David Wilson Homes any experience? Sorry long post!

Squirrel1979

Hi there -

I am new to the forums but a regular visitor to MSE for some time.

I am looking for anyone who has had any experience with David Wilson homes as we are hoping to buy a new house from them.

Our situ is we are in a 3 bed semi with extension on the outskirts of glasgow. We have only lived here 3 years, our situation has changed and we want/need to move closer to family in a more expensive house price area but ultimately where we want to be but had expected to wait another few years.

We bought our house for 153k and tied into a 4 year fxd mortgage that ends in 12 months but has a 5k penalty if we cancel. However we have a large pot of inheritance on top of equity but given that its only a year to go on mortgage we don't want to pay the penalty if we don't have to. We should be able to port the mortgage and have it topped up till we can remortgage to a better rate next year. So that's the background.

We are interested in a david Wilson 4 bed, price tag 329k, which we believe to be a 20-30 year move for us. Great location for family schools work etc. There are a few things to sort with the inheritance but initial figures say we can make the move financially.

We were considering part exchange, there are a few properties up for sale in our estate but nothing selling and some reducing prices so we could cut our losses and go with part exchange, pay full wack for new house but try and get as many extras as poss - is this realistic??

Or we could put our place up for sale for 3/4 months and hope to negotiate with david Wilson close to their year end of June whether we have sold or go down part exchange??

If we sell ourselves and have to be out before new house ready we will have to pay mortgage penalty and find somewhere else to live which is a major hassle.

We are realistic in that we will not get what we paid for our current place however I was hoping on part ex they may offer us 135/40k and we might be able to get them to pay stamp duty. If we were to sell ourselves we would need to get 143/145 and try and get them to knock off 10k plus stamp duty plus extras? Again am I up a gum tree?

There are two properties in the style we want left, one ready late summer and the other early next year but on the development there are 19 for sale, another 5 to be released but ours is the "cheapest" of which 3 remain.

Sorry so long but could really do with some good advice!!!

Thank you.
F

schrodinga

Hi there!

I'm going through the motions of buying a new build myself, not quite in Glasgow but fairly close by. We opted for part exchanged, as we're working to fairly tight timescales and the 'hassle' of selling is one stress we could do without.

There seems to be an unwritten rule with home builders that if you're part-exchanging that you can't get money off the list price of the new house. This is largely untrue, however its down to you're negotiation skills and how quickly the builder is looking to shift their house.

The house we're buying is the last on site. We managed to negotiate a 15% increase in the PE value, over what the builder thought it was worth. Basically they are inflating the price of our property to make the deal worth while. We also got carpets, turf, stamp duty and £1k cash back.

We originally approach the builder 6-8months ago when they had three of the house type left. We got nowhere trying to beat them down on price, so we simply walked away.

When we came back, we put our original offer back on the table. They um-ed and aw-ed a bit, but we basically got what we wanted. Albeit we didn't have the option to select the plot. But we're happy.

Timing is key. Ultimately they can move on price, it's just a case whether they want to or not!

Squirrel1979

Thank you for your reply. Great to hear that there is bargaining to be done, I think we need to play hard ball with them and poss wait till their year end (June) or hold back till later in the year.

Do you mind me asking what you got in px, not actual figures but difference roughly in what it was valued for?

You def got a great deal, I think we need to not rush in. Hoping to go back next week, minus our toddler, and have a look at the house and talk to the sales girls again.

I suppose the key is not to be frightened off that you'll miss out by walking away!!

Thanks again v helpful.

rdr

David Wn are part of Barrets

schrodinga

We originally wanted the same price for part exchange as a bungalow which sold in the same street a few months beforehand. We had a house with an additional reception room and bedroom, which we felt meant the house was probably worth more but conceded it was badly in need of modernisation, i.e new kitchens/bathrooms/heating/double glazing.

The builder valued it £15k less based on three valuations, which we balked at. Particularly when they wouldn't shift on the list price of the new house.

When we asked (an independent) estate agents out to value it, they suggested we may drop need to £5-10k dependent on finding the right buyer. Haven't had sight of the survey yet, but the surveyor that came round suggested we'd be lucky to value at the price the builder offered - not sure whether to believe that!

The builder eventually gave us £15k over our preferred price and £30k over what they originally wanted to offer. (This was pre-survey and they haven't retracted),

We managed to push them for stamp duty (which is in the 3% flat rate, so a fair chunk!). Carpeting, turfing and £1k cash back was a bonus we didn't expect, but cheerfully accepted!!!

So yeah, be prepared to walk away if the right deal isn't on the table. But also be prepared to lose out too, I was quite upset when the two other houses on the estate sold that I may have settled on a lesser offer.

Squirrel1979

Thanks, great advice.

Fingers crossed we will get to where we want to be.

Good luck in your new home