New build haggling

SuperSquash

Hi,

My girlfriend and I are in the process of trying to secure a deal on a new build home in a fairly large development that is probably 2/3's completed.

When my girlfriend called them a couple of weeks ago about available plots, the one we're looking at was quoted as being £200,000, but then appeared on Rightmove and their own website for £230,000. When asked about this, they said they were thinking of lowering the price but decided not to.

We enquired seriously about it today and after calling the 'sales director' the saleswoman said we would be able to get the house for £200,000. It includes white goods (albeit a poor make that I am not interested in), carpets and lino flooring. Bathroom tiles and kitchen have been chosen already. The house is nearing completion, so I'd have thought they are keen to get rid of it now.

When we were in the sales office a couple of weeks ago, we had mentioned (whilst asking about what they had in general) that we could not afford in excess of £200,000. It seems she has picked up on this as the price we'll pay, even though we can't afford £200,000.

We still have stamp duty to pay for, turfing of the rear garden and tiling the kitchen floor/walls along with a burglar alarm. We're going to see the mortgage advisor asap, but we were hoping for a price of £190,000 with turf and stamp duty paid at least. Have we inadvertently played our cards too soon and do you think we're still able to offer them less? Obviously they can only say no, but I don't want to lose credibility with them by appearing to get as much as possible.

Kyrae

Hiya! I'd say it's not too late to go back and say you've sat down and worked out your finances and spoke to a mortgage advisor and unfortunately you're unable to proceed at the current asking price. Make them an offer of £190k and be convincing that you're going to have to walk away if they can't lower the price. If they think that you'll pay the full £200k then they won't budge. In the end they might say no they can't lower the price, but £190k is a reasonable offer and you've got nothing to lose by asking

If they refuse to lower the price and you still decide to buy, might be worth telling them you don't require the white goods, but see if they can give you some more useful extras instead, eg turf, burglar alarm etc.

Also, some advice from experience as we're currently buying a new build too, don't use the new build company's recommended mortgage advisors. We rang them up before reserving a plot and they said yup fine no problems you'll get a mortgage easily for that amount based on our wages etc, and quoted some good rates from various banks. Then after reserving a plot we met in person with one of their mortgage advisors and he said none of the offers quoted over the phone were available to us, as on the phone they had worked out mortgages in one name rather than the joint mortgage we had asked for when we called them. Almost feels like they're a little too keen to convince people they can afford the new build!! I'd recommend you see an independent mortgage advisor!

Also, try and go for a mortgage that comes with a free valuation, as lots of new builds seem to get undervalued and it can effect the mortgage offer. Sometimes the builders will drop the price so you can proceed, but sometimes they won't. If you pay for the valuation and then can't proceed, you'll lose the valuation fee.

Also lastly, not sure if your new build is already built or not, but make sure your mortgage offer will still be valid when the house is complete!

Hope that helps!

LandyAndy

SuperSquash wrote: »

When we were in the sales office a couple of weeks ago, we had mentioned (whilst asking about what they had in general) that we could not afford in excess of £200,000. It seems she has picked up on this as the price we'll pay, even though we can't afford £200,000.

We still have stamp duty to pay for, turfing of the rear garden and tiling the kitchen floor/walls along with a burglar alarm. We're going to see the mortgage advisor asap, but we were hoping for a price of £190,000 with turf and stamp duty paid at least. Have we inadvertently played our cards too soon and do you think we're still able to offer them less? Obviously they can only say no, but I don't want to lose credibility with them by appearing to get as much as possible.

So tell them that you can offer £190k.

They will either say yes or no.

Why did you suggest you could afford £200k?

SuperSquash

Thanks Kyrae, useful to know.

LandyAndy wrote: »

So tell them that you can offer £190k.

They will either say yes or no.

Why did you suggest you could afford £200k?

Initially when the conversation about what plots were available begun, we were asked at what price range we were looking at to which our reply was "about £200,000". It wasn't in any way a definitive figure and I thought nothing of it until today when she brought it up again.

To be honest, £190,000 will stretch us quite a bit, but we really love the house so will not walk away without at least trying.

Fire_Fox

'About £200K' suggests you can afford more than that not less! Don't stretch yourself to the limit in this market, if one of you gets made redundant, pregnant unexpectedly or long term sick you will be in the mire.

property.advert

Fire_Fox wrote: »

......... if one of you gets made pregnant unexpectedly ..... you will be in the mire.

Sorry for going OT but LMAO thinking about how one of them couldn't get pregnant unexpectedly !

If they won't go down, find a way, without any cost to you, to have someone look at the property, without knowing its sale price and then make an arrangement for them to say it is not worth £200k or £190k and that you cannot go forward unless they drop the price.

Yes, I mean lie, play hard ball with them and just think about the money saved.

You won't get anywhere with the white goods - I've been there.

Screw them around a bit but be prepared to walk away.

Remember that you are in a great position if FTB or no chain. Prices could fall further if they sell to someone in a chain which takes 4 months.

delmar39

New builds are hard to negotiate on, but obviously someone else was proceeding with the sale (as they've already picked the kitchen etc), so they'll be keen to get it off their books. You could use the fact that someone else has picked the kitchen as a negotiating tool i.e. why should you pay £200k when you can't pick important things like the kitchen.

Plus, they'll also be keen to get things moving before the end of the year, most probably before Christmas, as they'll have targets to meet. Hold your nerve, say you've had another look at things and you would like to offer £190k. Most new builds don't come with turfed back garden, but if they try to push you up above £190k, say 192,950, then say you want things included, like turfing the back garden.

Good luck.

clearing_out_my_pockets

delmar39 wrote: »

New builds are hard to negotiate on, but obviously someone else was proceeding with the sale (as they've already picked the kitchen etc), so they'll be keen to get it off their books. You could use the fact that someone else has picked the kitchen as a negotiating tool i.e. why should you pay £200k when you can't pick important things like the kitchen.

It doesn't quite work like that. If the buyer buys off plan early enough in the build programme, they often have the choice of finishes / kitchen, etc. If a buyer isn't found by the time the kitchens need to be installed, the developer will make the choice (usually either the cheapest or the most popular to benefit from bulk buying).

mark5

I agree with post 8 when i was buying my house the developer could tell me which houses were having what kitchens and bathrooms when the houses were still at ground level. If you reserved early enough you could change the spec though.