Buying a new build using EasyMover - Advice Required pls

Trolleydolly743

Hi Guys apologies but its a long one,

Your advice is required please. Had our property valued this week. 3 bed semi, ex local authority, top notch interior and presentation (not being big headed but we decorated for us not just to re-sell, unfortunately area has declined a bit since we moved in, hense the reason to sell).

Valued at £170k - £175k. Currently have a mortgage for £87k. Now looking to move to a better area for schools, etc. Have a 17mth old.

Hubby and I viewed a new build 3 bed detatched at the weekend on for £225k, separate lounge, dining room, kitchen, downstairs cloakroom, ensuite to master bedroom. Large corner plot with garage and parking space.

Its on a large new developement that will consist of 4 villages with schools, shops, entertainment, jobs, etc. Lovely plot, best one of the type we're interested in in my opinion. It will be ready Oct (we'll see) however to secure this particular plot we must have an offer on our house. If we sell via the normal route we risk the plot being sold before we have a viable offer on our property.

The other option is to use this particular builders EasyMover scheme. Selected estate agents value your property with a view to it selling within 4-6 weeks. Obviously will be competitively priced to sell quickly! However I have been able to get the builders to use the estate agents that initially valued my property, before we'd looked at this EasyMove scheme. He's confident he can get a buyer for our house without it being stupidly undervalued.

We figured we may as well see what sort of price they want us to sell at before making any binding decisions, it also secured the plot from other buyers whilst we decide.

My questions are firstly what would you offer for the new build? We are in a strong position as we have a lot of equity in our house, mortgage approved as well for £140k.

Would you use the EasyMover scheme to ensure a quick sale, secure the plot but potentially take a hit on our house?

If the new build isn't ready till earliest Oct we could move into rented to secure the sale on our house, would this be a good idea or potentially be a disaster? I have had nightmares of us selling our lovey home, moving into rented and the developer deciding not to build our house. :eek:

Apologies for the long post however this has been going round and round my head and sleep is evading me for now! I think if it was just the 2 of us I wouldn't be so worried however with a baby to think of I need some impartial advice. :think:

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Kyrae

We recently sold our house using the builder's assisted sale package, and it worked perfectly for us. We had a surveyor pop around and have a look first on behalf of the builders, taking measurements and photos etc. Then they sent a local estate agent around and did a valuation. The builders came back to us and gave us the figure they wanted to market it for, we told them we wanted them to put it up for 4k more as thats the price other people on the estate were selling their similar properties for, and the builders agreed to up the asking price. They let us pick a local estate agent to market it through, and it sold 3 days later after the first viewing Looking at other sold prices on land registry that were sold at the same time as ours, we got the same price as everyone else so I don't think the builders tried to sell it cheaply. This seems to happen more on part exchanges i think, when the builders offer less than the house is worth as part exchange for a new build.

Make sure the builders agree to pay all your estate agent fees and pay for your HIP pack, might be able to get legal fees paid too, and be aware that if its the same deal as us you have to pay the fees initially and they are refunded to you at completion of buying the new house.

Because the house sold so quickly we moved into rental accommodation, and its been fine so far.

Now for the negative stuff the builders won't tell you, and the solicitors probably won't mention it either.

1. The builders will probably try and make you talk to their mortgage brokers. We tried this at first and had nothing but trouble, they input details incorrectly when applying for our life insurance, our mortgage application was turned down and we still don't know why, and getting hold of the broker was a nightmare. I'd recommend finding your own broker if possible.

2. As your house won't be ready for many months yet, be aware that once you've signed those contracts you'll be legally bound to buy the house once it's completed, even if its not completed until 2 years later and your mortgage offer has expired and you've lost your job. Hopefully not, but unpredictable things happen and the builders can keep your deposit and even take you to court to make you complete. That said, the risk can be minimised by getting a clause put in your contract with the builder. Either a long stop completion date saying you can pull out of the contract if the builder isn't ready to complete before a certain date, or a clause saying you can pull out if your mortgage offer expires and you are unable to arrange a new affordable mortgage. Your solicitor will be able to advise on this. Many people also recommend you don't use the builder's recommended solicitor.

3. Be prepared that when the mortgage company comes back to you with the surveyors report, the valuation may come back lower than expected, though this seems to be happening on new builds and older builds alike at the moment! You shouldn't have any problems getting the mortgage offer when you're putting down such a large deposit, but be prepared to haggle with the builders and see if they can match the lower valuation

As for offering on the new build, builders seem to be a lot less willing to drop the price when you're buying off plan and the house isn't built yet, they give the best reductions when the house is built and sitting empty. No harm in trying though, come in with a lower offer and see what happens! You'll probably have more luck negotiating freebies like carpets and vinyl, turf for the garden, etc. Might be able to get stamp duty paid too.

Hope that helps! I won't tell you that new build buying is easy and problem free because it's not, and theres been times myself and my partner have both wished we'd bought an already built house and saved ourselves the hassle, but the hassles are behind us now and the house is nearly built and we're very much looking forward to a nice new house in the plot we want, and getting to pick our own worktops and tiles and all that stuff, so I think it'll be worth it in the end

Trolleydolly743

Thanks Kyrae,

Its always good to get the perspective of someone who's going through the process themselves. You've raised some valid points that we weren't aware of.

We will definitely get something put into the contract to protect us if the build drags on and on. The build is scheduled to be ready in Oct but with the weather as it is I think we'll be lucky to be in by Christmas.

Already got our own mortgage broker who we've used previously, the builders are happy for us to use her and we've just had to speak to their broker for him to confirm that we would be ok'd for a mortgage.

I guess the next step is waiting for the valuations to come back. I've not had a new estate agents contact me today so they must be going ahead with the valuations that I organised?

I think a lot of patience is going to be needed for this however like you said it will hopefully be worth it to get the house and plot that we want and to fit the inside exactly right as well.

Good luck with your new house, if you don't mind me asking how long have you been in rented and how long roughly has it taken so far?

Thanks again for your help. Its very much appreciated!

Kyrae

We moved into rental at the start of October, about the same time as they starting building the house foundations, and the house should be finished in March. At present most of the house is built, just the roof tiles to go on and the insides to be built.... hoping the bad weather finishes soon so it doesn't hold things up too much!