First time buyers must find a best rate for mortgage deal before Valentine's day.

First-time buyers need to get on and source one of lenders best rate for mortgage deals before February 14th this year, or face losing out on the stamp duty holiday.

With the stamp duty holiday to end in March this year those first-time buyers who have found a property, are in a rush to sign up for one of lenders current best rate for mortgage deals. According to the property group Move With Us, Valentine's day will be the cut off day for having deals accepted if the stamp duty holiday is not to be missed. Stamp duty on a house worth £200,000 is £2,000, so the exemption represents a significant saving.

The current first-time buyer exemption from the 1 per cent tax for properties under £250,000 runs out on March 24. Property group Move With Us has said that “although the Government is ending the stamp duty relief exemption because it says it has not been popular, if you are a first-time buyer and looking to buy soon then you would be a fool not to try and take advantage of it before it ends.”

Wendy Evans-Scott, of the National Association of Estate Agents, said "It is impossible to predict what impact the end of the tax exemption will have on first-time buyers, particularly those on very tight budgets of under £250,000 for whom the 1 per cent tax could be disastrous.”

For buyers who have found a property but do not have a lender's best rate for mortgage deal already lined up, the clock is ticking and they should start comparing lenders offers without delay.