New Year cheer for home buyers

Vicki Coulthurst, a conveyancing partner at FDR Law in Palmyra Square, discusses new financial sweeteners...

IF your New Year’s resolution was to move home or take your first step on the housing ladder, you will be pleased to hear that there are some new financial sweeteners on offer to make the process more affordable.

Just before Christmas, the Government announced a new scheme to give up to 100,000 first-time buyers under the age of 40 a 20 per cent discount on the purchase of a new home.

Aspiring home owners can register an interest via the Starter Home initiative.

Lots of developers and a few councils have already signed up. Locally this includes Cheshire West and Chester Council but not Warrington Borough Council, and developers such as Persimmon, Bellway, Redrow and Barrett.

It works by the Government changing the planning system to free under-used or unviable brownfield land from planning costs and levies, in return for a below market value sale price on houses built there.

Developers save money on their costs – and this is passed on to first-time buyers.

And an early Christmas present for everyone was the change in stamp duty. The new rules should remove unpopular price pinch points and make the collection of stamp duty much fairer.

Under the old system, anyone purchasing a property costing between £125,000 and £250,000 would pay one per cent, while a property between £250,000 and £500,000 would cost three per cent.

Even if the purchase price was only £1 over the threshold, the purchaser would pay the higher percentage rate on the entire amount.

The new rules will help house buyers at all ends of the spectrum.

They mean big savings for first-time buyers who just tip over the £125,000 limit, and for someone purchasing a £300,000 house the new rules will mean a stamp duty bill of £5,000 instead of £9,000. Happy New Year!

For more information about purchasing a new home, contact Vicki on 01925 230000 or email vicki.coulthurst@fdrlaw.co.uk.