lozgti

Is the government daft? if people can't afford a couple of thousand quid for their stamp duty then they shouldn't be buying a house in the first place.

You used to save up 10% deposit,your fees and disbursements.

Giving people a 'payment of stamp duty holiday' is just putting off the inevitable.We will continue to have people buying houses who can't really afford to.

If they want to kickstart the market,ditch HIPS for a start.Any other pointers /tips for the daftest government for a long time?

boxst

It is interesting certainly. I want to move to a house that isn't that much more expensive than mine (about £100K or so), but haven't done so as I resent paying the 4% stamp duty. So for me it is quite good if I decide to go down that path.

I don't really see how it helps the 'normal' housing market and what it is doing at the moment is stopping everything. If I were just about to complete on a house, I would now just sit and wait for the government to decide.

Steve

Coffin Dodger

Would be much better of reforming it. Most ridiculous tax going, spend £249,999 on a house and pay £2499 stamp duty, spend £250,000 and pay £7500. Doh!

Why can't it be 1% of house value minus £125,000 plus 3% of house value minus £250,000, etc. Just like income tax?

al4x1

if you resent that I broke up with my ex and had to pay stamp duty on 50% of the value of the house when we bought plus what I had to pay her to buy her out! now that stung

PeteBrant

It is utter desparation. Why on earth they want to try and ge tproperty prices back where they were when that is what caused to current problems in the first place I have no idea. (Well actually I do, it's because they are absolutely ****ting themselves because they have promoted a mindset where property value=wealth, when of course it does not).

They will try anything to get the markets moving again, get property prices up and thus claim to have recovered the economy.

PeteBrant

Aside from which, any stamp duty defferment (You better belive they won't ditch it, you *will* have to pay it at some point) merely covers the ridiculous increases in mortgage arrangement fees