Stamp Duty Avoidance - pifalls for the vendor?

randomlife

Could anyone advise me on the potential pitfalls for the vendor (not the seller) if they accept to sell a property in two transactions so that the buyer can avoid stamp duty?

My own doubts are that the solicitor at our end would even entertain this at all, and am wary if the buyer wants to do a `private' transaction that he would even see it through as he has played `hardball' from the start.

They would be avoiding £1,300 stamp duty by doing this, as we have reduced the price from £140,000 to £130,000 to come close to his offer. They actually wont even go to £130k instead insisting at £128k with a sale on the property at £125k with a separate transaction of £3000.(they will go no higher than £128k) so they would be avoiding £1,280.00 stamp duty.

The property has only been on for 3 weeks and we are getting offers on each viewing rising steadily, it is an inherited property between three 3 siblings with nothing owing on it. The buyer is a builder negotiating on behalf of his first time buyer daughter. Please help! Its the first
time for us selling a house and we feel slightly coerced into accepting due it being a `buyers market'.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

loubel

It won't work. So they will likely reduce their offer or pull out once they realise this.

Ivana_Tinkle

The main pitfall is that none of the solicitors will agree to do it (and neither will the mortgage lender) and you'll end up either being gazundered or with the sale falling apart and having to put the property back on the market. And it could take several weeks to get to that point. Don't do it!

Ivana_Tinkle

loubel was more concise than me!

randomlife

Thanks loubel,
I believe you are right, I doubt their own soilicitor would want to risk this either.

BitterAndTwisted

If the property has only been on the market for three weeks and you're getting steadily-rising offers just decline this shyster builder's offer and go with someone more sensible once you get to a price that you like.

DRP

randomlife wrote: »

..//

The property has only been on for 3 weeks and we are getting offers on each viewing rising steadily, it is an inherited property between three 3 siblings with nothing owing on it. The buyer is a builder negotiating on behalf of his first time buyer daughter. Please help! Its the first
time for us selling a house and we feel slightly coerced into accepting due it being a `buyers market'.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

clearly it isn't a buyers market if you are getting multiple offers after 3 weeks!

tell your current buyer to take a hike!

robatwork

Ask him for the £3k "transaction fee" up front as a show of good faith.

Then watch him run, and start to deal with sensible people.

randomlife

Thanks everyone!
Yes, I agree with all you have said. We are getting offers as the house is excellent value for money, with a lot of refurbishment work done to it, it includes all furniture, has good reselling potentail with a fully refurbished basement and is presented really well throughout (Im an interior designer so I have added all my know how), plus it is priced to account for any decline in the next quarter very competitively with other houses in the same area. So we are hopeful - of course there are no guarantees, but we will see.

We are going to get people trying it on-of course! Its a `buyers market' afterall...!

Thanks again.