The Two Things You Need To Avoid Stamp Duty Blues

By Ellis Ranger

It’s no secret that the housing market has boomed over the past year and a half, with the average house price increasing by 13.2% across the UK, the highest since November 2004. This despite the fact that experts warned the housing market would suffer as a consequence of Covid.

In an effort to keep the economy ticking over in hard times, the government put a stamp duty holiday in place. It’s allowed buyers to buy homes worth up to £500,000 (and later £250,000) without paying tax. But this tax break comes to an end on September 30th which gives you just weeks to seal the deal and avoid stamp duty blues.

So what can you do to ensure that you take advantage of what remains of the holiday? Listing your property on the market if you’re selling and making sure you’re actively looking for a new home are obvious things to do. But there are a couple more things to bear in mind as we head into the final month. 

Get the solicitors in

The first thing to ensure is that if you are committed to moving is to get your solicitors instructed as early as possible to avoid upset. With the market being extra busy, solicitors have been on the back foot with an ever increasing amount of work. Ensuring you instruct your solicitors before any sales are agreed helps everyone involved in the transaction.

This gives your solicitors time to collate all necessary paperwork about your sale or purchase. And having this filled out to the best of your ability means that once a sale is agreed, they can proceed without any hesitations.

Some local solicitors were not providing work to those who didn’t already have a sale agreed. But a lot of larger law firms were offering refundable deposits to those looking to move. The idea was to give people wanting to take advantage of the holiday a ‘head start’ if they needed it.

Book the moving firm

Another important thing to consider as we head into the home stretch is having a removals company, such as CBS Removals, on standby for when a sale is agreed. It’s important to start getting quotes from local companies once a sale is agreed. That way you know the price and the company knows the scale of the job. It also gives companies the chance to advise ahead of time if they can be available to provide the service.

Removals companies have been overloaded with work due to the high demand. So there’s no harm in enquiring before a sale is agreed. There’s nothing worse than having everything agreed, but not being able to find a company to help you move. This could potentially jeopardise your move and cause those dreaded stamp duty blues.

If you are looking to move home and need some help, look no further than CBS Removals. We are a firm that goes the distance. You can get a quote by calling 01480 220434 or emailing info@cbs-removals.org.