No Stamp Duty

The Halifax has launched a mortgage with no stamp duty for first time buyers.

Stamp duty acts as a significant barrier for potential homeowners. So, Chancellor George Osborne is under pressure to do something in his budget to help cash strapped first time buyers and movers with this most hated tax. Contractor friendly Lender Halifax have taken matters in to their own hands. They have launched a headline grabbing offer for first time buyers.

If you are purchasing a property up to the value of £250,000, you won’t need to pay stamp duty on certain mortgage rate schemes. So, this could reduce your buying costs by as much as £2,500. If your chosen property is under £125,001 then Halifax will pay £250 cash back. This is despite the fact that your property wouldn’t be liable for stamp duty tax.

Halifax have run similar schemes in the past that have helped over 14,000 first time buyers onto the ladder. So the Lender is expecting to see similar figures this time. If other lenders jump on the bandwagon then Osborne may end up with little say in the matter. The market would rally to allow thousands more buyers to purchase without stamp duty costs.

The real cost of stamp duty

Each year, more and more first time buyers are being pushed in to the stamp duty bracket as house prices edge up.

According to LSL, the average purchase price for first time buyers in January was £155,832. This was 16.4% higher than the same time last year.

In line with this increase in house prices, the average deposit that a first time buyer must save has also risen. It is now £500 higher at £27,519. This represents 75.1% of a first time buyer’s income. This is according to figures released in January 2014. So saving extra funds to cover stamp duty adds a huge additional financial burden and could delay a potential purchase.

Figures from TSB suggest that 22% of first time buyers don’t take the cost of stamp duty into account when they make an offer on a property. This could leave these potential homeowners in the awkward position of finding up to an extra 3% of the property value before completion. This may be a struggle for cash strapped first time buyers.

Contractor Mortgages from Halifax

With just a 10% deposit, and a £999 arrangement fee, first time buyers can access a 2 year fixed rate mortgage at 4.79%. If you can provide a larger deposit of around 15%, you will be able to access a 2 year fixed rate at just 3.04% with a £1499 arrangement fee. These competitive Contractor Mortgage rates are available immediately to first time buyers. The arrangement fee can be added to your mortgage in both cases. So you won’t need to pay it upfront.

There is no stamp duty.

You can also access the stamp duty offer if you are applying for a 95% mortgage from the Halifax Help to buy product range. This is great news for those Contractors that have struggled to save a large deposit.

Looking for a larger property or your next move? If you are buying a property over the value of £250,000 or are an existing homeowner looking to move, you won’t qualify for the stamp duty incentive from Halifax. However, you can access a wide range of competitive Contractor Mortgage rates.This includes a special rate with the Lender. This entails a fixed rate mortgage for 2 years at 1.79% with a £1499 fee if you have a 40% deposit.

Halifax are not the only Contractor friendly Lender so it is worth consulting a Contractor specialist Independent Financial Adviser. They will search the whole of the market to find the best rates available to suit your individual circumstances.

Contractor Mortgages Broker

Tony Harris is a Specialist Contractor Mortgages Broker. He has a special relationship with the Halifax. Therefore, he is able to get contractors better rates than they would get on the marketplace. He is able to do this because of the credibility he has built up with them. This is mainly because the contractors that he sends to them have paid up on their mortgages and not defaulted.

Normally if you approach a building society, or high street bank, on your own, as a contractor you will be told that you need three years worth of accounts. Furthermore, you will only get a mortgage offer based on your Director’s salary.

Contractor Mortgage Offers With No Stamp Duty

This wouldn’t be worth having. However, because of Tony’s credibility with the Halifax he can get mortgage offers for contractors just on production of their contract. Indeed, first time contractors can get specialist contractor mortgage offers on their very first day of their very first contract. He can also get them quotes based on their daily rate annualised (daily rate x 4 x 48 weeks) rather than Director’s salary.

This Halifax one is with no stamp duty.

To find out more or apply you should click on Specialist Contractor Mortgages