FTB-general advice on buying newbuild flat

pkrnts

Im considering buying a newbuild flat (barratts! but it appears to be very high spec, more research needed) which has just gone up in the middle of my local town. The town is already desirable and is developing further which will only improve the area, great london links, low crime, scenic.

The block is 4 or 5 floors, has lifts, secure building w/staff and private car space, great views on higher floors, 2-beds are approx £230k. The block will be completely finished by early next year afaik.

Now a couple of questions, more may come in time but here goes:

1. Offers
Ive always been under the impression that newbuild prices are somewhat inflated, what kind of first offers do big developers generally entertain in an average situation (no major demand etc)?
Would coming in at 200k for a 230k place be ridiculous?
What kind of extras do they usually throw in to induce a sale? Would 215k with stamp duty/legal fees paid be entertained? Things like that...

Basically just wanting to know how the offer process differs with big developers to private sales and how far I can push it.

2. Which Floor
I may rent this place out for the first year so need to consider what is desirable to tenants too.
I don't want a ground floor flat.
Are top floor flats (5th max) appealing to tenants? the lifts and views are a major plus but if they command lower rent its something to think about.
I'd assume a top-corner flat is the best position to be in, true? Anyone live higher up in a block and have any negatives?

Anyone live in the middle of a block and suffer annoying noise from those living above them? Is it that big a deal in the grand scheme of things?

Any other tips would be appreciated on newbuilds and living in a block!
Thanks

lynzpower

id always prefer to live GF easier to negotiate shopping & deliveries, plus sometimes have garden.

I live in a newbuild and it can be noisy WITHIN the flat, although we get v little neighbor noise indeed- i think we are the worst here

Doozergirl

I've always gone top or bottom, only one upstairs/downstairs neighbour to contend with and the benefit of security upstairs (I hope the burglars will go for everyone else first ) and the outside space downstairs.

£200k would be my first offer, sure and if you can, I think I'd try before Christmas as fingers crossed it will be their year end and they'll be below target . £215k with some extras thrown in would be a good place to get them to! Play it slowly, you won't get a good deal if you keep throwing offers at them. Best time for discounts is when they are already built generally.

Try to go for more money off rather than carpets etc as the prices of their f&fs are just ridiculous. I'd always buy extras from a proper retailer as I'm sure I could save 50% on developers' prices.

pkrnts

Brilliant, just what I wanted to hear. Confirmed my thoughts of the real choice being top or bottom, being in the middle just seems to risky with nuisance neighbours.
Space/garden downstairs won't be much of an issue, there are several huge parks a few mins away.

Thanks for the advice on the offers/extras, money off will be my priority if I go for it !

pusscat

things to check out.....

I guess the flat is leasehold? If so ask a lot of very detailed questions about the lease....and read all of it prior to making an offer. Examples are

How will the lease be managed? will Barrats appoint the leashold comapny? How long is the lease? What will the ground rent/service charge be? what will be the maximum % it can be raised by in any year? When will this start? from completion of the whole block? How much for the block building insurance, how often will the mgt company clean the communal areas/windows, do the gardens? Will there be a sinking fund, if so then how much? how often will redecoration of the communal areas occur? How about exterior decoration? Is there an intercom system? If so will rent be payable or will be be outright purchase, who will pay to fix it? will you have to rent your mailbox? same questions for communal tv aerial/cable phone/sattelite dish. Same questions for lift/air con any other communal facilities. Is there a rubbish chute? If not, how do you get bin bags down, in the lift? Is this cleaned daily then? Who will clean the communal bin areas? How often, are wheelie bins provided or are they commercial rented bins - if so who pays? how much etc.

By staff I take it you mean a concierge? If so when is he/she on duty? Is this part of the contract? how long does this run for? what are the duties of the concierge? who will supervise them? etc etc. Will they be allowed to accept you deliveries/shopping?

Are there any conditions of the lease pets/washing/skydishes/wooden flooring etc?

are the floors/walls between flats and stairs solid concrete or board? will make a lot of difference on the noise levels. Does the bathroom have a window - never buy a property with no window in any bathroom, always get problems with damp and with resale (especially for women, you can't put makeup on easily with no daylight). What type of heating is it? Wall mounted heaters can cost a fortune to run. Is the heating/hot water communal? is there a water meter for each property or for the block?

