01 November 2018

Another budget over and some good news for First Time Buyers!


Well that was not the most of exciting of Budgets, although it could have been a lot worse.  It does seem like the spending taps have been turned slightly on, rather than off!

On the up side, Stamp Duty Relief has been extended to first time buyers purchasing shared ownership homes valued up to £500k.  Shared ownership meaning that you buy a percentage share of the property and rent the remaining amount from the housing association, normally with the option to ‘staircase’ (buy more of a share) at a later date.  This can be a good way to get onto that first step onto the property ladder, although you do need to cater for the additional rent payments and normally there are ground rents and service charges relating to the property to also take in to consideration.

The Government backed Help to Buy scheme, which was due to expire in 2021, is to be extended to 2023 for First Time Buyers.

Landlords took another hit as private residence relief on Capital Gains Tax is now only available if the landlord lives in the property with the tenant!  Landlords and tenants sharing properties is something currently not well catered for by mortgage lenders!

In other news, Virgin Money have scrapped their guarantor mortgage citing lack of use and that many lenders now prefer parents to be joint borrowers on the mortgage itself.  A number of lenders now offer joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgages.

Finally, there have been a number of changes over the last few days with some rates increasing and some decreasing.  TSB, Secure Trust Bank, Precise Mortgages, Nationwide, Family Building Society, Together Money, Kensington Mortgages, Coventry and Accord Mortgages have all issued product updates.  It is a volatile market currently and the uncertainty of Brexit is making an impact across the whole market.  Therefore, if you are looking to review your mortgage and have been offered a respectable and appropriate deal, do your homework, review all options, but don’t hang around!

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