House Purchase - Advice

[Tree13]

By both I mean both people not both houses. Both are already home owners so the first time buyer exemption is irrelevant.

Maybe it's different in the UK but here there is no CGT on the sale of your principle private residence, as long as you've been living in it for 7 years (there's a sliding scale if it's less than 7 years).

Same in England on both points - details might be slightly different (can't remember if it's a 7 year trigger or a different number). But there are more than two rates of SDLT: you have first time buyer rate, then the normal rate and also the enhanced rate for buying a second home (as in owning multiple homes at once).

If you own two or more properties at the same time then by default only one can be the principle private residence and selling the other will attract CGT.

 

[Damo_1878]

This thread is far too informative to be in the Ale House

 

[tonyhorne]

I know that tax evasion is a pretty serious crime so I, if it were me, I would take proper professional advice on what exactly I needed to cough up ...

 

[The binman chronicles]

I know that tax evasion is a pretty serious crime so I, if it were me, I would take proper professional advice on what exactly I needed to cough up ...

The solicitors would make you pay it as it would be on them too. It would be up to you to present a valid legal argument why you shouldn't. Mine tried to do us for a higher rate stamp duty for a property my wife owns in her birth country. I had to read all the terms and conditions and luckily the fact it being only a one bedroom apartment and everything is a bit cheaper, it was below a threshold required to pay the extra (which was considerable). Then I had to send them the part where it says it wasn't applicable and proof that it was under.

 

[Tramps_mate]

Well, she has accepted an offer on hers and we have made an offer on the house we want - Timing is the problem really

Put the new house in her name until you sell yours?

 

[peteblue]

This thread is quite Tory. Dodging taxes, I ask you.

I’m sure Angela Rayner can advise……

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Well, she has accepted an offer on hers and we have made an offer on the house we want - Timing is the problem really

Are you reliant on both your names going on the mortgage to secure the loan? I.e. is that what the current offer is predicated on. That'd be a big issue as well.

To me it sounds like you either have to suck up the stamp duty, find a mortgage in just her name and buy the current one, or back off, sell both houses, rent for a bit and then find the house you both want.

Don't think there's an easy solution. She might get a sole mortgage, but with a worse interest rate, assuming she can. Would a potential difference on interest save more than paying the stamp duty? Ditto renting?

 

[tonyhorne]

The solicitors would make you pay it as it would be on them too.

It kind of is, which I guess is why they don't try too hard to help you not pay it?

It's no skin off their nose either way ...

 

[Ferguson1878]

Save your money and move back into your Maas

 

[Gwladys St. Glory]

After 13 blissful years of living in our own separate houses, the missus and I have decided to pool resources and buy a new house together

The original plan we had was to sell her house - and use the equity in there to acquire the mortgage on the new place. Then, once that was all sorted, I would sell my house, using the equity in mine to fund any renovations and hopefully pay a lump off the new mortgage total.

The complication seems to come from the dreaded Stamp Duty. If I sell my house separately, then the new house will become my 'second home' apparently - and therefore I will need to pay a large chunk of cash towards Stamp Duty (even though we will have already paid Stamp Duty when we buy the house)

Does anybody have any advice on the best way to navigate the whole financial mess which is buying and selling a house in modern Britain?

Think about what you implying....you now need to sell two houses to afford one. Tell them to koff, agents don't care if you pay 1M for, what likely is, what is 200k house. Don't perpetuate this insanity. House down from me sold for 500k, they did minimal real resto on it and are now asking 1.5M...I hope they lose their a$$.