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Q My fiance was forced to help his sisters get a mortgage on their property in March. We are thinking of getting our own place soon and are saving for the deposit. How much will we need? Is it still a minimum of 10% or do we need to save less, as my fiance already has a property? I am a first-time buyer, but obviously he no longer is, so how this will work in terms of stamp duty? I am very worried he did the stupid thing getting involved with this first house. KT
A I couldn't possibly comment on whether he has done a stupid thing. But what I can say is that if he is named on his sisters' mortgage as a co-owner, he is no longer a first-time buyer and so – even though you are – you will not qualify for relief from stamp duty land tax. However, this relief applies only to houses costing £250,000 or less, so if you are thinking of spending more than that, the fact your fiance helped out his sisters makes no difference. Also, if he was simply a guarantor for his sisters' mortgage, and isn't actually a co-owner, he would still qualify as a first-time buyer.
The fact he may (or may not) have a stake in another property makes no difference to the size of deposit you will need to put towards a home of your own. The minimum deposit you'll need to find is generally 15%, although there are a limited number of lenders prepared to accept a deposit of 10%.
Virginia Wallis
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