new house/100%part exchange

ladydriva

hiyas
weve seen some new build houses in our area which at the moment are being marketed with incentives such as 100% part exchange, has anyone done this and who willvalue our house ,, obv we want to get as much for our house and not sure which is the best way to go

many thanx

rio

We have done part exchange before, and funnily enough we are considering it again just now. In my experience your house will be valued by the estate agent who is marketing the properties on behalf of the builder. They will give you the current market value and then the builders will get back to you with an offer. It may pay you to have a look on the net for prices of similar houses in your area, so you have a realistic view of your properties worth. Some builders expect you to be trading up by 20-30% on the price of your property, so for example if your house was worth £150,000 they would expect the house you were buying to be worth at least £180,000, whilst others don't make a set stipulation, but I am sure they will expect you to be trading up at least £15,000. It used to be that for legal reasons stamp duty was only paid on the difference in value between the two houses although I am not sure if that is still the case, I will ask on another thread, so that can reduce your costs, as can the fact there are no estate agents fees. So it can be a bit like swings and roundabouts, the builders offer may be lower than the actual market price, but you could save the difference in fees.

If you agree on part exchange then your house will be marketed on behalf of the builders, who will expect you to show people round etc. etc. (although we refused to have a board or let it be advertised in a local paper until the ink was dry on the paperwork). The time constraints are quite severe as well, we had to move within one month of agreeing to have the property, so you have to keep on your solicitor's back, but at least you can start packing as soon as the deal is done.