How to buy a home before the stamp duty holiday ends in March 2021

It's just 90 days to the deadline. 
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Ruth Bloomfield1 January 2021

With just 90 days now until the stamp duty holiday deadline on March 31, buyers who want to take advantage may well have missed their opportunity to get their sale competed in time.

The explosion in demand sparked by the 'holiday' has slightly backfired. The sheer volume of buyers and sellers means that delays are endemic and many experts are warning that thousands of buyers are likely to miss out on the £15,000 tax break.

"There is a significant backlog in arranging mortgages, valuations and conveyancing, which may make the move before the stamp duty holiday expires impossible," warned Jeremy Leaf, principal of Jeremy Leaf & Co in north London.

"It is widely apparent that the rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday means there are insufficient properties available in the right price range in some areas."

Calls for the stamp duty deadline to be extended

Pressure is already being put on Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, to extend the holiday but the government has now categorically stated that it will not extend the deadline.

The major Kent-based conveyancing firm Martin Tolhurst has been managing expectations by telling new clients to assume they have missed the boat for several weeks now. "The likelihood is that they won't be completing by March 31," said the firm's managing partner, Richard Carter.

With expectations duly managed, buyers and sellers can at least put themselves in the best possible position to get their deal across the line by the end of March.

How to buy a home fast

"Make sure you are as fully prepared as possible in terms of your mortgage, surveyor, any borrowings from family," said Leaf.

"Ideally, you would also have no chain or one as short as possible — perhaps purchasing a new-build home via Help to Buy, which will improve your chances of meeting the deadline."

Being in a long property chain inevitably slows matters down. Chain free or brand new homes tend to go through the process faster.

"If you find you are unable to decide between two properties, the one to go for will be one that has as short a chain as possible so not to come across any kinks in the chain," said Ed Lugg, regional director of Portico estate agent.

Liza-Jane Kelly, a director at Savills, said that in the current, bunged-up system, a "good and proactive" solicitor is key — get recommendations from friends or ask your agent (if they are able to offer independent advice; some will simply steer you to an in-house team). "It may be wise to employ a mortgage broker who will be able to chase any delays on your behalf," she added.

Get all your documentation ready: proof of identity, wage slips (or audited accounts if you are freelance or self-employed) and bank statements.

Andrew Weir, CEO of property investment firm London Central Portfolio, suggests choosing and applying for a mortgage immediately, even if you don't have a property in mind yet. Getting a mortgage offer in principle means you are as ready as you can be.

"Ideally buyers have had their offer accepted before the end of the year. This allows time for finance, surveys and conveyancing to be complete, a process that can take up to 12 weeks," Weir said. "If the seller has started putting their sellers' pack together, this will also help with the process."

Being proactive is important, too. "Keeping in regular contact with both your agent and solicitor is also crucial — the smoothest transactions are those where everyone is working together," said Kelly.

Beware counterproductive chasing

However while it might be tempting to chase your team up on an hourly basis this can be counterproductive. A regular, but not ridiculous, level of contact is best.

Last month three conveyancing groups — The Society of Licensed Conveyancers, the Bold Legal Group, and the Conveyancing Association — said that endless bugging is actually adding to their current woes. "Continually chasing your lawyer actually makes them less productive and indirectly is a further cause of delay in the process," they warned.

What if you miss the deadline?

If you do miss the deadline then there is no need for despair, because some pundits think you may actually be better off waiting.

Sure, your tax bill will go up in April, but as demand inevitably slackens and the market cools you might be able to negotiate a better deal on your new home and level up that way.