The lender explained that it could not guarantee all purchase cases will complete before 1 April but said it will prioritise applications that are submitted by 29 January.
From tomorrow there are 86 days to go until the higher rate of Stamp Duty comes into effect. According to Keystone, it takes an industry average of 95 days to take a case from start to completion.
David Whittaker, managing director of Keystone (pictured), said the lender has been preparing for an increase in applications since the surcharge was announced.
“We have also been working closely with our valuers and solicitors to ensure that they too are prepared for what we anticipate will be a very busy period,” he said.
“Getting purchase applications over the line before 1 April is our priority. It will save borrowers thousands of pounds. The deadline will give us a little over eight weeks to take cases from submission to completion. In most instances, that will be do-able – even for limited company applications which, because they require a greater underwriting skillset, can take longer to process.”
The government recently published its consultation which is open to responses now until 1 February. Mortgage Solutions has compiled a round-up of the main points for interested parties to consider.
