Apartment details changed

adriandilly

Hi,
We have recently placed a deposit for a 2nd floor apartment priced at £102995. The apartment is part of a block of 3 identical apartments with the 1st floor being priced at £101995 and the ground floor at £99995. All apartments were advertised as having just one parking space when we placed our deposit, but this weekend have just found out that the ground and 1st floor apartments now include a garage as part of the price; but not ours. We wouldnt have agreed if we were aware of the others gaining a garage. We have both price lists, the old one stating "1 parking space" only and the new list including the garages. Where do we stand from a legal point of view in terms of retrieving our deposit, getting a reduction off the price of ours or having a garage allocated to us also.
Your help would be greatly appreciated, thank you

silvercar

From your point of view nothing has changed, you are getting what you reserved.

However annoying it is to find that you could have got more had you bargained harder, there is little you can do now.

Have you actually exchanged contracts or just placed a holding deposit? If it is just a holding deposit you could forego the deposit and buy one of the other flats (though stating your intention to do this may mean they let you have a garage on your flat rather than insist you drop down a floor).

adriandilly

Hi thanks for your reply. We have only placed the holding deposit having not exchanged yet. Have just received a phone call from the developer saying he understands our frustration and is willing to let us move down a floor, as they have not been sold yet. Not sure whether to do this or ask for the garage for our 2nd floor apartment.
We are now wondering whether the lower apartments are going to be worth a lot more say in 5-10 years because they have a garage, because that is what we will now base our decision on.
Thanks

QTPie

adriandilly wrote: »

Hi thanks for your reply. We have only placed the holding deposit having not exchanged yet. Have just received a phone call from the developer saying he understands our frustration and is willing to let us move down a floor, as they have not been sold yet. Not sure whether to do this or ask for the garage for our 2nd floor apartment.
We are now wondering whether the lower apartments are going to be worth a lot more say in 5-10 years because they have a garage, because that is what we will now base our decision on.
Thanks

Basically the developer is having trouble shifting the ground floor apartments, so is adding a garage as an "incentive". As Silvercar suggests, you are still getting what you reserved.

The developer is giving you the opportunity to swap to a ground floor with a garage... sounds very fair. You could TRY asking if they could add a garage to your existing reservation: nothing to loose, but I would be surprised if they agree.

Depends on your area, but a garage IS likely to add value. First/Second floor apartments are always going to be more desirable than ground floor (for security and sometimes view purposes), so are generally easier to sell (as the developer is finding out). BUT a garage certainly adds value AND sweetens the deal.

So you might need to decide between the flat you already have reserved OR a grund floor flat with garage.

Good luck

QT

adriandilly

Thanks for your answers, will let you know how it goes tomorrow

adriandilly

We have today asked the sales advisor and he will be discussing it tomorrow in a meeting at the headquarters. He mentioned that just moving us down a floor was "the easy option" for them and so he hopes he can persuade them to allow us to have one of the garages

SwissLe

Developers are pretty much wanting to get rid of places at the moment, having the sales staff on site and the general cost of the building is a huge ball and chain for them. I would call their bluff and threaten to cancel if you don't get a garage, yes it's probably not morally right because as others have stated nothing has changed in your contract. Just think how much more attractive your 2nd floor apartment would be to a buyer if it was the only one with a garage.

How much is your holding deposit? Where are you from, seems very cheap for a new build apartment?

getmore4less

If you take a garage you need a parking space in front of the garage.

If you don't still get a parking space and have to keep the front of the garage clear for access it will be of less value and for some people close to useless since you will have to park the car in the garage

Make sure the garages are big enough for decent sized car before commiting.

Also make sure they have power(a real pain if no power) and if possible water(less of a problem).

adriandilly

We dont want to move to another floor,its not an option. Still havent had a phone call from the developers who promised to call this afternoon about the garage. I think if the other apartments can have a garage at no extra cost, then we deserve one as we've paid the most! We placed 1000 for the holding deposit, and yes the apartment is cheap at 102k but we are in east anglia! All 3 apartments do include a parking space and these are not in front of the garages, no parkings allowed in front of them. Couldnt say if there's power but the garages are under a coachhouse so i should imagine so. They are a decent size though and i think i could fit my Focus in there!
A word of advice when your mortgage advisor is filling out your application for you... Make sure he gets your name correct, your marital status, the statement that you dont mind being phoned, and even the address to which the application applies!!!

QTPie

adriandilly wrote: »

I think if the other apartments can have a garage at no extra cost, then we deserve one as we've paid the most!Couldnt say if there's power but the garages are under a coachhouse so i should imagine so. They are a decent size though and i think i could fit my Focus in there!

BUT sounds as thought the developer is using (a limited number?) of garages as an incentive to get rid of the less desirable (albeit cheaper) apartments... In the same situation, most developers would SELL the additional garages (or parking spaces if available)... but they are obviously having trouble shifting some of the flats, so are using them as a sweetener.

adriandilly wrote: »

Couldnt say if there's power but the garages are under a coachhouse so i should imagine so.

Actually this is not true... We live in a three storey townhouse and our garage is in the coachhouse at the back (two flats are over 6 garages - our garage is one of those). Only the houses that DIRECTLY adjoin the coachhouses (i.e. the two flats above and the "end terrace" - whose garden adjoins the coachhouse - have power in their garages). This is because the electricity supply for the garage has to come from your property (i.e. your metered supply) and not the coachhoouse flats for obvious reasons. So it is something to check out.

adriandilly wrote: »

They are a decent size though and i think i could fit my Focus in there!

Another thing to check out - they do make garages SMALL these days... and if it is small, then it might affect the resale value of your home. My husband can't fit his car into the mother-in-law's garage in London (well ke could, but it wouldn't be able to open a door, at all, and doesn't have a sun roof ).

Let us know what happens when you get an answer from the developer...

QT

adriandilly

QTPie wrote: »

BUT sounds as thought the developer is using (a limited number?) of garages as an incentive to get rid of the less desirable (albeit cheaper) apartments... In the same situation, most developers would SELL the additional garages (or parking spaces if available)... but they are obviously having trouble shifting some of the flats, so are using them as a sweetener.

That is all well and good, if they need to add an incentive to sell a property that's fine! But to take our deposit and NO LESS THAN A WEEK LATER add garages to the others I think its very underhand. It was only by chance I found out as well... went back to the office to ask for the key to look round again, and happened to glance down at the new list on his desk while he was dealing with other customers; so it wasnt even as if they were going to tell us!
I will find out about the particulars of the garage when I get one, but even if it has no power it will be extremely useful as storage because in the apartment it's limited.