Buying a New Build - help and tips!

Kyrae

I've seen a lot of negative posts about buying new build houses, especially off-plan, and rightly so because there are plenty of risks involved. I thought it might be helpful to have a thread for people buying new builds so we can share tips and advice, and share our stories both good and bad, and help each other avoid the problems!

So who else out there is buying a new build at the moment? We bought off plan a few months ago and ours is due to be completed within the next couple of months, fingers crossed! Here's the advice i've put together so far from my experiences, hope it'll be useful to anyone thinking of buying a new build, and I hope other people will add their own advice too!!

Things I've learnt from buying a new build....

Make sure you've viewed the show house, and take a tape measure with you to check any large furniture will fit. New build companies have a habit of decorating show houses with small furniture to make the rooms look larger, as well as removing some of the internal doors to give the illusion of space, and using upgraded fittings and fixtures that would cost you extra if you bought the house.

After viewing the show house or plans ask the sales manager what will be included in the sales price and what will cost extra. Expect to pay extra for carpets and vinyl, fitted wardrobes, upgraded metal plug socks and switches rather than white plastic, shower fitting on the bath, outside tap, security alarm, fitted appliances in the kitchen, etc. The builders will probably be happy to add all these extras on at a price, but shop around and make sure you're not getting ripped off and could get it added cheaper yourself after moving in.

Ask what input you have over the decorating of the house. Can you choose the tiles in the bathrooms, kitchen cupboards, etc? Be aware that it's recommended that you don't paint or wallpaper the walls for 6 months or so after moving in to let the walls finish drying, so don't think you'll be decorating as soon as you move in.

If these things matter to you, ask if the property is freehold or leasehold, whether there will be social housing on the development, and whether there will be a play area (may get used by teenagers in the evenings).

Before signing anything, ask will happen to your reservation fee if you back out at any time. Some builders give you a deadline for when contracts must be exchanged, and if you do not exchange by this date then they may sell to someone else and possibly keep your reservation fee.

If the property is not yet built, ask when they expect it to be finished. But be aware that this is only an estimate and it could take far longer. Ask your solicitor to try and get a long stop completion date put into the contract, so that if the house takes a lot longer than expected you can pull out and will not lose your deposit.

Do not use the solicitor recommended by the company you are purchasing the house from. Find your own based on the recommendations of friends or family.

Find your own mortgage advisor rather than the one recommended by the builders. If you're buying off-plan then be aware that there are risks involved and that your mortgage offer may expire before the property has been built. Speak to your solicitor and ask if the builders will agree to a clause in the contract allowing you to pull out if your mortgage offer expires and you cannot find another mortgage. Ours took their time deciding but eventually agreed to this, wouldn't agree to a long stop completion date though unfortunately!!

Be aware that the surveyor's report from the mortgage company may value the house at less than you're paying and this could affect your mortgage offer. If this happens, be prepared to haggle with the builders until they agree to match the lower valuation.

Have a thorough read of the contracts before signing, paying special attention to any restrictions as they probably won't have been pointed out by the sales manager when you reserved the house. Some builders have restrictions in the deeds on what you can and cannot do on your land, including no caravans on your drive, no chickens or certain other pets, no satellite dishes, etc. They may also require that you get their permission before putting up a conservatory or garden shed, and they can charge you a fee to do this so get their permission before signing the contract to save some money.


Wish i'd been more informed before deciding to buy a new build, there's so much the builders don't tell you, though I don't have any regrets at the moment, I love the house and can't wait to move in!!

So hows everyone elses new build buying experiences going?

BigBumpaGirl

This is a really useful post, thanks for all of the extra tips

iamana1ias

Kyrae wrote: »

Make sure you've viewed the show house, and take a tape measure with you to check any large furniture will fit.

That only works if you're buying the same kind of house as the show house!

calebdylan

buying a new build house isn't a good idea cause you need to spend much for that and the schemes are attractive at first but it will soon change before doing so you need to read the terms and regulations carefully

Kyrae

iamana1ias wrote: »

That only works if you're buying the same kind of house as the show house!

Very true!!

ILW

My advice would be, do not buy off plan, unless it is a private commision on a single plot. You have no idea how the estate will work out at completion, and could find you are one of the few owner occupiers in what is in effect a council estate. This will badly affect any resale on your property. I would only buy in an established area where you can see the lie of the land.

mahesh_on

Hia all!
Am looking to get a new build too and it looks like a good deal on the homebuy scheme. Not sure what off plan means - ILW care to elaborate?

They are willing to haggle only with regards to what can be done with the house -such as throwing in flooring/wardrobes and the like but won't go down on the actual price which is almost 214K for a 3 bed. Newish houses around the area are going for closer to 180 -190K but I don't know how to get them to go down...
Any suggestions welcome!

Kyrae

That does seem a large price difference between the new builds and already built newish houses around the corner. If you're getting a mortgage, you might find that the surveyor will value the new builds at nearer the £180-190k price that you've seen other houses sell for, which might make getting a mortgage a bit trickier unless you have a large deposit.

Best way to get them to drop the price might be to tell them about the cheaper houses you've found nearby and say you're thinking of saving some money and buying one of them instead. It'll probably depend on how well the rest of the new builds are selling though, are you buying at the off-plan stage or are the houses already built?

jonewer

mahesh_on wrote: »

Hia all!
Not sure what off plan means

To buy without the place actually being built yet. So you are buying at based on some floorplans and CGI, normally involving young families walking down a leafy avenue of houses or a cuttingly multicultural swaree of yuppees sipping wine in a shiny kitchen.

Problem is the place might not get built for ages, they might not finish the rest of the development, leaving you living on a building site, or they might omit to build the gym, swimming pool, creche, medical centre, school, pub, shop, post office, golf course, magic money fountain, all the other silly things they may have promised to build to try and get people to part with an awful lot of money.

Ladybird20

I am a fan of profesional snagging.....they come round snag it ...leave no stone unturned then they chase the builders up on your behalf(which takes all the stress from you) they come back and inspect that the builders have corrected to an acceptable standard..i think you have the "professional snaggers " for a period of 18mths or so.....can highly recommend....thay are of course have degrees in the building sector....so not anybody tom !!!!!! or harry are qualified to do sucha job.......i was amazed at what they can pick up on..even the standard of painting simple magnolia walls,,now who would have thought that would ever need to be re-done??

Middlers

Ladybird20 wrote: »

I am a fan of profesional snagging.....they come round snag it ...leave no stone unturned then they chase the builders up on your behalf(which takes all the stress from you) they come back and inspect that the builders have corrected to an acceptable standard..i think you have the "professional snaggers " for a period of 18mths or so.....can highly recommend....thay are of course have degrees in the building sector....so not anybody tom !!!!!! or harry are qualified to do sucha job.......i was amazed at what they can pick up on..even the standard of painting simple magnolia walls,,now who would have thought that would ever need to be re-done??

I was going to get a snagging firm to do mine when it's ready but found they had gone out of business due to the recession. Which firm did you use please?