Understanding Stamp Duties with Selling Homes

by Brooke 16. June 2010

There are different trends in the real estate market that make a difference in how much you owe or pay for your house.  Whether you want to move into a lease to purchase option or look into a “we sell houses” company is the need to know how different external factors affect your home.  One of the concepts that apply to every home is the stamp duties that are associated with buying and selling property.  Understanding the concepts that are linked to this can provide you with a different understanding of the type of transactions you will need to make with your home. 

A stamp duty is a tax that is given to specific documents when making a transaction.  Most legal documents require this to make a complete transaction and to show that it is authentic.  In Australia, the stamp duty will vary from state to state, dependent on the document and the jurisdiction.  Most states don’t require a physical document or transaction duty to complete what is needed for the real estate document.  However, for both a transaction with a lease to purchase and a mortgage, there is also the need to get a stamp duty for the home. 

Even though the stamp duty is one that is required for different documents, there are current changes that are occurring within real estate.  For those that decide to lease their home or want a different application to their mortgage, is the ability to look at the changes for their benefit.  The most current change is the decision to abolish the stamp duty for any real estate that is worth less than $600,000 with the first abolishment taking place in New South Wales.  This new rule not only applies to smaller homes, but is also applicable to new homes, where the stamp duty will have a cut of 25%.  The tax cut is expected to change the amount of money owed to the government by an average of $140 million.  These exemptions are expected to help stimulate the economy while providing more options for building new homes because of the discounts available. 

For those that want to move into a new piece of property or are considering the option of lease to purchase is the ability to take advantage of the New South Wales regulations.  Since there is not a stamp duty, the fees for documents, transactions and other necessary actions will be easier to apply through different circumstances.  If you are looking at alternatives, such as “we sell houses” companies, then you can further consider the options that are available to make sure that you are able to apply the exemptions to your home while moving forward with the opportunities that are available to stimulate the economy.