A selection of your property queries answered

Losing first-time buyer status

I bought a new apartment from the plans four years ago as a first-time buyer. I subsequently got married and now we are going to try to keep the apartment as an investment and use some of the equity built up in it to help us buy a house. My wife has never owned property. Will we be considered to be first-time buyers for stamp duty purposes as she has never owned property before?

No. As you will be purchasing the house jointly, your previous purchase will mean that as a couple you will not be considered to be first-time buyers.

There is a further consideration in all this. As a first-time buyer, you were exempt from stamp duty, but there were strings attached to that exemption. In the small print was a proviso that you must use the property as your principal private residence and not let it out during the first five years.

If you do let it out, then you must pay back the stamp duty which could, depending on the original sale price of the apartment, amount to quite a sum.

Depending on your timing you could easily end up paying stamp duty twice - on your apartment and on your house.

Fears over Turkish property

Early this year on holidays we put down a deposit on a villa in a development in Kusadasi in Turkey. We are now reasonably very nervous about the whole thing and want to pull out of the deal. What would your advice be?

The first thing you should do look at your contract. It is very likely that your deposit and your contract commits you with going ahead with the sale. While it is not unusual in Turkey for an estate agent to handling the entire contract and conveyancing process, hopefully you consulted a solicitor before signing anything.

According to Brian O'Neill, who sells property in Turkey (www.realestatekusadasai.co.uk), while the buying and selling process there is quite straightforward, before you hand over a deposit you must be very clear that you want to actually go through with the sale. Deposits can be quite high - it's not unheard off for developers to look for as much as a 50 per cent deposit - and if that is your situation, then pulling out of the deal will cost you a considerable amount of money.

The best possible situation is that you contact your developer, tell him you have cold feet and that he agrees to cancel the contract, refund your deposit and sell the unit to someone else. Even if this was to happen, you should not expect to get all your money back - the developer will most likely charge you a seller's fee of 3 per cent. But this really is the best possible outcome: the more likely one is that your attention will be drawn to the contract and you will be obliged to go through with the sale.

Maybe a time for reflection is called for. Are you in a stage payment situation? - this is quite normal when it comes to new properties. If so, while you are understandably nervous in view of the recent bombing, you might feel less so in three or so months time when your next payment is due.

If your cold feet persist, consult a local Turkish lawyer for advice.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.