It has been unveiled that upwards of 120,000 buyers throughout the UK may be owed SDLT refunds if you have made a stamp duty overpayment.

Records show that in the 2017/18 period, a sum of over £12.9 billion in stamp duty was forked out by homebuyers throughout the United Kingdom, with 2016/17 showcasing over 6,800 additional refunds on property to a total of £80m were paid out.

Confusing information by legal advisors over complexity of the tax resulted in overpayments within the 2015/16 period of over £3bn.

Unawares

A recently compiled survey pointed out that around 61% of homebuyers had never considered any form of problem or mistake in the stamp duty paid. 13% of homebuyers felt that they were forced to pay a stamp duty too high due to errors from their solicitors.

Whilst percentage payments bands at higher property values were seen as fairly straightforward, the number of surcharges and exemptions on different homes presented confusion for even the most on the ball solicitor and conveyancer on transactions.

A Complex Issue

Laws around Stamp Duty Land Tax proved to be an extremely complex area for many advisors in helping their clients to properly evaluate the amount they should be paying.

Being trained to purely differentiate between the residential and commercial properties, advisors found themselves unfamiliar with the finer points of the laws evaluation criteria, leading to a mass of unintentional mis-advisement.

How to Check and Reclaim

Due to HMRC guidelines, buyers have a window of 12 months from date of filing to amend any returns including changes resulting in more tax.

Mistakes cannot usually be amended after the 12 month period however the deadline for claiming back overpayments of tax is 4 years from the effective transaction date. So it is possible to claim back overpayments of SDLT from this date.

By talking with your solicitor to discover how much you have paid if you are not aware, you can claim the refund by writing to the Stamp Duty Land Tax Office and quoting the UTRN. You will require a copy of the original SDLT return with your claim along with explaining your thoughts on why you feel you have overpaid.

In this report, you will need to point out which parts of the SDLT is wrong and provide revised figures and confirmation of the amount due to refund. You will need to confirm who should be paid and provide permission for money to be paid to parties other than yourself.

Further Advice from Professionals

For extra up to date advice if you think you’ve made a stamp duty overpayment, you can always talk to estate agents Stockport on the housing market who get up to the minute news and advice on stamp duty and its effects and benefits. Get in touch with Joules Estate Agents today.

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2020 still has challenges ahead, but that doesn’t mean that business is down.

In fact, the total of Sales Agreed this year alone has surpassed those of 2019 in the same period despite being in the face of such a global pandemic and lockdown, with new instructions at 92% of those in 2019.

Preparations are being made in the market for an expected surge in exchanges even though they are running 25% behind the previous year’s rates. This growth in Sales Agreed figures began generating with the advent of the English marketplace reopening up.

North Takes Pole Position

A dramatic surge has seen the North become the housing powerhouse of the post-Covid property boom, with Manchester following behind Nottingham as having a price increase of upto 4.2 percent.

This has been welcome news for the property market and estate agents Stockport have seen an imbalance in the North West for quite some time. These increases showcase a very high demand for local people wanting to stay now that their commuting to workplaces in other regions is no longer a necessity as well as a stray on the much-expected exodus from city life.

With the economy and job markets developing in the North West, more and more people are beginning to buy property in Stockport which has supported the increase in growth and investment for the property sector.

Staying Ahead

With the current thirst for home movers and buyers looking to remain steady on the property racetrack for the North West for the next few months, the stamp duty holiday is providing the major incentive for those who have held back to finally take action and pull the lever.

Home movers will undoubtedly remain extremely high in the demand stakes, which will support the market going forward as well as the unseasonably strong conditions.

North West Relocation

With more and more people looking to escape London and transfer their opportunities to a positive growing environment, Manchester and Stockport regions are becoming the focal point for people looking to find apartments and housing that are selling fast.

As the post-Covid and Lockdown regulations and laws come into effect, people find that the North West sector has a positive outlook and an ability to adapt easier than other areas. With businesses and industry sectors quick to embrace new safety procedures in order to get back to work, many have found thriving success not just in the property and mortgage sector.

For buying a property advice and how to be a part of the sales agreed boom, talk with the team at Joules today.

