Might have to pay Stamp Duty twice??

Hi all,

Hoping to find anyone with experience in a similar situation and/or related advice. Stressing at the moment!

In the process of purchasing an investment property, my accountant said that I could put an offer in under a business/trust name and, once the offer was accepted, I could create the trust (as there was no point creating a business/trust if I didn’t get the property).
I have now been informed that, because the trust/company did not exist at the time of the contract’s acceptance, I may be required to pay double stamp duty. I am now in a bit of a jam as, if I have to pay stamp duty twice, I will not have a large enough deposit and the bank will not service my loan. However, I have also been advised that if the loan is not serviced and if I make another offer/contract on the property, it will look like I am trying to dodge the extra stamp duty and may result in fines.

So obviously I would still like to purchase this property and move forward in my plans. This feels like a lose-lose situation – as the banks, government and myself will get nothing if the loan isn’t serviced… But they probably don’t see it that way. I’m just finding it hard to believe that signing 3 days too early could cause such complicated dramas…

Any advice or experiences you could share would be greatly appreciated. Surely I’m not the only person that has fallen into this?