Considering pulling out of a Barratt's purchase

dgtazzman

This is more of a rant and maybe a few independent opinions would help too.

We are currently in the process of purchasing a Barratt home. It's 3-bed priced at £210,000 and is around 1360 square feet. We got flooring, stamp duty and turfing thrown in. Everything was going smoothly, Barratt's was very helpful etc., until the mortgage valuation came back at only £195,000.

It took them 2 days to inform us of this undervaluation, as they first wanted to consider their options. They have contested the valuation, but feel there's practically no chance of it being adjusted. Instead, they have asked us if we would consider applying for a mortgage with another lender (in fact strongly suggesting we HAD to do this), as they know this other lender is more generous with their valuations. At first they wanted us to shoulder the extra cost for this, but I told them where to stick it, waiting to hear back tomorrow if management agrees to pay all the fees and penalties. Not to mention, this other mortgage would cost us £30 more a month in payments for the same amount.

Through all this, we've really been getting the feeling it is all about their financial results, over us, as we're stressed out and nervous and just being tethered along. We'd be willing to pay £210,000, but we feel a surveyor would know what they're talking about, yet it is being completely dismissed as BS by Barratt's.

I have now seen a Keepmoat house on the same development, a 4-bed, priced at £200,000 with the same square footage. I've been to talk with their sales guy this afternoon and he said they are familiar with the IFA and solicitor's we are using and could arrange for everything to be ported over to purchase their property with minimal cost to us. He thinks we could even keep the mortgage offer we have in the pipeline, saving a lot of time and hassle. In prelim negotiations he's already promised us flooring, turfing, all kitchen appliances, extra socket for a condenser dryer if we want it and hinted they might also be able to pay the stamp duty.

Would we be declared crazy if we just thank Barratt's and walked away over to Keepmoat at this point?

EDIT: No contract have been exchanged, of course, we have signed a draft contract, but this is held by our solicitors as the mortgage offer is in limbo on the valuation issue.

Mobeer

Who are "they" that you mention? You are taking out a mortgage on a home Barratt Homes are selling. Barratt Homes do not need or want a mortgage.

To be fair to the lenders, new homes do carry a premium, especially at marketed prices. Negotiating the price before buying would have helped. Even now you will gain from spending less on maintenance and updating than if you bought an old place. This idea has no value to the mortgage company who are trying to estimate a sale price, but should be a financial advantage to you over the coming years.

You need to consider how much of a holding fee would you lose, how much would you get off the marketed price of the alternative property, and how much YOU value the property as a home, rather than what someone else not planning to live in this home thinks.

mikthe20

All new houses have a premium of about 10% compared to "second hand" houses.

GlynD

Don't be tempted to extend any loyalty to Barratts. They won't show any to you after you've bought from them - been there, got the teeshirt.

Just tell them you no longer want to buy from them.

SuzieSue

GlynD wrote: »

Don't be tempted to extend any loyalty to Barratts. They won't show any to you after you've bought from them - been there, got the teeshirt.

Just tell them you no longer want to buy from them.

Yes, as you have found out, they are bullies and would sell their own grandmother if it helped them get a sale.

GlynD

SuzieSue wrote: »

Yes, as you have found out, they are bullies and would sell their own grandmother if it helped them get a sale.

Then once they have moved off site all your snagging stops and you've got to fight tooth and nail to get the smallest things done. If they even do them.
Their plumbing is shocking, so is their paintwork. My whole 4 bedroom villa needed repainting after just two years and they wouldn't stand over it. Only guaranteed for a year they said.

dgtazzman

'They' as in Barratt's. They suggested Halifax as a new mortgage provider as the Halifax valuation for the property next door did come back without issues. I know new build has a premium and believe me, I tried negotiating on price, to no avail. Seems I'm not the only one having problems with these houses, they were all sold, now I see 3 have come back up for sale, I think ours will be number 4 tomorrow. I wouldn't mind so much if they were willing to find some middle ground, but they won't budge an inch.

These are the last houses they are building on the development, after that, they're gone, so that's also starting to eat at me, nobody around to fix snagging issues, while Keepmoat still has a completely new phase to start late next year, so they will be around for a while.

In total we face to loose £600 - 650, not exactly peanuts, but we'll survive. That's an admin fee for the contract, £250 for an upgrade we paid and £285 valuation fee. We have paid another £300 for searches, but as no mortgage offer has been issued yet, they might not have been started and this deposit can most likely be ported over for the searches on another property if we stay with the same solicitor, otherwise it's £950, but Keepmoat was open to negotiating to the point that we could easily recover this in incentives.

comeandgo

I would get out while you can - if it was the first houses being built then valuation may be wrong but if its the last ones then you are paying too much.

makeyourdaddyproud

Do you really have to buy a newbuild in light of what's been said?

Doesn't the undervaluation tell you something? Could it be that the lender feels the asking price risk is too great if you are repossessed and they are forced to sell back to the market at a loss?

Many subcontractors say build quality of new houses erected by the largest builders are shocking.

I would like to know how many of the board of directors at Barratts live in the home built by them or indeed any property built in the last 40 years, for that matter.

dgtazzman

I have nothing against new builds at all. There are bad stories, there are good stories and of course, the bad stories are going to find their way into the public realm easier than the good ones. For me it's a question of time scales, I am away from my job 3 months at a time and I don't want to leave my wife to deal with everything alone, so a new build would be much easier for us as I can more easily adjust my work schedule to it than I would if we were dependant on a chain.

Also, some of the new builds around our area (not many, mind you) are more generous for square footage than existing properties. I don't need a big garden as such, but I do appreciate decently sized rooms.

Soldierearth54

GlynD wrote: »

Don't be tempted to extend any loyalty to Barratts. They won't show any to you after you've bought from them - been there, got the teeshirt.

Just tell them you no longer want to buy from them.

I second this opinion. Once you have coughed up the bucks, Barratts have no interest in you therefore why be concerned about being disloyal?