With the stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers seeking mortgages for properties up to £250,000 in value coming to an end at midnight on Saturday, various lenders have responded by launching a new range of mortgage products aimed at offsetting this. From Sunday morning, homes bought for £125,000 and under will still be exempt from the tax, but all others will now face a 1 per cent levy on the purchase price affecting some 45 per cent of first-time buyers, who will need to scratch up an additional £1,250 to £2,500, depending on the value of the property. Aware of this, lenders such as Halifax, Nationwide and The Cooperative Bank are offering new mortgage deals that claim to ease the additional tax burden on first-time buyers via a range of cashback or money-saving features available to any borrower with a10 per cent deposit or greater. The deal from the Halifax offers to pay half of a first-time buyer’s stamp duty charge if borrowers take out a specific mortgage deal. The Nationwide deal is similar, except it offers £1,000 cashback to borrowers who opt for its two, three and five-year fixed rate mortgages and it is only available to borrowers with a Nationwide Flexaccount. For its part, The Co-operative Bank has two deals a fixed rate mortgage and a tracker rate mortgage tailored for first-time buyers. Although there is no cashback involved, the mortgage rates are lower and the Co-op will be waiving its arrangement and valuation fees. Borrowers are estimated to be able to save £1,250 under the deals.
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