Stamp Duty Diaster in England

Tweet

We're first time buyers who decided to wait for summer to end before seriously hunting for a bargain. House prices seem to be falling every week and we felt the autumn would be a great time to bag a bargain. However, we found the perfect house at a great price and made an offer on it a few days ago... Then we heard about Alistair Darlings announcement that the Stamp Duty tax 'Might' be halted. This could save us thousands of pounds (bucks/quid/dollars...) when we exchange contracts on the house. The big question is what should we do now? In the UK, buyers are not required to make a deposit prior to closing on the house, so we could simply back out now and wait for Mr. Darling to make up his mind. But, the house is on offer way below market and we could actually end up saving money if we buy it despite paying the Stamp Duty. So, we've decided to go through with it. Have you been affected by this issue? If so, how?