Are New builds an ideal way onto the property ladder for a 1st time buyer?

Ciderarmy1987

l0u1se wrote: »

If your parents gave you the money as a gift/present, would they still class it as a loan?

No you just have to get them to send a letter to the lender saying that it is a gift and that do not intend to take any interest in the property or expect any repayment. Our Mortgage adviser had a template that we gave of OH parents to fill in.

bclark

l0u1se wrote: »

If your parents gave you the money as a gift/present, would they still class it as a loan?

No.

If you get a letter from your parents stating it is a gift then that is fine.

Fire_Fox

l0u1se wrote: »

If your parents gave you the money as a gift/present, would they still class it as a loan?

No because that is a gift not a loan! The lender wants to know that nobody else has a claim on the property if it was repossessed and, these days, they like to see evidence that you have been saving up so are capable of budgeting.

If it was a no strings gift the child would not be paying any interest, nor instalments nor giving the money back to their parents when they sell the house. If it is a loan pretending to be a gift that is mortgage fraud.

bclark

Fire_Fox wrote: »

No because that is a gift not a loan! The lender wants to know that nobody else has a claim on the property if it was repossessed and, these days, they like to see evidence that you have been saving up so are capable of budgeting.

If it was a no strings gift the child would not be paying any interest, nor instalments nor giving the money back to their parents when they sell the house. If it is a loan pretending to be a gift that is mortgage fraud.

Who said it was a loan pretending to be a gift?

FeistyFidget

Thought I would chip in with the perspective of an actual buyer of one of these said schemes.

We live a few miles from sandbanks (supposedly 4th most expensive place to buy in Europe), our flat is a new build with sea views. Full purchase price was £193000, we took part in a FTBI scheme where we only had to find a mortgage of £98000 - zero deposit and interest free living (on the money that the government ponied up) for the first three years. Some of you argue these schemes are over-priced. Our local council made a deal that a very small amount of the flats on the build were open to first time buyer schemes. Same overall price as our neighbours flats, same quality and same market re-sale.

If we hadn't taken part in this scheme, we still wouldn't be on the property ladder. We have sadly outgrown our flat, but we should have made just enough from a sale to get a deposit elsewhere.

I am a definite fan!

claire16c

lindsaygalaxy wrote: »

New builds in my area cost much more than a starard say 1970s house. There are currently 2 new developments in the town. 2 bed houses are going for £250k, 3 bedrooms £330k (not London). Even with the 5% firstbuy scheme and or the new scheme the goverment are on about in the budget, it would would be impossible to get a mortgage on that amount of money, the salary multiples are too hight. I work in the public sector too, so a payrise isnt looking likely after the budget yesterday either. We have no choice but to save for a bigger deposit, which will take forever while renting and find an older house, but at least it wont lose its value so quickly.

A development in another part of the town is now about 5 years old. 3 beds were selling for over £280k, its a mix of private and social housing. After a few incidents in the paper of anti-social behaviour and the housing association not helping, the avergae 3 bed terrace goes on the market for £190k.

Sounds exactly like where I live!

The new builds are a complete rip off. I don't understand why people are buying them when older houses although still very expensive are not as bad as the new builds.

We have the same problem in regards that we can save a deposit but the prices are unaffordable.

caeler

I love my new build, its my second one as I bought too small originally and 2 years later upgraded. I'm not really into DIY, I like magnolia and I wanted energy efficient housing so new build suits me well. There are many negatives so if you take the jump do your research. Most importantly the property will depreciate the moment you move in, don't expect to see the property go up in value in the short term, probably not even in the long term.

I lost a fair amount of money on my first new build because I moved so quickly. Thankfully I was in a position to move as the loss just swallowed up half the deposit I had put down originally and I had saved another one before moving. I also got to part-ex which amazing minimised the damange as I got above market value for mine and a discount on the new one, although I still lost money but it is all relative.

warehouse

caeler wrote: »

I wanted energy efficient housing so new build suits me well.

I've always thought new builds were ever so energy efficient until the snow came this year and I noticed that the roofs of the new builds were always clear of snow well before all the semi detached 1930's houses. I think the energy thing is a complete myth.

neverdespairgirl

newbian wrote: »

In London if you want a flat, it's either a new build (or within past 15 years or so) or it's a conversion from a house. Flats in converted houses are sometimes pretty dire - lower ground floor, two flights of stairs to your front door, shared garden. There are very few purpose built blocks older than 50 years and they are out of the reach of FTBs in places like Pimlico and St Johns Wood.


There is a lot of anti NB sentiment on these boards. I do wonder if these people have been to London.

I can't help wondering if you've ever been to London!

There are three large catagories of flats you don't include in your post. The first is buildings converted from non-domestic use to flats, such as the 100 year old factory building I live in.

The second catagory is mixed-use premises, with shops or offices on the ground floor, and flats above.

The third catagory is the massive number of flats built more than 15 or 50 years ago. I don't know where in London you are, but in most of the capital there are huge numbers of Victorian, Edwardian and 1930s blocks.

samehat

warehouse wrote: »

I've always thought new builds were ever so energy efficient until the snow came this year and I noticed that the roofs of the new builds were always clear of snow well before all the semi detached 1930's houses. I think the energy thing is a complete myth.

I may be missing something here but it seems to me that your example shows that new builds are in fact more efficient. An energy efficient house will be warmer in Winter than a less energy efficient one for the same amount of heating, thereby causing the snow to melt quicker from the roof.

As an example: I consider my parents' 1970s semi to be inefficient heating wise as it is usually too cold to spend any time in the upstairs bedrooms (unless you are under a heavy duvet), even with the heating on full.

However, not knowing the extent of the heating being used in the houses you refer to on the days you describe, it is all guesswork as to which houses are more energy efficient.