Being a ‘first-time buyer’ has significant benefits.
As a first-time buyer, your offer is not conditional upon the sale of a chain of other properties in order for you to proceed. In other words, by definition, you don’t have a property to sell. You’re also flexible in terms of your move, for the same reason. And there are financial benefits too, including qualification for participation in special First-time buyer ISA schemes, Help to Buy schemes and, perhaps most significantly, exemption for the requirement to pay stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in certain instances.
So, what is a first-time buyer?
The definition of a first-time buyer has been set out by the government in a guidance note published in 2018. It states the following;
“In order to count as a first time buyer, a purchaser must not;
If the property is purchased jointly, all the purchasers must meet these conditions”.
Some lenders however, do offer their First Time Buyer schemes to purchasing couples when only one of the applicants meets the first time buyer criteria.
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