First Home Buyer in Queensland? Don’t get stung by Transfer Duty!

Changes to transfer  duty for first home buyers in Queensland can save you money.  New legislation is eliminating transfer duty for homes under $500,000 which could save you thousands.

So how does a first home buyer make sure they receive these savings when signing a contract?  Well the Office of State Revenue has stated that the contract date (ie the date at which the contract you have signed starts) is the important date and your contract must be dated on or after 1 September 2008 to recieve these savings.

Recently it was suggested in the Courier Mail that first home buyers could sign what is called an option contract, which gives them the option to buy a property in the future.  This effectively secures the property for them and at the expiration of the option the buyer can then move into a formal contract with the seller to buy the property.  However, the legislation that came into effect to provide the reduction in transfer duty also expressly mentioned that should a buyer or seller enter an option agreement prior to 1 September 2008, they would not qualify for the transfer reduction.

We have attached the relevant legislation in pdf form should you wish to take a look, with the relevant section being s607 (2).

copy of the changes to the Act.pdf

What should a first home buyer do?  Well if you are buying a home worth more than $350k but less than $500k then the only thing you can do should you wish to save on transfer duty is to sit on your hands and wait till 1 September 2008 to sign a contract.  If you want to know just how much you will save and if it is worth the wait, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 1300 2 CHARTER and we can calculate transfer duty for you to help you make the right decision.