Swap’a’home
10 July 2008
Could swapping your home- possibly saving thousands in the process- be the future of the property market?
There has always been something about ‘swapping’ that makes you feel you’ll get a raw deal and when you consider that most of us have never swapped anything more substantial than a sandwich, it is no wonder that the swap ‘phenomenon’ never really caught on.
Another problem with ‘swaps’ is that the choice has always been quite limited…‘I’ll swap my marmite sandwich for your peanut butter sandwich’ was about as exciting as the offers got.
But what if swapping was suddenly the most appealing option when it comes to wanting a new house? Property exchanges or property swappings means exchanging your home with for another. When you swap your house as opposed to selling it, tax authorities class it as a transfer, liable only for a £5 fixed duty on the cheaper of the two homes. The more expensive home must still pay the normal cost of stamp duty but this cost can be shared between the swappers as part of the arrangement, (For homes valued at £500 above, stamp duty is 4%, 3% for houses of £250,000-£500,000 and 1% for homes valued between £60,000 and £250,000).
The Property- Swap-Shop.co.uk, an online property swap market will be launching on 1st August and will be the most comprehensive house swap service to date. Specialising in swapping, buying, selling and renting and will accommodate everyone from a private owner to a council tenant. The Property Swap Shop has coined themselves as ‘the dating site for houses.’ There are no chains and no delays, you can upsize or downsize, use your favoured estate agent to oversee it and the legal process won’t change (so the deeds of the house will belong to you). The only problem is lack of choice but The Property Swap Shop are undertaking a national push to get property sites, house builders, private sellers and estate agents involved so people have more choice.
