This weekend's Financial Times highlighted the main findings of our First Time Buyer stamp duty research, namely: 18% of FTB are calibrating their purchases to take advantage of tax relief by buying beneath the exemption threshold. The report found almost 1/3 of FTB were unsure whether the stamp duty rules would benefit them. It mentions projections of the number of homes which would no longer qualify for FTB stamp duty relief in years to come.
The Times was keen to warn that purchasing cars on Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) plans could prevent you getting a mortgage. As well as the monthly payments reducing the amount you can borrow, it may also be reduced by the fact that the amount that you could purchase the vehicle for at the end of the PCP, known as the ˜balloon payment", may show on your credit file and could be classed as a liability by the mortgage lender.
The Sunday Times ˜Links effect" article pointed out that so far this year only 1 in 5 properties has been sold chain free, in 2015 it was 1 in 3. This is one of the reasons more than 300,000 sales are falling through every year; due to the collapse of a chain. According to research by HomeOwners Alliance this costs consumers an average of £2,700 in fees.
