Research finds first-time homebuyers oblivious to stamp duty

July 18, 2023 by Brendan O'Neill

Home owners

Almost one quarter of those buying their first home in the UK are oblivious to the stamp duty payment requirements that come with property purchases, new research has discovered.

The Mortgage Lender (TML) conducted this study, and it found that close to 24% of first-time homebuyers had no idea that stamp duty payments may apply to their property purchase. Roughly 2,005 homeowners from all across the country took part in the study, with a further 21% having completely failed to budget for these payments when planning to buy a first home.

Another 37% of respondents in Scotland stated that land transaction tax and indemnity insurance payments had not been factored in when planning their finances for the home purchase. On the other hand, 20% did put aside money for land transaction tax, while 28% did the same for indemnity insurance, according to TML.

Further proof of the worrying lack of knowledge that many first-time buyers have is that more than one third of them told TML that they did not prepare for electronic transfer fees. Close to one quarter did not know about needing to pay mortgage product and valuation fees, as well as homebuyer survey costs.

Less than one third of respondents indicated that they had included all of the extra expenses involved in buying a home for the first time when working out a budget.

This is the clearest proof necessary of how talking to a professional with the CeMAP mortgage advisor qualification can help first-time buyers to avoid the common financial pitfalls.