How To Make The Most Of The Stamp Duty Holiday

If you’re planning to sell your home and want to make the most of the stamp duty holiday extension, now is the time to put your home on the market – there isn’t long left….

In the current market, the average time for a seller to find a buyer for their home is 65 days with it taking a further 126 days to go through the conveyancing process to reach completion. Based on this data from Rightmove, we suggest that sellers should be looking to put their home up for sale by Tuesday 23rd March at the absolute latest if they want to make sure that their buyers (and in turn, themselves) can make use of the the stamp duty holiday which is due to have tapered to a full stop by the end of September.

Our SDLT reclaim service helps you reclaim any overpaid stamp duty from the past 4 years and is easy to use. 

SDLT Holiday Extension

The extension to the stamp duty holiday was announced in the Spring 2021 Budget and sparked a rise in people looking for new homes.  Estate agents saw a rush of new buyers browsing the property market and making enquiries on budget day itself. This is up 82% compared to the same day in 2020. In fact, the announcement of the stamp duty extension along with its tapered ending in conjunction with the introduction of 5% deposits, led to Rightmove recording its busiest day for house hunting ever.

What Is The Stamp Duty Holiday?

The stamp duty holiday means that people buying a home up to the value of £500,000 will not pay any stamp duty at all if the purchase is completed by 30th June 2021. There has also been a cut for buyers of additional properties, for example buy-to-let investors. The new rate for additional properties starts at three per cent up to £500,000, which, using the same example of a £400,000 property, would save the buyer £10,000 in stamp duty.

To smooth the transition back to normal, the nil rate threshold will be £250,000 until the end of September, before returning to the usual threshold of £125,000 on 1st October 2021.

How Does This Affect The Property Market?

It stands to sense that a lot of buyers now have the motivation to move home and it can be expected that the spring market will be busy this year. It’s clear from the Rightmove traffic recorded above, that the Spring Budget has introduced potential buyers into the market who were previously unable to consider moving until now or who were waiting to hear what was going to happen to stamp duty, a factor they may have been banking on.

Not only has the Stamp duty holiday been extended but the 5% deposit / 95% mortgage guarantee has given many people the confidence they needed to forge on ahead with their home-moving plans. This may help the spring market activity and encourage more sellers to go to market especially in areas where the property prices are lower. People who may have been delaying a move for a number of reasons could now have the momentum to take the next big step, whether that’s setting a foot on the property ladder or upsizing for more space and a bigger garden.

If you have bought a property in the last four years, then you may be able to reclaim overpaid Stamp Duty. Our SDLT reclaim service makes your reclaim for overpaid stamp duty very straightforward as we can help you with your stamp duty refund application.

How Do I Sell My Property In Time?

There are no guarantees that you will sell your property in time to make use of the Stamp Duty Holiday. However, by following the appropriate steps you can do all you can to prepare for when the time comes that you accept an offer on your home:

Compare Conveyancing Solicitors: As soon as you have an offer accepted on a property you will want to have a conveyancer on board.  You can compare conveyancing solicitors and compare solicitors fees easily to get the ball rolling. Conveyancing Supermarket can provide you with fast efficient conveyancing fees online to help you to make your home buying or selling a more straightforward process

Mortgage Offer: Make sure you have a mortgage offer in principle and are completely ready to go before you even begin the sales/purchase process. If you are self-employed or a contractor, you may find securing your mortgage easier by using a mortgage broker who will assist you in providing the necessary evidence of your income including tax returns that need to be signed off by a certified accountant.

Get Organised:  Get all your paperwork collected together and organised early on. Collect all your current utility bills, bank statements, payslips, credit card statements and any other credit agreements as these will all be needed. You will need to provide photo ID too so make sure that your passport or driving license is up to date. Here is a list of important documents you will need:

• A copy of the lease (if the property is leasehold)
• Documentation related to the freehold (if the property is freehold)
• FENSA certificates for replacement windows
• Your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Relevant building restrictions
• Building regulation certificate when alterations have taken place
• A Gas Safety certificate for a new boiler
• Utility bills
• Photo ID
• Payslips
• Bank Statements
• Credit Card Statements

Electoral Roll: Check you are registered to vote because lenders use this data in identity checks. 6. Boost your credit score to avoid delays in getting your mortgage.

Credit: Check your credit report and look out for errors as they can be corrected. Errors going unnoticed could make the difference between mortgage and no mortgage. Check your address is up to date on all active financial accounts or you will face massive delays.

Be Careful: Be consistent and precise with spellings, postcodes etc so that every form is accurate and the exact same. Many forms will be processed by a computer so there is little room for error.

If you have bought a property in the last four years, then you may be entitled to reclaim overpaid Stamp Duty. Our SDLT reclaim service makes your reclaim for overpaid stamp duty as easy as it can be. We can help you with your stamp duty refund application