Am I a First Time Buyer??

jamire

I bought a boat to live on 3 years ago in order to be able to save up a deposit to eventually buy a house. In order to buy the boat, I took out a cash loan and have since paid this off. The boat was moored on a residential mooring which I paid for on an annual basis, I was registered on the electoral role at the marina. I have never owned a house or flat prior to this.

Now I have sold the boat and want to buy a house, am I considered a FTB?? Haven't been able to get a straight answer from HMRC or direct.gov as they don't seem to acknowledge that people would live on boats! It seems it comes down to the definition of 'property' and whether a boat is considered property.

Has anyone come across this before or been in our situation?!

powerwin

Was the cash loan secured on the boat or not?

I no expert but my gut feeling is that you have never had a mortgage and therefore would be classed as a FTB.

Do you want to qualify as a FTB?

Rgds

opinions4u

From a mortgage lender point of view, you will have no problem being classed as a FTB.

I don't think boat purchases are subject to stamp duty. So I can't see how HMRC could say that a boat precludes you claiming FTB exmption from stamp duty on a property purchase.