It is early January and that means, that if you want to sell your existing property and buy another one to benefit from the stamp duty holiday for homes up to £500K, you have less than 90 days to do so.
According to Zoopla, it is currently taking just over 100 days for the average property purchase to complete. So, to beat the Stamp Duty holiday deadline, you would need to have an offer accepted on a house by 21 December 2020 at the absolute latest.
Time is running out! The stamp duty holiday ends on 31st March.
The sheer volume of buyers and sellers trying to complete before the deadline has caused transactions such as conveyancing, valuations, and mortgage offers to be delayed, meaning that many people might lose out on the significant tax saving of the stamp duty holiday.
On top of this, many home-owners are experiencing down-valuations and these are causing sales to fall out of bed.
Despite pressure for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the deadline, the government has now confirmed that this will not be happening. The deadline is set in stone, although like anything at the moment, this could change.
Under the previous rules, someone buying a £500,000 property would pay £15,000 stamp duty.
With the threshold raised, anyone buying a property for less than half a million will pay no SDLT, while for those buying a property above the £500K threshold, there is a saving of £15K on their total tax bill.
With an average purchase price of £232,000, this means most UK buyers will not be paying any stamp duty at all during the stamp duty holiday, saving £2,140 on the average purchase.
The typical property investor/landlord who fails to complete before April would see their stamp duty bill rise from £5,400 to £6,500.
According to Rightmove, the number of people searching for properties with ‘no chain’ is up 110% annually, as it is “chain free” purchases that are most likely to complete in time and take advantage of these significant savings.
However, it is also selling to a buyer who is not in a chain that may assist you in expediting your sale, especially when combined with a buyer who is not reliant on a bank for mortgage finance.
That is where Open Property Group comes in.
Let us look at the three key issues which delay a sale:
We are genuine cash buyers, so we are not reliant on banks and mortgage offers. Our solicitor can provide you with proof of funds in our account, if required. Unlike many other companies who claim to be cash buyers but are selling your property on to someone else, we are the actual buyer of your property, so you know exactly who you are dealing with.
As we are a cash buyer, and no lender is involved, there is no requirement for a valuation to be undertaken. No waiting for appointments and then chasing the surveyor to find out if the property valued at the purchase price.
We are professional property cash buyers and work with solicitors who are tuned into the need for speed. As we are not in a chain, the process is a lot simpler and quicker as well.
This is a typical timeline of how we work:
Obviously, it is in our interests to do so, as we don’t want to pay unnecessary stamp duty on the purchase of your property.
We purchase any property in England or Wales, in any condition, and we’ve over thirty years of buying houses and flats quickly and providing a professional and fair service.
We can buy your current home quickly, enabling you to move to a new home before the end of March and therefore allowing you to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday on your new purchase.
The other good news is that no estate agents are involved, therefore there are no estate agent fees to pay - typically 1 - 2% of the purchase price. There will also be no further viewings, which may give comfort during the Covid19 pandemic, not to mention that you will no longer have the chore of needing to keep your property in show-room condition for viewings.
Once we have agreed the purchase of your property, you can rest assured that the sale will complete. No worries about the buyer dropping out at the last minute as happens in around 1 in 4 sales. You can relax knowing that your sale is guaranteed to complete, and within the nominated time frame. This certainty is especially valuable when there are deadlines to be met!
Ours is the perfect solution if your sale or chain has collapsed and you do not want to lose you onward purchase or the stamp duty saving.
There is no time to lose, so get in touch now!
Thinking about selling? We’ll buy your property quickly!
No estate agent fees, no solicitor fees and choose a sale date to suit you!
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