.

We have around 80k saved so far. Can manage another 5k by the time of completion which I assume might take another 3 months if everything proceeds fine.

Threashold is £250,000

If you think it is worth more then you might try and get the vendors to pay the extra duty.

cjmumto2

There is a limit to how much fixtures and fittings can go up to, try your luck with £250 as the owners will need to take the threshold into account. It has been on the market a long time.