What the papers said about home ownership and stamp duty

The Times looked at home ownership this weekend, following recent research by L&C which revealed that around 1.8 million adults have stayed in a relationship in order to get on to the housing ladder. Buying a property with someone else, whether it is a partner, friends or a sibling, can help to increase the amount of available deposit, as well as borrowing potential, but requires very careful planning. Deciding whether to own a property as joint tenants or tenants in common is a good place to start, as this will help determine each person’s share in the property. A cohabitation agreement can also help to protect each person’s interests should a relationship or financial arrangement come to an end.Stamp duty was also a hot topic this weekend, and in particular the difficulties being experienced by those required to pay the 3% surcharge on second properties. Some experts claim the tax is being calculated incorrectly on as many as 1 in 6 transactions, and there have been calls for the whole system to be simplified.