Don't take any extras from the developer, the carpets are poor quality, for wardorbes etc, it depends on if you like built in and the bedroom layout. Spend extra on upgrading the shower(s) (if it is not a power shower), builit in appliances are nice, but see what you are charged, my last Barrat house the built in dishwasher was cheaper than I could have got someone in to do it for, but cutting a worksurface to get a tall fridge freezer in was extortionate, but slighlty less bad than the price they wanted for a built in one! Put in extra sockets (usually quite cheap to get) especially in an office type room and in the living room and an outside tap if you have a garden.

There is a great thread on here earlier to day about how to get a discount, it is spot on. With Barrat, the discount depends on how late in the day you come in, if you are buying when the build is not complete then you will pay higher, if you are buying the last flat in a completed development then you will pay lees (but have no choice as to finishes etc)

I would look to get a minimum of 10% off the asking price, be that as discount or as cashback. Developers like the full asking price to go through the books and then give the discount as cash back after completion.

Be ready to complete in 28 days (usually this is a Barrat requirement written into their contract)

The biggest issue I found with a flat is that once the block is built, the developer sells the lease (rarely can the tennants get themselves organised to buy it) and suddenly you have a landlord who can in some cases charge pretty much what they want, can contract their family or other owned companies to do all of the decorating/cleaning, can charge you a fortune for shoddy service, can ask for money for an upfront sinking fund at any time etc. There are laws to protect you, but it is a hassle to start challenging management companies, particularly when you are renting the flat out. I owned a flat in London and the first years service charge wass paid by the developer as the buildings were not all complete. The second year it was (this is 10 years ago) £200 odd per year, by the third year it had gone up to nearly £600 and by the next year (I was selling) it had gone to over £1000. The cleaners and gardeners all worked for a subsiduary of the people who owned the lease, the standards were terrible, the intercom was often broken for weeks, we were charged regularly for things like fixing the tv areial system and the charges for thinkgs like putting new stair carpets in were out of this world - I would have expected gold plated stair rods for that kind of money.....the flats were studio flats so most people were FTB's and we had no spare cash to buy the lease, also some flats were rented and the landlords abroad so we could never get organised enough. I moved out as I was relocating anyway, but I have never bought leashold since....I knew nothing about lease terms when I bought, I would always read the small print now! I believe that the laws have been tightened, but if you get a c**p leasholder then you can have issues.

Sorry, this got a bit longer than I intended.....oops!

Puss

meanmachine_2

Blimey - if that hasn't put the OP off, nothing will!

In fact, I was going to say avoid newbuild like the plague and buy a two bed terrace instead.

A family home will always be in demand. In 20 years' time who's going to want to buy an old newbuild in a tower block that has long since gone out of fashion?

Not me - that's for sure.

pkrnts

MM, your point on family homes is a great one but I just don't think I'm ready for/want a house on my own (am after some easy stairless flat living w/balcony first).

Ideally I'll be within walking distance, mins, to the town and this block looked ideal whereas the terraced housing in the area isn't as ideal. Probably won't be in it for more than 10 years too which may or may not be a positive.

Doozergirl

pusscat has certainly given you food for thought! I've never seen such a thorough list!

A lot of the questions should be covered by your solicitor during conveyancing and a lot of it will appear in the lease itself. Your solicitor should pick up on discrepancies but you will have to read through the lease slowly in order to translate it into English! I think that the sales staff would be hard pushed to answer many of the questions, especially those regarding the lease.

But all those practical ones are definately there for you to ask

DavidHM

Surprisingly, it's first and second floor properties that tend to make the most on the resale market.

Ground floor is perceived as a security risk - too attractive for burglars (and if you live above, you're probably safe because you've got a nice easy target for a downstairs neighbour) and any higher and there are too many stairs for potential purchasers, plus possibly fire risk.

Also I should point out that in terms of future values, whatever the market does, there is a big block of flats that was built (and sold for what were then very high prices) about five years ago in the centre of Cardiff. Since then I would guesstimate that property prices have roughly doubled... but the 2-bedroom flats that were £135k now struggle to make £150k - so about a 10% increase.

terrierlady

not all customer extras are crap.... carpets tend to be 80/20 on our developments , appliances are always covered by the manufactures guarantees,AEG or Whirlpool etc. kitchens are usually same as those brought on the high street ie symphony or Carla, tiles are more than likely Italian.
FByrs are usually in a good position to negotiate for all these extras free of charge once again FTByrs are walking gold dust to developers.