Different completion dates in same chain?

ChilliBob

Hey everyone,
We've only been first time buyers before so don't have too much knowledge of chains..

Our chain this time round will be:

1. FTB buying our place, living with their folks /in laws.
2. Us, in the middle
3. Our sellers, who are going to a chain free property.

My partners question was does everyone need to have the same completion date? Perhaps *very critical* to this is that we are cash buyers.

Our thought was we could have a completion date between us and our destination, which was say a week or so sooner than with us and our buyers. 

I think this means we still pay standard stamp duty and get a week to move instead of one day.

Are we living in dream land, or, is this possible?! 

Slithery

When you say that you're cash buyers do you mean actual cash buyers? As in you currently have all the money in the bank to purchase your onward property without needing any of the equity from your current one.

Loza2016

Totally possible. We bought our new house in December and sold January as we didn’t need the cash from our sale. 

We payed the extra stamp duty but have since reclaimed it. 

ChilliBob

Slithery said:

When you say that you're cash buyers do you mean actual cash buyers? As in you currently have all the money in the bank to purchase your onward property without needing any of the equity from your current one.

Correct, actual cash buyers with more than 100% if purchase price, stamp, solicitors fees etc. Which I think is the key point. No mortgage on current property, none on next one. 

AdrianC

If you have different completion dates, you're breaking the chain...

You will either own no properties during the interim or two.
If two, then you strictly speaking should pay then reclaim the +3% SDLT... but I suspect a minor delay in the SDLT return would accommodate that...

SDLT_Geek

AdrianC said:

If you have different completion dates, you're breaking the chain...

You will either own no properties during the interim or two.
If two, then you strictly speaking should pay then reclaim the +3% SDLT... but I suspect a minor delay in the SDLT return would accommodate that...

Yes, HMRC guidance accommodates this, if the sale completes within the 14 days within which to file a return for the purchase.

[Deleted User]

I would assume the solicitor would request proof of ability to pay stamp duty at the higher rate just incase the sale collapses

SDLT_Geek

Deleted_User said:

I would assume the solicitor would request proof of ability to pay stamp duty at the higher rate just incase the sale collapses

If there is a mortgage, the solicitor would need to hold the money.  
Here there is no mortgage so it is more up to the buyer what risks they take.

ChilliBob

SDLT_Geek said:

Deleted_User said:

I would assume the solicitor would request proof of ability to pay stamp duty at the higher rate just incase the sale collapses

If there is a mortgage, the solicitor would need to hold the money.  
Here there is no mortgage so it is more up to the buyer what risks they take.

This can easily be supplied. The 14 days seems to be the important bit here. Thanks for the info guys

Caramac

We were in a similar situation at the end of last year, but we were unsure when our sale would complete so we paid the stamp duty, but it was surprisingly easy to claim back.

eddddy

Just to clarify - is your plan to...

...exchange contracts for both properties on the same day, but complete on your purchase about 1 week before you complete on your sale?

If so, that's pretty much risk-free.

But if your plan is to exchange contracts on different days, that introduces the risk that you end up purchasing the new property, but then the sale of your current property falls through. So you end up owning 2 properties, until you can find a new buyer for your current property.