New home loan held back by stamp duty

One in four first-time buyers is finding that stamp duty land tax is a “major obstacle”, Alliance & Leicester has revealed.Barring some exceptions, stamp duty is paid on properties worth more than £60,000 at a rate of one per cent. This trebles on houses costing more than £250,000 and for properties worth more than £500,000 purchasers pay four per cent. Without exception all properties sold worth more than £150,000 incur stamp duty.As a result of rises in house prices, four times as many f