Accord Mortgages announced it will guarantee to complete cases before the end of this month if they are submitted by Tuesday, 25 March. And it urged brokers and solicitors to get in touch if they cannot meet this deadline but are targeting a March completion.
From 1 April, the nil-rate Stamp Duty threshold will reduce from £250,000 to £125,000, and borrowers will therefore pay 2% tax on the element of their property’s value which falls between those bands. The tax-free threshold for first-time buyers is also reducing from £425,000 to £300,000, and properties worth over £500,000 will no longer qualify for the first-time buyer relief. This change means many people will pay Stamp Duty for the first time, while others will pay thousands of pounds extra.
Anticipating an ‘extremely busy’ last week of March as people race to the finish line, Accord is ensuring it has the ability to double capacity if needed, to support their efforts.
Chris Hill, head of sales and distribution at Accord, said: “We know our valued broker partners will be doing everything they can to help their clients avoid paying significantly more when the Stamp Duty thresholds change at the beginning of April.
“So, we’ve maximised resource across our highly-skilled customer support team to help them achieve that. We’re already known for our high service standards, delivered through a combination of highly sophisticated systems and dedicated advisers. That combined force is now laser-focused on delivering for brokers and their customers during what we expect to be an exceptionally busy lead-up to 31 March, as people try to beat the deadline.”
