What would you do? New Stamp Duty Rules

[Sammyjoegreen]

Hello All,

Thank you in advance for reading and any responses.
So I am sure we all have heard about the impact of the new national budget on stamp duty. I am in the process of purchasing a house for myself and my toddler which I was hoping to make our forever home. However, following yesterday's budget we're now facing almost 40K in stamp duty charges as I am not a first time buyer.
Could we still afford it? Yes but it means we won't be able to tackle any refurbishment work the house requires for a while and these are essential as I have a small child.
I am considering the following options:
Option 1. asking the seller if they might consider deducting the additional stamp duty from the purchase price or at least a portion of it. I feel bad about doing this as they have already had a previous transaction on the same house which was near completion fall through for financial reasons on the side of the buyer. They are selling as they need to downside following partner's passing
Option 2. Look for a cheaper property but I've already paid for a survey and part of the legal fees for this one. Also, there really isn't anything that is considerably cheaper in the area that would make any significant difference. Average price is about 550K. I'd have to look at moving to a completely different area far away from family.
Option 3. Continue the current transaction and save till I can afford the refurbishment work.

Help please! What would you do or are there any other options you could suggest?
Thank you.

For what it’s worth @Crikeyalmighty I do understand how your 85 year old FIL would rather lose a few thousand on the transaction than have the stress of starting again. My in laws are a similar age and we have given up trying to help them make financial decisions & it is his money at the end of the day. No one needs more stress at that age.

I’m sure no one on this thread is trying to bully you. I just think opinions can be expressed very strongly on Mumsnet. You are really just debating this point with one person, which is not bullying. I’ve had loads of people ganging up on me in the past on Mumsnet (some of them may have been the same person using different usernames back when people could change usernames mid thread).

Well I still think people can do this. I could add a post on here right now using my sons phone and just add a different email address. So as much as other posters are saying I should stop throwing accusations around I do feel like there are still posters who are still actively posting using different usernames. It doesn’t take a genius to see which posters they are either!

@Twiglets1 thank you- at the end of the day I just want to help- and all situations are different as you are clearly well aware of- if he was younger and not as keen to get out ( and it's taken him years to get the point of realising it) then I might have felt differently. His main issue is I don't think he is going to be able to drive that much longer and lives in a big village with no public transport to speak of and even hard to get taxis- and expensive if he does nearest big place around 6 miles away - we live 180 miles away And he has no family at all locally -

Hi all

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You’re right @Susanap they can still do it but it takes more effort now & since the changes were introduced I have noticed some characters who used to post a lot about house prices crashing have largely disappeared.

I don’t want to be accused of troll hunting so won’t say anything more on this subject.

I agree with you on nearly everything but of course we also see things differently occasionally. And I definitely find the 85 year old FIL who is willing to pay the extra stamp duty relatable because it’s the sort of thing my in laws would do too.

Sorry @LilyMumsnet I posted the above at the same time as you - please delete if you think it best.

Ok let me put this a different way. I think your FIL should call their bluff and say no because I do think the buyers are trying it on. If they say they will pull out, just pay it! And you have lost nothing as you say he has already knocked off £70,000 on his ongoing purchase.
No harm in trying.

@Susanap I think that may well be what happens- will see. Sorry I didn't mean to say you are bullying- that was unfair- feeling a bit stressed by it all- have myself already sorted all his between homes accommodation plus found the ideal forward pad at far less than he expected ( got at 8% below asking) and not easy given his rather specific criteria) and sorted his removal people's quotes etc-

I don't doubt by the way they may well be trying it on- people never fail to suprise me.

No problem at all. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect that. No harm done.

Please bear in mind though that the discount of 8% your FIL has received is probably what the house is worth anyway as most savvy sellers and estate agents list properties at 5-10% over what they are worth so there is room for negotiation. It’s the way it has always been done but especially in the current market.

That’s why people are seeing lots of discounted properties in the past recent months as estate agents have cottoned onto this and are acting accordingly, which is the right thing to do.

Good luck and I hope your 85 year old FIL calls their bluff and doesn’t have to pay for these unscrupulous second home buyers. 👍