Buying in Scotland and stamp duties

AceCobra1

I was just wondering with regards to the stamp duty, I was reading somewhere that the stamp duty is 1% for any flats/ properties over £150k. Lets say I bought a flat @ £160k, is that 1% of £160k = £1600 or 160 - 150 = £10k of which 1% = £100 ?

With regards to the sold prices, I know there are loads for this but are there any sites where they specifically mention the property details such as its size and number of bedrooms etc.?

What would the best deals for mortgages and fees be? Is it worth trying to do a 25% or more deposit or does the interest rate not matter much? If I want to buy a flat @ £160k, roughly how much would I need in total including fees to do a 25% deposit? From me reading, I am assuming:

£40k + fees which would translate to roughly £46k ?

Potential first time buyer so any help would be greatful :T

AceCobra1

Oh, and do I need to register to the electorial roll? I have been in my flat for over 2 1/2 years and never voted or anything lol. I can't be bothered to register if it isn't really necessary with regards to checking credit etc.

ambioni

I am buying a house in Scotland, paying £165K for it. Land tax (formerly stamp duty which it replaced in Scotland on April 1st) will on this will be £400 (2% x 165K-145K) because 145 is where the threshold starts. For a 160K purchase price the land tax will be £300.

I strongly urge going to a broker and many do not charge a fee (they make their money taking commission from a lender). Also, obtain at least 3 quotes from conveyancers/solicitors before you enagage one and start making offers on houses.

I am purchasing my place using 20K deposit (=~13%) and have been quoted just over 2000 for legal fees including land tax. If you use a broker who charges a fee then you will need to add this in too (mine charges £345 to arrange).


Zoopla is probably the best site for researching sold prices, both recent and longer ago and it will also estimate values in the area you are looking (but beware these estimates aren't always accurate)

and DEFINITELY register on the electoral roll or else your credit rating will be negatively affected and you might get knocked back by quite a few lenders!!! check your score now; Noddle is a good site to check it for free if you don't want the hassle of registering with Experian or Equifax.

AceCobra1

ambioni wrote: »

I am buying a house in Scotland, paying £165K for it. Land tax (formerly stamp duty which it replaced in Scotland on April 1st) will on this will be £400 (2% x 165K-145K) because 145 is where the threshold starts. For a 160K purchase price the land tax will be £300.

I strongly urge going to a broker and many do not charge a fee (they make their money taking commission from a lender). Also, obtain at least 3 quotes from conveyancers/solicitors before you enagage one and start making offers on houses.

I am purchasing my place using 20K deposit (=~13%) and have been quoted just over 2000 for legal fees including land tax. If you use a broker who charges a fee then you will need to add this in too (mine charges £345 to arrange).

and DEFINITELY register on the electoral roll or else your credit rating will be negatively affected and you might get knocked back by quite a few lenders!!! check your score now; Noddle is a good site to check it for free if you don't want the hassle of registering with Experian or Equifax.

Thanks for the reply there buddy

So with regards to the total cost, I take it that it is the following:

Deposit +
Land Tax (2% of anything over £145k) +
Broker (free normally)
Legal fees (Is it normally fixed and budgeting £2k would be enough?)

Damn I never knew that I need to register to the electoral rolls! Why would it impact on a credit at all when I pay all my bills etc.?? I don't understand that lol. As I haven't registered to the electoral rolls, how long should I "wait" before I apply you think? I mean is there like a threshold like say 3 months or something?

What do you mean by getting quotes from conveyancers/solicitors? Are these not like £300 each time I get someone out to do it?

Is a broker basically a bank? Should I just go straight to the bank or phone them up about a mortgage etc.?

ellie27

AceCobra1 wrote: »

Damn I never knew that I need to register to the electoral rolls! Why would it impact on a credit at all when I pay all my bills etc.?? I don't understand that lol. As I haven't registered to the electoral rolls, how long should I "wait" before I apply you think? I mean is there like a threshold like say 3 months or something?

We just registered to vote 2 weeks or so ago online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote We already received a letter to say that was us registered, think it took a few days. And we put in our full mortgage application last week.

ellie27

AceCobra1 wrote: »

What do you mean by getting quotes from conveyancers/solicitors? Are these not like £300 each time I get someone out to do it?

Just phone a few conveyancers/solicitors and get a quote over the phone for how much they would charge in the purchase of a house.

AceCobra1

ellie27 wrote: »

Just phone a few conveyancers/solicitors and get a quote over the phone for how much they would charge in the purchase of a house.

Are these conveyancers to value the house to make sure they are valued at what they should be? Also, why would it be a good idea to get a few quotes? With regards to their fees, is it a fixed price or a % of the purchase price normally ?

ambioni

Land tax is charged at 2% on anything from 145K-250K, and goes to 5% and higher according to set bands. see http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/scottishapproach/lbtt

Mortgage broker= independent adviser who will advise and arrange a mortgage for you and find the best deals. Going straight to a bank will NOT necessarily get you the best deal (there are 00s of lenders out there, a broker will search them all to get you the best deal)

Solicitors/conveyancers will not charge to provide a quote for their services. Go to http://www.reallymoving.com/conveyancing and enter a few details and you will very quickly get quotes to compare. Easy and free. Costs vary and you generally get what you pay for (cheapest I found was £1350 including land tax, most expensive was over 2 grand, including land tax). Conveyancing is not about getting a place valued- they do all the legal work of putting your name on title deeds, searching to make sure the house isn't encumbered by some other debt or other restriction. House cannot be transferred from one owner to another without conveyancing. Valuation is done by the SELLER'S surveyor and the info is put in the home report which accompanies every property put up for sale in Scotland

Electoral roll- apply NOW would be my advice. The reason not being on it hurts your credit score is because lenders like to see that you are stable and settled in a place; it makes you look like less of a risk and reassures them that you have links there and aren't about to disappear off with mortgage arrears left behind. Having bills in your name helps too, as does being in the same job for 6 month + before you apply, but electoral roll is SO easy to do it's a no brainer.

ellie27

AceCobra1 wrote: »

Are these conveyancers to value the house to make sure they are valued at what they should be? Also, why would it be a good idea to get a few quotes?

No, a sureveyor/valuer from your lender/bank may come to the house you want to buy to check it is worth the price you are paying for it.

The conveyancer is someone who will legally transfer ownership of the house from one person to another.

AceCobra1

ellie27 wrote: »

We just registered to vote 2 weeks or so ago online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote We already received a letter to say that was us registered, think it took a few days. And we put in our full mortgage application last week.

So I have just registered, it says it is too late to vote via postal services so I needed to mark in the option vote in person - is it compulsory for me to vote now that I have marked that? Does not being in the electoral register impact my credit record massively even though I have never missed any payments etc. and if so, why and where is the logic there?

AceCobra1

ambioni wrote: »

Electoral roll- apply NOW would be my advice. The reason not being on it hurts your credit score is because lenders like to see that you are stable and settled in a place; it makes you look like less of a risk and reassures them that you have links there and aren't about to disappear off with mortgage arrears left behind. Having bills in your name helps too, as does being in the same job for 6 month + before you apply, but electoral roll is SO easy to do it's a no brainer.

Is there a "threshold" time I should wait then before applying for a mortgage given that I have just registered to the electoral roll?