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Good news abound for those on the second time buyer ladder, with the trade-up gap setting a new record at £67,761.

Rightmove recently released a study on average asking prices of close to 3 million properties on the basis of those looking to purchase their second house with 3 bedrooms and already owning a 2 bedroom home. Price growth on 3 bedroom properties has managed to outstrip those on 2 bedroom flats year on year.

Interesting Figures

Outside of London has seen asking prices increase 20% nationwide in comparison to five years ago whilst a 2 bedroom flat has risen to 15%. In the last 12 months, flat prices have risen by 3% with 3 bedroom homes rising by 4%.

In the East of England, the two to three-bed trade up gap is now over £100,000 for the first time, while the biggest trade up gap is in the South East, at £121,295. Those looking to trade up from the smaller property purchased five years back will find it harder to be able to afford the next step up the property ladder due to sector pacing being different across the UK.

Potential Struggles

People that genuinely require the extra space and are struggling to trade upwards may have to widen their intended search area in order to really make the most of their money. Failing that they may have to have a compromise on their intended property and look into terraced properties other than detached.

The cash jump rises significantly from 3 to 4 bedroom properties. This is largely due to four-bedroom properties having additional facilities like extra bathrooms, larger outside garden properties, extra room garages and an extra bedroom. Usually, homeowners have a tendency to stay in a second property for longer periods and so more people may have built up enough equity to make the jump into their intended forever home.

Taking Over FTB

The remaining 2020 and upcoming 2021 windows seem set to see a reversal of the first time buyer market dominance and an emergence of existing homeowner moves. This is mainly down to searches for space and life re-evaluation due to the effects of 2020’s pandemic.

Many property owners have either no mortgage or loans giving them an affordability factor in movement on property. Many households look to move away from city life to more rural surroundings and better value for money. Existing owners also tend to be over 45 with mostly no mortgage at all, which could result in 2021 seeing a huge surge in cash only purchases looking to buy property in Stockport.

March’s lockdown has unlocked unforeseen demand for housing moves, with demand looking to be supported through a second spike in new cases and restrictions being tightened in the near term. This will no doubt galvanise those with solid equity and low to no mortgages to act quickly to secure required living.

For buying a property advice, contact the team at Joules to find that second purchase that becomes your forever home.

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Rightmove provided some information this month that ‘second-stepper homes’ consisting of three to four bedrooms have soared to record highs in asking prices to the tune of £291,618 due to the current increase in UK. Which is information worth keeping in mind if you’ve been thinking about upsizing your home.

Other sectors such as ‘Top of the Ladder’ properties consisting of detached 4 bedrooms and above are experiencing the strongest, with sales in August up by 104%.

Whilst it has always been viewed that the need for more space is a driving factor in upscaling, the pandemic has created a sense of urgency for those requiring working space within the home which has resulted in different sets of vying buyers for the same kind of properties from estate agents Stockport. Whilst a 4 bedroom property was a luxurious trade up for buyers at the beginning of 2020, they are now being classed as fully sought property for those able to get on the step.

As overall asking prices just a tad down on July’s record and buyer demand fully increased, those looking to secure their ideal home are likely to find offers in close proximity to the asking price to be successful for a larger property.

The Government stamp duty holiday put in place in July and in full effect until March 2021 is saving buyers upto around £15,000 in tax when purchasing a home, although house price inflation is unlikely to be sustained.

Northern regions are experiencing the strongest boom in price jumps, with Yorkshire, the Humber, the West Midlands and the North East and West all at record highs also.

Rural and coastal homes are proving amongst the most popular, as well as calmer areas and larger garden space. The impending fear of further lockdowns has played its part in those wanting to secure a quick buy and move before the end of the stamp duty holiday, unsure of how the market will balance after it has expired and wanting to seek buying a property advice.

With the number of mortgage approvals also rising to 66,300 in July, the housing market is enjoying its golden summer with a mini boom of home sales from behavioral shifts, with an estimated 40% more house sales currently being processed against the same time in 2019, leading to congestion in sales in progress.

For advice from the best independent estate agents Stockport, contact Joules for the best advice on buying or selling your property.

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