Move Home During Lockdown With Homebuyer Conveyancing

4th January 2021 Lockdown Announced 

Yet another Lockdown announced, we will all be thinking when will this all end. When we take control of the situation and roll out the vaccine the hardship reduces. Once we vaccinate the vulnerable and key workers the UK economy can begin again, something to look forward to but is it enough?

The Best case is that in 4 weeks we will see cases begin to drop because of the lockdown and in 8 weeks we will see significant reductions in deaths from covid due to both the vaccine and the tier 5 lockdown. In 8 weeks we will hopefully have vaccinated between 10M – 16M of the UK population.

The 67M UK population has 17M under the age of 20. So 50M is the target population, if the vaccine proves to be the answer. The previous data suggests that under the age of 20 the Virus causes less deaths to that age set. The 50M target population will take best case 25 weeks or worse case 50 weeks to vaccinate. 

However as every core group is vaccinated the exponential curve of cases reduces significantly.

Taking Control – That’s What We Need To Do

2021 is when the Virus must be managed. We of course have the advantage over other Countries, the UK is an island. To protect this situation all travellers should only commute if they are Covid tested and they show they are negative for the virus. With the recent Brexit deal we now have Borders. A massive plus to help eradicate the Virus. We must now see a strong leadership to manage our borders. An army mentality is needed with stringent process management. Thorough with our resolve to STOP the virus from entering.

The UK turning point is on the 6th Jan 2021. We can do so much more if the plan is explained to the people.

So Why Move House During Lockdown?

We need hope and moving house brings excitement where we can move forward to pastures new.

In a perfect scenario if you started thinking of moving today, you would first contact a Mortgage Broker to check out your affordability. If you are then clear on what you could afford you would decide if moving was an option either from a rental property or by selling your own home. You would produce a moving house checklist and cost out each stage. The Homebuyer Conveyancing comparison website provides direct pricing of all conveyancing costs without the need to enter personal details. The facts for you to make an informed decision on who to use for your conveyancing without the spam.

If you are a First Time Buyer then buying a property should take just 3 months. The First Time Buyer lending is improving with 95% LTV coming back to the market place and as such it would seem sensible that First Time Buyers were supported for the next 6 months by having no SDLT to pay for properties under £360,000. Fingers crossed that we hear that this is the case.

Existing Homeowners

For Homeowners we have a situation where they might already be moving but they have suffered delays due to Surveyors being in lockdown, slow lending and slow / non existent Local Authority searches. These Homeowners need a helping hand and need the current March deadline to be extended by at least 2 months.

To boost the economy and reduce the amount of furlough money being paid out the Government should consider extending the current SDLT holiday deadline by another 3 months with a reduced SDLT tax introduced in July, slightly increased in August and September and the full SDLT being reintroduced in October 2021. Of course the Government may decide to let Homeowners enjoy the SDLT Holiday until the end of September falling inline with School holidays. That sounds sensible with minimal disruption but massive gain to the already booming Housing Market.

Making Progress With Your Conveyancing Move

Sometimes you have to go backwards to move forwards! Plan your move and assume that no SDLT savings exist. Then if the SDLT holiday is extended you will have that exciting Surprise of no SDLT to pay.