"It is better to know now rather than on the day of completion so at least they can try to make some preparations to cover the extra cost, should it arise."
The conveyancer has been quoting the stamp duty charge in its new client documentation for buyers since the end of last year to prepare them for the possibility they may have to find extra money they have not budgeted for.
The widespread calls for the government to extend the stamp duty break or taper its end still has no resolution, despite rumours of a potential six week extension.
ONP says that even if the holiday is extended by six weeks, "we won’t know this until into March and, therefore, this does little to help the impending deadline and merely adds newer buyers into the race to beat the cut-off".
Andy Scaife, CEO at ONP Group, said: “Some clients are understandably disappointed that they are likely to miss the stamp duty deadline. For some time now, we have been doing our best to manage buyers’ expectations by letting them know what the stamp duty charge will be if they cannot complete by 31 March.
“Whilst we will try to do everything we can to complete as many of those transactions in our pipeline, it is better to know now rather than on the day of completion so at least they can try to make some preparations to cover the extra cost, should it arise.”
