The Government has called time on the holiday, which has allowed first-time buyers to avoid paying 1% stamp duty on properties priced between £125,000 and £250,000, with the scheme ending on 24 March.
However, Bovis Homes is now stepping in to keep the holiday spirit alive with a new stamp duty scheme which also includes owner occupiers.
With the new purchase assistance initiative, the housebuilder is offering to pay the stamp duty on homes that are reserved in that price bracket from 25 March, as long as the purchase is completed by the end of June.
Bovis Homes Marketing Director, Kevin Wilkins, said:
“The holiday has clearly proved popular with first-time buyers and we have had a surge of interest from them at the start of 2012. However, for some of them the Government’s deadline has come too early so we’ve decided to help out with this scheme that offers to pay their stamp duty on properties in the same price bracket - if they complete their purchase on a Bovis Home by June 30.
“We’re also well aware that it is not just first-time buyers who need a help up the property ladder, so we will be opening up the scheme availability to all homebuyers who reserve a house in the £125,000 to £250,000 range from March 25 and complete before June 30. Taking advantage of the holiday could represent a significant saving for the buyer – up to £2,500 in some cases – so there is a real incentive to get moving soon and complete before the end of June.”
Bovis Homes already offers a number of other purchase assistance schemes on selected properties that are helping hundreds of people to make their big move in 2012.
They include FirstBuy - a scheme where a joint 20% equity loan from the Government and Bovis Homes means the buyer requires just a 5% deposit and a 75% loan-to-value mortgage. The housebuilder also has its own packages, including The Perfect 10 and Jumpstart which offer low-deposit solutions for first-time buyers.
