Getting a house under stamp duty threshold

[pauldavies85]

I'm currently classed as a first time buyer so I have a stamp duty break up to £250000. I want a house which is on the Market for £280000,even with sensible offer unlikely total price will be under threshold.
Is there a way I could pay excess money for something else(cash) and buy the house at£250000 pending offer acceptance.house had separate garage and summer house - anything here?

Any advise would be gratefully received. My savings are sufficient for deposit and extra cash.

[Sarnie]

I'm a Mortgage Broker, you have mail

[pauldavies85]

Thanks, fittings and fixture to an amount seems current thinking

[anonymous-user]

you and the seller need to agree something that everyone involved is happy to answer to hmrc over, if asked

so, if you pay £30,001 for an ikea shoe rack and a couple of BHS light fittings, you know you are winging it on the hope of not getting pulled

[pauldavies85]

Of course, but say they want 260000,it's the I could do 10k for fittings etc. It is a period place if that makes fittings more expensive?! Otherwise I'm lumped with 7+k stampduty instead of none

[Sarnie]

£10k for fixtures and fittings, white goods, carpets, curtains, garden furniture etc could be feasible....

[Jobbo]

Fittings and fixtures are part of the property and can't be separated out from the purchase price - basically, you need to agree to buy the property for less than £250k. Anything which isn't a fixture (e.g. white goods, carpets and curtains - they're not physically fixed to the property) can be paid for separately but only at a reasonable estimate of their true value.

If you try to do anything dodgy, HMRC have 21 years to come back and ask you for the nearly £9k of SDLT, plus penalties up to the same amount, plus interest.

[Scraggles]

not exactly a sellers market, offer under the threshold and see if they bite

[pauldavies85]

hmmm not sure, I dont want to take the micky and annoy them. As said though I'm an ideal buyer, no chain felxible when i can move, livenear by etcetc.
Isn't that a big drop from £280000, just over 10%? hmmmm, its just such a kick in the teeth having to pay 8k more for a small increase in value of the property! Que remarks about paying tax fairly etc!!

[Kudos]

pauldavies85 said:

hmmm not sure, I dont want to take the micky and annoy them. As said though I'm an ideal buyer, no chain felxible when i can move, livenear by etcetc.
Isn't that a big drop from £280000, just over 10%? hmmmm, its just such a kick in the teeth having to pay 8k more for a small increase in value of the property! Que remarks about paying tax fairly etc!!

take the micky? It's your money, why give it away??
Buyers market, go low and I wouldn't pay a penny over £249,999

[mcflurry]

Do they have a car for sale?

[anonymous-user]

best plan to offer £249k and, if they want a touch more, offer them a few k in the pocket

[Jobbo]

JPJPJP said:

best plan to offer £249k and, if they want a touch more, offer them a few k in the pocket

If you do this, make sure you tell your solicitor so the deal is entirely documented.

[OneDs]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

This x lots, Basically they are either living in cloud cuckoo or won't accept anything less than £249,000-£250,000. Anything else is under the table and liable to land you with a penalty in the future.

Put £249,999, if they want something extra and your prepared to pay, then you'll find a way but ask for advice.

[NorthernBoy]

JPJPJP said:

best plan to offer £249k and, if they want a touch more, offer them a few k in the pocket

Such a bad idea, for so many reasons. Commit fraud for 7k?

Do you think that the seller will do likewise?

How can the seller know that the backhanded will arrive? Pay it beforehand? What if they keep it? Draw up a contract? We're back to provable fraud, and what solicitor would assist in that for their £1k fee?

[pauldavies85]

buying somehting seperately to the house is not fraud. Just because it comes from the house seller makes no difference unless it is clear that you are falsely reducing the price of the house. If the house is to be sold without certain components that you agree on (eg carpets), there is nothing to stop you privately buying them.

I was wondering if this could be extended to a summer house. Its essentialy a posh shed which can be moved and doesn't need to be included in the sale. If i was to purchase something like this, which aren't cheap I would of thought this is not a problem?

You think 7k is a neglagable amount of money?being paid for no personal gain?Am I just tight?!

[Jobbo]

pauldavies85 said:

buying somehting seperately to the house is not fraud.

The seller won't agree to it unless it's contained in a contract, since they will have no way of making sure you pay for the other things. And if it's contained in a contract the solicitor will need to know.

Why not be up front with the seller; say £250k and not a penny more since that would mean you have to find an extra £7.5k and that's not going to happen. If they don't go for it, bad luck.

[anonymous-user]

I suggested no fraud - the house sale would go through at £249k and there would be a separate transaction for something else, if needed. All legit.

Certainly one up from the sharia scams going about the place

[NorthernBoy]

It is clearly fraud, as it is a transaction being done expressly for reducing a tax bill, by paying over market price for the extras. This is what is being suggested here, not fairly bidding 249k and then paying a fair price for the fridge and sofa.

Here's a radical idea, either get it down below 250k legitimately, or pay the tax as the law requires.

I wonder how many of the people tacitly encouraging tax evasion are the same ones who get angry at financier's imagined tax avoidance.

[Scraggles]

cant see any issue, as long as all is happy, if the house owners want to sell, they might find a way round it, guess no-one has offered cash for tradesmen ?