Jan

Landlords are in ‘last chance saloon’ to buy properties before Rishi’s stamp duty deadline

admin

Nearly half of all buy-to-let mortgage lenders say they will be unable to get new transaction across the line by the 31^st March stamp duty deadline, landlords have been warned.

The research, by a leading mortgage broker, reveals that even the lenders still capable of doing deals in this sort of time frame may well struggle to hit the deadline if solicitors or local authorities drag their feet.

“Typically, a landlord would want about 100 days to complete a purchase,” says Jeni Browne, director of Mortgages for Business.

“Clearly, landlords don’t have that sort of time on their hands anymore and I’d urge them to do everything they can to push through a new buy-to-let purchase before the stamp duty holiday ends.”

At the moment, although landlords still have to pay the additional 3% stamp duty levied on ‘second home’ property purchases, like all other home buyers they do not have to pay any ‘standard’ stamp duty on the value of the home they buy under £500,000.

Gutted

“I think most landlords would be completely gutted to miss the deadline simply because the lender they’d chosen couldn’t turn their transaction around in time,” says Browne (pictured, below)

“With volumes so high, many lender’s service levels have slipped – it’s taking some of the big players 10 minutes just to pick up a sales call while others are taking 35 working days just to undertake their processing.

“It’s therefore absolutely critical that landlords speak to a specialist broker who can ensure they not only get a competitive deal but that they also get one that has a realistic chance of going through before the deadline runs out.

“Frankly, it’s absolutely to the wire, even with the right lender.”

A parliamentary debate is due on the stamp duty deadline on Monday.

View Full Article: Landlords are in ‘last chance saloon’ to buy properties before Rishi’s stamp duty deadline