erol_h Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I have just put an offer down on a house that i like the house is up for sale at 280000. I've offerd 270000 but the owner said to me they have a offer for 275000 but the person offering this is trying to get a mortgage saying the house is for 250000 and the other 25k for fixtures and fittings. They are trying to dodge the 3% stamp duty is this even possible and can they get away with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 No - basically you have to list every single thing in the contract of sale (fixtures and fittings form part of the contract) and if it's like £2,500 for a mirror then they're in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 If the house is valued at £275000 or overthen he will be able to get a £275000 mortgage. I suppose the seller could elect to have £250000 paid to them vis the solicitors for the sale of the property (against which the stamp duty would be calculated). He would then have £25000 left in his bank account to do with as he wished. I guess he then has an unwritten aggreement with the seller than he will cough this up in return for the fixtures and fittings. Sounds a bit dodgy but I'm not sure its illegal. It actually sounds more risky for the seller as they would have to put in in writing that they were selling the house for £250000. They coud potentially end up with a legally sold house and then if the buyer pulls out of the other part of the deal, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 If the house is valued at £275000 or overthen he will be able to get a £275000 mortgage. I suppose the seller could elect to have £250000 paid to them vis the solicitors for the sale of the property (against which the stamp duty would be calculated). He would then have £25000 left in his bank account to do with as he wished. I guess he then has an unwritten aggreement with the seller than he will cough this up in return for the fixtures and fittings. Sounds a bit dodgy but I'm not sure its illegal. It actually sounds more risky for the seller as they would have to put in in writing that they were selling the house for £250000. They coud potentially end up with a legally sold house and then if the buyer pulls out of the other part of the deal, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. So the contract would say £250K? A solicitor wouldn't do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S44M KT Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 youd be suprised what a solicitor would do with the right kind of persuasion... I've recently learned this the hard way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 youd be suprised what a solicitor would do with the right kind of persuasion... I've recently learned this the hard way! I've worked as a conveyancer for about 8 years, I've had many dealings with people trying to get out of paying stamp duty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 How would they know? Surely the seller can sell their house for whatever they want. The problem is that this value would have to be put in writing, whereas the other chunk could definately not be otherwise it would attract stamp duty. As you said, fixtures and fittings would have to be listed, so they would have to specifically state this (as if they were going o remove everything and leave just a shell). I doubt anyone would actually bother to verify that this actually happened though. If after the sale went through the buyer then decided to play hardball and pull out of the side deal for the fixtures, the seller would be in a very difficult position, would they not? I don't know. I'm not a solicitor, but it sounds like somethng you could potentially get way with but it sounds far more risky for the seller than the buyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 So the contract would say £250K? A solicitor wouldn't do that. you can if you are able to justify upto about 5k but after that your on thin ice as a solicitor does a tax return at the completion of the say perchase and sale has been completed. i am in the middle of the same situation and 3% is costing me another 10k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I have just put an offer down on a house that i like the house is up for sale at 280000. I've offerd 270000 but the owner said to me they have a offer for 275000 but the person offering this is trying to get a mortgage saying the house is for 250000 and the other 25k for fixtures and fittings. They are trying to dodge the 3% stamp duty is this even possible and can they get away with it. in answer to the original question I would advise the vendor that the 'risk vs pay off' to go down the route of the what the other buyer is proposing for an extra 5k compared to your offer is not worth it. It is defo possible to buy the house for 250k and put 25k 'under the table' for sure but its very risky and false economy for the vendor unless you have total trust between the two parties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 If the house is valued at £275000 or overthen he will be able to get a £275000 mortgage. I are 100% mortgages back then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 in answer to the original question I would advise the vendor that the 'risk vs pay off' to go down the route of the what the other buyer is proposing for an extra 5k compared to your offer is not worth it. It is defo possible to buy the house for 250k and put 25k 'under the table' for sure but its very risky and false economy for the vendor unless you have total trust between the two parties. So in this scenario what is the property's value at HMLR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I've worked as a conveyancer for about 8 years, I've had many dealings with people trying to get out of paying stamp duty. You did used to be able to do that though, many years ago. I seem to recall it was fairly common to price a house under the threshold, and then pay extra for some hugely expensive carpets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erol_h Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 I thought it was a very risky move im going to ring the estate agents and tell them i've found another property that i like to put some pressure on the seller see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vintage21275 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 You did used to be able to do that though, many years ago. I seem to recall it was fairly common to price a house under the threshold, and then pay extra for some hugely expensive carpets. Apparently the law has changed on this im pretty certain you cant do this anymore, i know back in the days it was possible but i do have some kind of recollection reading that its not possible anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erol_h Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 well my mortgage advisor said the same thing all the loop holes have been closed and this is not possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.