New Builds - what's normally included?

bashout

We've recently purchased a new build home off plan and, as is normal with these things, that's only because of very generous donations from my own and my wife's folks. Maybe we weren't particularly savvy during the sales negotiations but the developer did sell it to us for less than the list price and, unfortunately with Help To Buy, there didn't seem to be much wiggle room in terms of what they could offer us. No shortage of interested parties so its a bit difficult to be too cheeky when its apparent, to them, there's plenty more fish in the sea.

Having said that Persimmon have throughout this whole process been pretty clueless about what comes as standard with THEIR homes. Been told on many occasions that this and that comes as "standard", eg a coach light out front, only to check ourselves on a completed build and discover that it obviously doesn't.

Biggest issue is that we've given Persimmon nearly £200k for a three bed townhouse and they won't do any flooring in the property without you having to pay for it, whether you go for expensive tiles or budget vinyl. It's all extra. Seems strange to me that warranties like the LABC are there to guarantee you have a home of good quality and is "ready to move into immediately" when, really, it wouldn't even have a floor without you injecting even more cash into an already expensive undertaking. Is it perfectly normal for buyers to have to pay for flooring in a new build home? The finished plot we inspected is ready for sale but again it has no flooring.

nidO

New builds normally will not come with flooring "as standard".

This is one of those areas that the developer usually expects to give away as part of incentives though so it's relatively uncommon (in my limited experience at least) to end up with actually having to pay for your floors separately, but if you're getting a big discount off list price and/or HTB you can easily end up with them not being willing to include flooring as an incentive, in which case yes, you will need to get your own flooring laid.

Edit: I would point out that (again in my sole experience of having bought 3 new builds) that the developer will charge you an absolute arm and a leg, and then the other arm and leg as well, for supplying/fitting carpeting for you.
You're much better off going elsewhere for it (the new build we moved into 2 years ago also didn't include flooring as we got a steep discount on the price, and we ended up getting the place carpeted for around a third of the price the developer quoted us, and we got similar carpets and better underlay).

verulamium

Floors are not normally included in new builds, though it did come with our first property because it was a small development and the developer got a discount on getting the same type of hard wood floors for every flat.

Floors can sometimes be included but this should have been negotiated early on. A friend of mine bought a large scale property development and convinced the developer to include laminated flooring (yuck, but better than nothing). Most developers would rather include floors than reducing the price further. It depends on how you get on with the sales rep.

If you can't get them to do flooring, get it done yourself.

bashout

Yes, that's one of the first things we noticed with Persimmon's "Finishing Touches" is that they price themselves right out of business so that not going with them is scarcely even a choice. Rather like an airline that will let business class remain a ghost town before offering reasonably priced upgrades from economy, Persimmon charge crazy prices for things that I'm sure no one ever goes for. My view is they're in there already so why not also do flooring or wardrobes etc at a decent price. Don't seem to realise that if young couples are having to use HTB to just keep their hands on a home, then they wont have £1175 for a one built in wardrobe.

Still, if this is standard then we're not alone and I feel better already.

Dan-Dan

bashout wrote: »

Don't seem to realise that if young couples are having to use HTB to just keep their hands on a home, then they wont have £1175 for a one built in wardrobe.

Still, if this is standard then we're not alone and I feel better already.

Obviously there model is working , you bought the house after all

topbargainhunter

We bought a new build from Taylor Wimpey at a discounted price, and it came with all flooring (tiles, lino & carpet), dishwasher, washing machine, fridge freezer, cooker and hob, and garden turfed which apparently isn't always the norm either. They also paid our solicitors fees and removal costs. None of this was negotiated for, it just came as standard with every house.

So I guess it depends on the company you're buying from.

lee111s

Persimmon are terrible. Never ever again would I buy a house built by them. 4 years and I still don't have a proper tarmac road. It's a cul-de-sac of which they have been finished and off site for over 6 months.

SweetPaprika

We've just bought a house from Persimmon Homes off plan. We got carpet and vinyl throughout, fencing and turfing, stainless steel appliances, stamp duty paid and legal fees paid. We went round to loads of different developments and builders before settling on this site and home. It pays to do your research and look around at different builders. We are the last phase on the site and the site quality is very good, plenty of green area, wide roads etc.

overdunit

My Daughter has recently bought a house from Persimmon Homes off plan. She was told she would have carpet and vinyl throughout, fencing and turfing, stainless steel appliances; unfortunately when she received her contract none of the items were listed and initially they were not prepared to add any of them to the contract.

Following further reading of the contract more horrors came to light. There were too many restrictive covenants in their contract; the most alarming concern was that Persimmon Homes are selling houses on a long lease of 999 years with an escalating ground rent which will be reviewed every ten years in line with the RPI.

As a result of Persimmons behaviour I believe that the Nationwide Building Society have made a decision that because "the properties would not offer suitable security they will no longer lend on escalating leasehold properties.” Please Google “Persimmon Homes with 999 Year Leases Declined Mortgages” and “outrageous persimmon builds leasehold houses for the never ending income stream” For more information.

Consequently she now feels that the mortgages offered to her are at a much shorter fixed term and at a much higher interest rate. In the long term she will have to pay many thousands of pounds more! She is now firmly stuck between a “Rock and a Hard Place” as she has to leave her rented accommodation by the end of August and can’t afford to lose her deposit, mortgage valuation and legal fees which she has already paid and feels she has to continue with her purchase under extreme duress. I would be grateful if you could post a reply and let me know if Persimmon fulfilled their contract with you in full.

dgtazzman

I actually put a reservation down on a Persimmon home last week in Wales. I liked the house, but had my reservations about Persimmon, but the sales patter won me over. Every time however when I started prying what was included, the sales lady became evasive, saying we could discuss that at a later stage.

It wasn't till I got home and started reading through all the paperwork provided that I realized actually pretty much nothing is included as standard, you pretty much just get a shell with basic fittings and if you want to put things in to make it livable, it costs an absolute fortune (at least a 100% mark up over trade prices). Fencing between plots isn't even included as standard, nor is lighting on the outside of the property (would cost me 20 quid per light to do it myself, Persimmon charge 150 quid per light) as well as many other things I would consider to be standard this day and age.

This is completely opposite to the newbuild I am living in now, the house was delivered with almost everything included and the rest I managed to negotiate, while Persimmon wouldn't negotiate on incentives, period, all they could do was knock a few grand off the price. If you look at what they charge for extra's, those few grand are soon made back again.

Also, I knew there was a motorway nearby, but looking at the map afterwards, the motorway bends off and actually comes in much closer to the development than I though. That is my mistake, of course.

I've pretty much decided to pull out and loose 250 pounds of my reservation fee. I feel the sales lady deceived me as to what would be included, hell the garden fencing isn't even included as standard.

Off again tomorrow to look at a development by a small local builder, looks far more promising... I don't take kindly to sales staff withholding information of intently deceiving me until a signature is put down on paper.

marlot

As someone who used to work for one of the major housebuilders (ten years ago), I would only recommend buying from someone who gets 5 stars in the HBF survey.

http://www.hbf.co.uk/policy-activities/customer-satisfaction-survey/2015-results/

Getting 5 stars isn't that hard if you create a quality product. If you can't get 5 stars then you're not building them right. Just my opinion!

And if you only get 3 stars, then run away even faster!