Holiday home as a first time buyer

the_contrast22

Hello,

I am in a fortunate position that my job comes with accommodation. Consequently, I have not bought a property before.

I am considering buying a holiday home for my family which we would look to rent out for part of the year but also to stay in ourselves for significant periods of time.

My question is, am I forced into getting a BTL/holiday let mortgage as opposed to a residential? We would be looking at living in the property for c.12 weeks of the year (and possibly more). There must be a cut-off for how long you live in a home for it to be considered your main residence - would it be 26 weeks?

I have put money into a LISA, which I only recently spotted prohibits the use of the pot for buy to let properties. Presumably a holiday home is similar? Irritating if so - I could have sworn I checked this out before I signed up, but possibly not!

Would I also be liable for the punitive stamp duty tax on second homes (even though I don't own any others)?

Any thoughts appreciated!

SDLT_Geek

For stamp duty land tax:

1. You will not qualify for first time buyers relief as you do not intend to live in the property as your only or main residence.

2. I would not expect you to have to pay the surcharge as this will be your only property. But there are details to check, such as whether there will be a joint buyer, if you are married and whether there are any property interests held in trust for you or by your minor children.

the_contrast22

My wife doesn't own any property. We have 2 children and they are also not named in any agreements.

I'm obviously keen to comply with any legal requirements but we want to get the most for our money. If we have to use a buy to let/holiday home mortgage then that will significantly reduce the amount we can borrow, even though we don't currently pay rent/a mortgage elsewhere.

Is there any definition for 'main residence' in terms of number of weeks/nights spent there?

I'm going to ask a mortgage broker for some advice but would be interested to hear if anyone had any thoughts.

davidmcn

It will depend on various factors, it's not as simple as spending a majority of nights there. Where do you store all your possessions, where does your mail go, which schools do the kids go to, etc.

However, leaving that to one side - you'd still need the lender's consent to rent out the property.

the_contrast22

Thanks. I see. Kids only 6 months so schools not an issue yet...

I see that a few banks/building societies are moving with the Airbnb market: Market Harborough does a mortgage that lets you rent a home out for 24 weeks of the year.

But looks like I will have to take a holiday home/BTL mortgage and just get less than we would if we were buying residentially.