Stamp Duty for 2nd property following sale issues of 1st

aldo79

Hi,
Hopefully I'm not re-posting about something which has already been covered but I've not been able to find any existing posts covering the exact scenario me and my partner have found ourselves in (and hopefully not something too many others will need to deal with!).

My partner owns her home and I moved in at a later stage. We are now looking to buy our "first home" together (I do not own other property myself) and found a buyer for my partner's flat, found a house for ourselves, had our offer accepted, mortgage application processed, surveyor booked, etc.

All seemed to be going really well until disaster struck and we heard at the last minute that the buyer for my partner's flat has pulled out at short notice. We are currently scrambling to secure any available finances to enable us to complete the purchase of the new property while we attempt to find a new buyer for the flat.

In the event we complete the purchase of the new home before the flat sells, is there any way we can avoid needing to pay the additional 2nd home stamp duty charge? We will not be living in the flat or letting it out and ideally would hope to complete the sale within a couple of months if we're able to secure a reliable buyer this time around. I understand we can apply for a refund of the additional stamp duty amount if the flat sells within 3 years however given the circumstances we're looking to reduce up-front costs as much as possible so we can actually proceed with the purchase of the new home without resorting to bridging loans or other risky sources of finance.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

davidmcn

aldo79 wrote: »

I understand we can apply for a refund of the additional stamp duty amount if the flat sells within 3 years

That's the procedure you have to use. HMRC want their money upfront, not to wait three years, discover you haven't sold the first property, and then try chasing you for the underpaid SDLT.