Help?! Buying New Bellway Home

bazzab

My partner and I are planning on buying a bellway home for £150,000 on a new development. We currently live in a 2 bedroom semi valued at around £120,000 which has about £46,000 to pay off the mortgage. If we can sell for between £115,000 and £120,000, after paying off some debts, we estimate to be able to put down £50,000 deposit on this new home. Meaning getting a £100,000 mortgage.

Now, the houses estimated finish time is June/July. A few questions:

1) They have offered to market our current home and pay the bill for it if we sell. Will they attempt to get this back in any way? Such as fees etc.

2) Can we realistically ask bellway to change positions of tv points, plugs, phone sockets? Because they look like they put minimal amounts of these in, and at what stage of the build?

3) Can we realistically ask for stuff such as flooring, curtains etc?

4) We have only seen the plans on paper and the build hasn't got it's roof on yet, they have also sold they're show home of this house type. Are we expected to commit to buying it without even seeing what this type of house actually looks like finished?

Any other help or suggestions most welcome! t's quite scary!!
Cheers

paint

bazzab wrote:

1) They have offered to market our current home and pay the bill for it if we sell. Will they attempt to get this back in any way? Such as fees etc.

IMO probably, as they're not making the offer out of the goodness of their hearts. It probably won't be direct fees, but hidden somewhere. Are they going to value it as well? If so, watch out that they don't ridiculously undervalue it. It might be worth getting 3 estate agents round now (if you haven't already done so) to give you valuations - you could also negotiate fees with them.

bazzab wrote:

2) Can we realistically ask bellway to change positions of tv points, plugs, phone sockets? Because they look like they put minimal amounts of these in, and at what stage of the build?

Absolutely, and the earlier the better IMO. They'll probably try to charge you though - it's all a process of negotiation.

bazzab wrote:

3) Can we realistically ask for stuff such as flooring, curtains etc?

Again, it's all a process of negotiation. They may be persuadeable on flooring and curtains instead of the estate agency fees for example. They may have a couple of thousand which can unofficially be used to 'incentivise' buyers either with estate agents fees, stamp duty paid or flooring/curtains. It certainly does no harm to negotiate!

bazzab wrote:

4) We have only seen the plans on paper and the build hasn't got it's roof on yet, they have also sold they're show home of this house type. Are we expected to commit to buying it without even seeing what this type of house actually looks like finished?

Yes! I've done this a few times and it is scary! It's lovely when you move in and it's all brand new and freshly painted (and nobody else's bum has been sat in your bath!)

Good luck

terrierlady

With new build homes you have to be sold subject to contract before you can reserve a property or otherwise do a part exchange/or market plan with the developer which means they usually send out local agents to value your property on a for sale price basis, yes it will be lower than going on the market yourself but it will mean that you will be assured of a sale with no estate agents fees to pay.
Plus you can then reserve the home of your choice and choose which options you want included.
Extra points and plugs yes all available at extra cost, also t.v. point etc, remember no aerial is included.
The build stage is before the property is dry lined and the sales negotiator should let you know the last available date to order for these items, one usually pays up front.
negotiate strong for items like carpets/flooring if there offering part exchange or to market your property for you, other items are also negotiable, don't worry if they say that part exchange is your incentive, just keep asking, let them chase you, they will!
If the show home type is sold on that development consider looking at the same type of property on another Bellway site, it will give you an idea of the sizes etc ,once your sure thats the home for you go back and negotiate for the plot you want.

bunking_off

As others have said, everything is negotiable. Things like sockets etc are run of the mill, and the builders generally have a fixed price for them. I guess every builder has their own policy, but for our house the rule was "all extras must be ordered before the roof is on"....pretty arbitary, but I guess the logic is that the first fix electrics/plumbing starts then.

Terrierlady - your builder must have been pretty cheapskate. Ours not only included the aerial, but installed an amplifier in the roof to cover off the multi-aerial outlets that we'd specced - if only they'd remembered to install power to the amplifier....

Bazzab - the sales agent at the site should have a written spec of what is included; read it carefully. Although the show home for the type you're buying has sold on the particular site you're interested in, there's likely to be identical showhomes at other sites (particularly for a larger builder like Bellway) - get the sales agent to earn her money, or trawl through their website.

terrierlady

Yes I agree most national builders are cheapskates I work for a few! Thats why there are only a few power points , the rest are extras.... I can assure you that lots of people move in and then wonder why the t.v. doesn't work so we always tell them to order one asp.
Read the spec and then make your extras list, and don't forget, the show home on any development is loaded with extras, there should be a sign saying which ones are standard and which are not so spend some time and make a list as you go around. Good luck with your purchase.