Stamp Duty Holiday - Too Late?

cheeky-peach

I am under the impression that if someone was to buy our house 'now', they would be very lucky to complete before the stamp duty holiday ends due to solicitors etc.. My EA has said 'it's do-able but it'll be a push'. I guess my concern is getting closer to the end of June and then having the buyer pull out because they won't make it after all.

Just wondering what others think? Do I need to have a word with my EA and try and align them to reality? 

thriftytracey

Just put our property on the market knowing full well there is no chance of meeting the Stamp Duty deadline for a future buyer or ourselves as onward purchasers.  I never even mentioned the SD to our EA and neither did they.

I hope the 23 viewings we have booked in don't have that misguided impression.

Soot2006

Depends on chains, straightforwardness of surveys, etc. My friend just bought a house in Brighton. She's FTB and was frightened by all the stories on here of how long it would take ... 4 and a half weeks from offer to completion. Everything was straightforward, came back quickly, just get in done attitude all round. It is possible!

macman

It may happen in time, it may not. Since you're selling it anyway, what have you got to lose by trying to beat the deadline?

MaryNB

Think you need to make sure your EA vets buyers to avoid anybody who cannot afford it if the sale goes beyond the end of the stamp duty holiday. Make sure any buyer sees meeting the deadline as a bonus not a necessity.

cheeky-peach

Well we need to buy someone to move to, we can't look until we are sold really so that adds to the timeline and until then, we can't be sure of what the position is for the house we are buying. We ideally don't want to move to a rental as we have cats and a toddler, also, mortgage early termination fees. I think MaryNB has got it though.

LAD917

I was in this situation prior to the original expiration date, and the solution was as MaryNB says.

On the property I sold, I asked for the memorandum of sale to include wording along the lines of "both parties acknowledge that completion is unlikely to happen prior to the 31/3 stamp duty holiday expiration."  This isn't legally binding and wouldn't stop a buyer from pulling out or gazundering, but it at least put a position on paper.

Agents were generally advising buyers of that anyway. I offered on three properties with three different agencies in Jan/Feb. Once I was close to offer, the agents were clear with me that the odds of beating stamp duty were low and the price I was offering should account for full stamp duty.

Re: mortgage early repayment charges, many (most?) lenders will refund them as long as you complete on a new property within six months of your sale.  That doesn't solve the cats or toddler issue for you, though. ;-)

justworriedabit

Morning

All depends on if you are selling to FTB, chain free/cah buyer etc adn you buying chain free, etc, etc. and your property being on the market at a competitive price

Tiglet2

Also depends on what kind of property you are selling, i.e. freehold, leasehold, freehold with management company.  Do you have all paperwork for any works you have had done?  

Natbag

How long is a piece of string?! It could be a short chain with no complications, but it might not. The most random of issues can crop up and cause delays, as I'm experiencing at the moment. Plus conveyancers are busy and searches can take additional time due to workload. You might be able to complete by September though, if you can't by the end of June, and you'll pay a reduced rate until then at least.

es5595

Houses I’m offering on at the moment, it’s under the umbrella that they are motivated sellers, have onward/no chain sorted, and are doing all the can to move for the stamp duty holiday. 

As I explain, it’s your call if you want the £15k in your pocket or Rishi’s! If sellers had no intention of moving/completing for that, it’s helpful to let the EA know, so they can explicitly forewarn buyers.