Latest date to benefit from stamp duty break

NSEWUK

Hi everyone 

I’m getting incredibly differing views on this so wanted to see what everyone here felt.

Quite simply, what date do you think a chain would need to be complete (or day one of a sale progressing), in order to complete by 31 March 2021?

I fully appreciate this is a ‘how long is a piece of string’ scenario, but if you were buying and wanted to take advantage of the break, what would be the latest date you’d accept for the vendors of a property to progress the sale?

AdrianC

It's simply impossible to generalise.

You could say "Well, a chain normally takes..." - but every chain is different, every link within a chain is different, and who knows what is going to happen between in the next six months...

If t'were me, I'd be viewing the SDLT holiday as a nice bonus, but not basing any decisions on assuming it will or will not apply. Remember, as of June this year - the most recent official statistic - the average UK house purchase was £237k, at which price we're talking about just £2,240 SDLT. If that's make-or-break to any one link within the chain, then your chain is almost doomed from the off.

NSEWUK

Hi AdrianC, thanks for your view, appreciate the ‘see it as a bonus’ thinking.

For those I’ve asked in real life who are in varying stages of moving, anyone buying above the £400k mark is certainly aiming for a completion date prior to 31 March 2021. 

If the house you were buying meant a £10k+ saving, would you have a date in mind that you’d at least hope for? Or would you ‘go with the flow’ so to speak and see it as a bonus as you say? Thanks!

Thrugelmir

NSEWUK said:

If the house you were buying meant a £10k+ saving, would you have a date in mind that you’d at least hope for? 

If the selling price has been inflated there is no saving though. Nor is there certainty with regards to the short term future. 

Flugelhorn

the amount of SDLT saving on many houses is within the range negotiated at the time of offer, so shouldn't be a deal breaker . always nice no to have to pay HMRC lots of money.

oldbikebloke

it is impossible to answer your question since there is no such thing as an average period to complete that would give you the reassurance you are looking for since completion dates cannot be guaranteed until they complete 

Benzine

I'd love to know the answer to this too but as others have said it's impossible to judge. In my own mind I'm hoping to have a complete chain by December to achieve this. If lockdown slows everything down I suppose it's possible there could even be an extension of the holiday. I'm hoping to benefit from the holiday but I'm budgeting as if I'll have to pay it. 

bravotango

As others have said, budget for paying the standard post 31st March 2021 SDLT.

If you get completion before the 31st March 2021, then bonus. If not, you have budgeted for it.

Vasquez65

It might be ‘only’ a couple of extra thousand pounds to find when it ends but when ftb have had the rug pulled out from under them by lenders and have to find at least £10-15k  more for a deposit it might just be the final nail in the coffin.
I really hope they extend it for the rest of next year,  people buying in the new year have next to no chance of completing in time and it’s not fair.

numbercruncher8

It's not fair,... it's not as if they have revealed the deadline today, is it?

Let's say they push it back to 31 December 2021 - there would just be another bunch of people in August complaining that it should be extended because it isn't fair. If the government relented and pushed the deadline back again, guess what? People would complain again.

There isn't really an economic rationale for extending it, IMO. If you are a HTB it's actually better for you that it does go, because then the stamp duty works in your favour. A reduction in lending affects everyone across the market.